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Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva is one of this year’s three recipients.
Simply called Father Flavie, Villanueva is recognized for his work in restoring dignity to the poor and homeless, “daily proving with unwavering faith that by serving the least of their brethren, all are restored,” the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said in a press statement.
For Villanueva, helping the poor goes beyond simply providing food, clothing, and shelter. It means recognizing their human dignity, even through simple means such as giving them a bath. That respect extends to the departed whose families are too poor to give them a proper burial.
In 2015, Fr. Villanueva established the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in Tayuman, Manila, to provide holistic support for the poor and homeless. Its flagship programs reflect his integrated approach: KALINGA, which stands for Kain, Aral, Ligo, nang Umayos (Eat, Learn, Bathe, to be Well) offers meals, shelter, and hygiene facilities, while Paghilom focuses on emotional healing, restoring dignity, and helping families rebuild their lives.
In a media roundtable on Wednesday, Villanueva shared he was a former drug user at age 14 who hit rock bottom at 15. It was the kindness of others towards him that helped him decide to turn his life around.
“Just as there were people who doubted and judged, there were also people who encouraged, people who just popped out from nowhere and became angels, became inspiration, and propelled me that this is life, that there will be people who will judge me, there will be people who will condemn me even, but rest assured that there are also people who heaven sent to become guardian angels, agents of hope, agents of inspiration,” Villanueva said.
He added, “You could say that that addiction and getting healed from that addiction opened the gateways, opened my heart, and my arms to embrace the ministry of embracing, caring for the wounded, and encouraging them to become wounded healers like myself.”
It is his own personal story that compelled Villanueva to make it his life’s mission to help the homeless, the victims of social injustices, and other less fortunate people.
Villanueva said there was an “instant empathy” with the homeless “that drew me to look into their plight and to study their plight.”
“After research, prayers, and consultations, I’ve come to the conclusion that homeless people are the ones who are unrecognized and therefore, the most ignored people, sector in society,” Villanueva said. “For this, I decided to try to be part of their plight. And that has grown to what it is now.”
Villanueva likewise has empathy for the victims of social injustices, particularly the victims of extrajudicial killings.
“I believe that drug addicts are people in need of mental and healthcare,” he said. “Drug addicts, more than anything, need hope and care.”
Villanueva added, “They should not, on the minimum be pushed and more so like what happened to us, they should never be killed.”
“So given that, I told myself that the homeless are at the bottom of our society’s priorities, and then the EJK victims who have been pushed to the wall and have also been unrecognized, I would like to embrace them.”
For Villanueva, the Ramon Magsaysay Award “is not about me,” but about his mission.
“The greatest of spirit is a higher calling to what I am, my fellow staff in the office are doing, as well as the greater world reminding them that love has a face,” Villanueva said.
“[Love] is a verb, and that [means] ‘to care.’ And the output of [caring], because we are living in a fractured world, means to be a pathway of healing to the other person, or to my neighbor in particular,” he continued.
The Ramon M
