THE Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced on June 8 the cancelation of this year’s award presentation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, The Foundation said that with the COVID-19 pandemic “practically immobilizing the world” it “has no choice but to cancel this year’s Awards Presentation.”
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is considered as Asia’s premier prize and highest honor that is given to remarkable individuals and institutions.
It was established in 1957 by the New York-based Rockefeller Brothers Fund to honor former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay’s legacy in governance and service to the people.
“This vibrant community of laureates shares a common trait: selflessness in the pursuit of better lives for the many who are left behind socially and economically,” the statement read.
The first time that the selection and awarding of the laureates was disrupted was in 1970 during the financial crisis. In 1990, it was again canceled due to an earthquake.
“It was a tough decision,” the Foundation’s Board of Trustees said.
“We shall miss the solemnity of the Awards Night. Hungry for the stories that inspire and sustain hope. Feeling humbled in the presence of light,” added the announcement.
The Foundation said the tradition has to “give way to inconvenient reality,” however, “we will get together again and it will be a joyful reunion.”
It said that past awardees from all corners of Asia “have risen to the occasion, lending critical support to frontiers and marginalized victims of the pandemic.”
“It is this continuing story of compassion and service that defines the Laureates,” the statement read.
