Belated it may seem, but businessman Francisco "Paco" Magsaysay still believes he needed to do it.

The coffee table book he released last December, "The Only Son," is a tribute to his dad Ramon Magsaysay Jr., former senator and only son of the late President Ramon Magsaysay.

Magsaysay fulfilled a dream when "The Only Son" saw printing after months of setbacks and was eventually released.

"In recent years, I noticed my dad was telling me stories about the past more than was the usual," Magsaysay said. "He remembered names, dates, and places so clearly. His memory was crystal clear and so much better than mine, especially when it came to remembering people's names."

That gave Magsaysay the brilliant idea of coming up with a "tribute" for his dad in the form of a book. "I tied in with my dream of publishing a book," he said. "I was able to hit two birds with one stone."

He planned to originally release the book last June 2020, in time for his dad's 82nd birthday. However, because of the lockdown, the launch was stalled.

"Our initial target date was on June 4, 2020, which was his birthday," Magsaysay said. "But when COVID-19 hit, the project took a backseat to all of us staying healthy, COVID-free, and keeping our businesses going. That pushed back the timeline as coordination became more difficult."

It happened that all the people working on the book had to get used to doing Zoom and Google Meet calls. "Our new deadline, I instructed the team, would be end of 2020."

Thankfully, they met their new deadline. The team had their mission successfully accomplished. Magsaysay beamed proudly that before the holidays last year, he and his dad were seen holding their respective copies of the book on Magsaysay's Facebook page.

"The book showcases highlights of my dad's life, from the time he was born to the present," Magsaysay said. "It does not dwell so much on any particular part of his life, as it's not meant to go in-depth."

"Since my dad did not know we were coming up with this book, we ran the risk that he would not like or approve of the project. We made it as 'friendly' as possible, as we were really throwing the dice as to whether or not he would like the book."

'TIGHTLY KEPT SECRET'

Collating data and gathering materials to finish the coffee table book proved to be another challenge for Magsaysay and his team. They managed to keep everything a secret from his dad.

"What helped was that all the photos were already available," Magsaysay offered. "We could not plan any photo shoot of my dad though, as he was not supposed to know about the book. It was to be a tightly kept secret."

Magsaysay asked his aunt Mila Magsaysay Valenzuela, his dad's sister, to head the editorial board for the book. "My Tita Mila was knowledgeable about a lot of the events and personalities related to my dad's life. She knew my dad much more than I did."

It was understandable that Magsaysay would miss on a few things about his dad. He and his older sister, Marga, actually spent their growing up years in Houston, Texas with their mother (Isabel Delgado) and her second husband (Dr. Kenneth McKredie), a physician.

From 1980 to 1993, when Magsaysay was aged 12 to 25, his adolescent and young adult years were spent in the US.

"Despite the distance, my dad was always a constant presence," Magsaysay revealed. "He wrote letters every week to me and my sister, which we always looked forward to. Mind you, this was before the fax machine was invented and a one-minute call from the US cost $4."

"We would also visit Manila once or twice a year during the summer and Christmas vacations to visit him and our clan."

Magsaysay attested his dad was never a strict parent. "He pretty much let us be. However, he was stricter with my sister Marga, whose curfew was midnight. I didn't have any curfew as I hardly went out of the house. I preferred to stay at home, a habit I still maintain to this day."

"My dad also did not spoil us with material goods, which was a legacy from his parents. He made sure that we learned the virtues of honesty, integrity, and hard work."

OTHER KEY PERSONS

It was Christian Halili who gave Magsaysay the idea to work on the book for his dad.

Halili subsequently assumed the job as project manager for the senator's book.

"Christian's Facebook post in 2019 about the book he and his team produced on Bishop Antonio R. Tobias was what really inspired me to embark on the project for my dad," Magsaysay relates. "What I liked about the book on Bishop Tobias was with its coffee table book format."

"There were so many pictures. I had never seen a coffee table book with so many photos.”

Magsaysay's sister Marga naturally had to be part of the book. "She had equal billing as I had in the book. After all, the book is about our dad."

"Mayette Bustamante, my dad's assistant, was also a key person in helping us come up with the book."

His dad's wife Marilou also played a significant part in the book project. "We interviewed some close family members as well," Magsaysay shared. "In fact, we had to cut down the number of people we wanted to interview due to the pandemic and since most of them were seniors."

BUSINESS BOOKS

"The Only Son" is only the first book that Magsaysay has published to date. "I'd like to publish more [books] in the future, which would most likely be about business or experiences in turning adversity into strength, using the story of my ice cream business, Carmen's Best, as one of the examples. But I will do that when the time is right," he said.

The artisanal ice cream brand, Carmen's Best, as Magsaysay has never tired of telling people, was named after his only daughter, Carmen.

"Naming it after her is a constant reminder to honor her name and our family's name," Magsaysay said. "As we try to maintain our promise of a high quality product that has now become an integral part of the Filipino celebration."

Magsaysay has two sons. The eldest, Jaime, supervises the social media and e-commerce efforts of Carmen's Best. Mikey, the youngest son, works at the Union Bank of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Carmen is a business graduate of Fordham University and now works with JP Morgan Chase in New York.

"I always planned that one, if not all, of my children would eventually take over Carmen's Best," Magsaysay wished. "They were always the reason for my building up the business."

ICE CREAM OVER POLITICS

Up to this day, it still surprises a lot of people why Magsaysay didn't tread the same path as his father and grandfather, and join politics.

"Many people have asked me that question," Magsaysay said. "It's hard to imagine me doing anything else since ice cream is my passion, and an occupation so different from my grandfather, who was President of the Philippines and my father, who was a senator."

"I guess my father, who was named after my lolo, couldn't help but follow the political path, having grown up in the public eye and was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. He lived in Malacañang from ages 15 to 17. In contrast, at that age, I was living in an apartment complex in Houston, Texas.

"Since we had a very different upbringing, I found it difficult to be in politics. Even my father discouraged me when I first told him my initial ambition to enter the political ring. He simply advised me to spend three days in the senate and three days in the Batasan before making any decisions."

Magsaysay eventually ended up producing quality Filipino ice cream and loving it.

Asked about the most important lesson he learned from his dad that Magsaysay continues to live by to this day, he readily answered: "To treat everyone equally and be fair to all. He continues to help people, even those he does not know. He just helps and does not talk about it."

He may never brag of any political career, but living away from the shadows of the men in his family, Magsaysay, by this time, has realized he is not cut out for politics. Yet, he still can proudly claim, in his own right, to be a successful heir of "The Only Son."

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