Ramon Magsaysay, the third president of the Philippines, met a tragic death in an airplane crash in 1957. The center is home to the Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation, which was established in 1958 with the aim of perpetuating Magsaysay's ideals of democracy and public service. Inaugurated in 1968, the center features an austere yet elegant architectural style which today continues to retain a classic and timeless look about it. At its inauguration, the 14 storey edifice towered over everything around it, standing like a beacon of democracy.