Why the Ramon Magsaysay Awards matter

Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 25, 2008 | Copyright
Byline: Dexter R. Matilla, Contributor

THE BAROMETER OF ASIAN greatness is supposed to be the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Manila-based recognition that, its organizers lament, is more famous elsewhere in Asian than in its home. Now 50 years old, the RM Awards are considered by a greater part of the Asian population as the ultimate recognition in the continent. Not so much the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize as even greater than the Europe-based prize. RM laureates, all 271 of them, including this years eight awardees, have been addressing a wide range of human development issues often amid very adverse circumstances. This years winners are the Philippines Grace Padaca (government service) and the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development.