Catholic priest Flaviano Antonio “Flavie” Villanueva, known both for his ministry to the poor and for speaking against former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, has been named one of the three laureates of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.
The announcement was made on August 31, the birth anniversary of the late Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay, in whose honor the award is named and widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize of Asia.”
The award-giving body praised Villanueva for his commitment to restoring dignity to the marginalized. “In electing Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva to receive the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his lifelong mission to uphold the dignity of the poor and the oppressed, daily proving with unwavering faith that by serving the least of their brethren, all are restored,” the citation read.
Villanueva, a member of the Society of the Divine Word, founded the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in Manila to provide care for the homeless and later launched Program Paghilom to support widows and orphans left behind by the drug war. Himself a former drug addict, he was once charged with conspiracy to commit sedition over the viral “Bikoy” videos implicating Duterte’s family but was acquitted in 2023 for lack of evidence.
Accepting the honor, he dedicated it to those on society’s margins: “I accept this honor on behalf of all the homeless people in search of a fraction of space in the street to call ‘home’ and on behalf of the courageous widows and orphans victimized by the ‘war on drugs.’ Their resilience from the ashes of injustice, poverty, and impunity is a stark revelation that from a fractured world, a beautiful spirit and person can arise.”
Other honorees this year include India’s Educate Girls, the first Indian organization to be recognized for its work in promoting education for rural girls, and Maldivian environmentalist Shaahina Ali for her advocacy in ocean conservation.
Now in its 67th year, the Ramon Magsaysay Awards has honored more than 300 individuals and organizations across Asia, including 13 Catholic priests whose lives were dedicated to social justice and service.
