CBCP congratulates Fr. Flavie Villanueva, Ramon Magsaysay awardee

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday congratulated Fr. Flaviano "Flavie" Villanueva, one of the most outspoken critics of the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte, for being one of the three winners of this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award.

CBCP President and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David called Villanueva "the prophet of our time" for standing with the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized.

"His tireless work of restoring dignity to victims of extrajudicial killings and their families during the dark years of the war on drugs stands as a bold testimony of faith in action," David said.

"He has given the voice in the voiceless, hope to the grieving, and strength to the weak, embodying the heart of the Church's mission for justice, peace, and the sanctity of life," he added.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's Premier Prize and highest honor, is given to individuals and organizations whose Greatness of Spirit has transformed Asia and the world.

Joining him are Safeena Husain’s Educate Girls initiative from India, which has brought education to more than two million girls across 30,000 villages, and Shaahina Ali from the Maldives, who has led massive cleanups and recycling campaigns to combat plastic pollution in her island nation.

Villanueva founded St. Arnold Janssen (SJ) Kalinga Center in Tayuman, Manila, in 2015, a nonprofit organization for widows and orphans, and for the healing and rebuilding of the family members of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK).

Its Paghilom program extends to the exhumation of victims’ remains for cremation, with families’ consent, and the ashes are buried in more stable resting places.

"Since they lost their loved ones, usually their breadwinners, they are not able to afford to procure their private land or box to place their loved ones," Villanueva was quoted in an interview.

According to Villanueva, there were over 50 remains exhumed and cremated free of charge to the families since the beginning of the program in April 2021.

In February 2020, Villanueva was one of several Catholic Church leaders to stand trial on charges of conspiracy to commit sedition.

Villanueva was also the first Filipino to receive the Human Rights Tulip award from the government of the Netherlands, conferred through the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2021, for his defense of human rights via the Paghilom program of the SJ Kalinga Center.