WHEREAS, the fiftieth birthday of our beloved Ramon Magsaysay, late President of the Philippines, falls on August 31, 1957;

WHEREAS, President Magsaysay, in the few years that God gave him to serve our people, made himself a true brother and earnest defender of the common man in whom he evoked a sense of dignity and importance which should rightfully be his in our democratic society;

WHEREAS, during his term as third President of our Republic, he dedicated himself to his official tasks with an exemplary zeal, earning for himself the love and sincere affection of the Filipino people whose welfare he had been called to promote until his unexpected and tragic death;

WHEREAS, his life was in effect consumed in his tireless devotion to do everything he could for the glorious future of the Philippines as a Republic highly esteemed in .her appointed place in the family of nations; and

WHEREAS, it is but fitting that our countrymen be afforded the opportunity of keeping his memory fresh in their minds and rendering him proper honor, not only through appropriate celebrations but at least through a recollection of his deeds and the resolve to be likewise dedicated to his concept of service to the common man, and follow his determination to bring the government close to the people, especially on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday anniversary;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Carlos P. Garcia, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 30 of the Revised Administrative Code, do hereby declare Saturday, August 31, 1957, as a special public holiday throughout the Philippines.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

Done in the City of Manila, this 21st day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the twelfth.


By the President:

FORTUNATO DE LEON
Executive Secretary