Francisco “Paco” Magsaysay grew up surrounded by politics.
His grandfather was the late President Ramon Magsaysay, celebrated as the “Man of the Masses.” His father, Jun Magsaysay, capped a political career with two terms in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives.
Every opportunity to join public office was open to him. Yet when the chance came, Paco chose a different path.
In a DZRH Special on Saturday interview on September 6, Paco recalled how his father asked him to observe both chambers of Congress in the late 1990s.
“Pumunta ako sa Congress, 5 days ako doon, tapos 5 days din ako sa Senate, sabi ko, hindi para sa akin ito,” he said.
The exposure confirmed what he had long suspected: he did not see himself thriving in the political arena.
The decision was made easier by his father’s approach. “He never pushed me to enter politics. Sabi niya, it’s my decision. Kaya lang, sabi niya, kung tatakbo ako, ako rin ang gagastos,” Paco said, laughing. That was the final nudge. “Sabi ko, huwag na lang. Nagnegosyo na lang ako.”
Instead of chasing votes, Paco pursued business.
The Ice Cream Guy
He is now known simply as “the ice cream guy,” and he loves it.
“They never say, Paco is the grandson of President Magsaysay. They just see me as the ice cream guy. I love it,” he told DZRH.
For someone who once walked away from politics, carving a new identity through Carmen’s Best has become its own kind of victory.
Carmen’s Best began in 2011 as a way to turn excess milk from the family’s Laguna dairy farm into something valuable.
With no background in food science, Paco experimented in his kitchen, guided only by YouTube tutorials and his children’s sweet tooth.
Through trial and error, he discovered that the fresh milk his father championed gave his ice cream a taste unlike anything in local supermarkets.
Word of mouth, and later, social media, spread quickly. Customers noted the difference in flavor, and demand grew.
What started as a family project soon became a premium Filipino brand that reached beyond homes and shops to international flights.
In 2015, Carmen’s Best earned an unexpected spotlight when Pope Francis tasted the ice cream aboard his flight back to Rome and even took cartons home.
The recognition validated more than just Paco’s entrepreneurial instincts: it carried forward his father’s lifelong advocacy of dignifying agriculture and making fresh milk a staple in Filipino diets.
Unlike imported powdered milk, Carmen’s Best was proof that Filipino-produced dairy could create world-class products.
For Paco, business became his own form of public service: supporting local farmers, creating jobs, and offering consumers a product that could stand shoulder to shoulder with global brands.
It was a way of giving back to the country without ever filing a certificate of candidacy. “Pwede naman tumulong, maski wala ka sa gobyerno,” he told DZRH.
Through his persistence, Carmen’s Best has become a story of values handed down through generations: honesty, integrity, and hard work, expressed not in laws or legislation, but in scoops and smiles.
And for Paco Magsaysay, that is a legacy worth keeping.
