Philippine Clergy Member Triumphs in Magsaysay Award for Antagonizing Duterte's Brutal Drug Enforcement Campaign

In the realm of social justice, two remarkable individuals, Rev. Flaviano Antonio Villanueva and Shaahina Ali, have made significant strides in their respective regions.

Rev. Villanueva, a Catholic priest ordained in 2006 and a former drug user, founded the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in the Philippines in 2015. The center provides food, clothing, and shelter to thousands in need, and also helps those who may have engaged in drugs and petty crimes to reclaim self-respect.

Villanueva's work has been instrumental in making girls and women visible in communities where they were expected to stay in the shadows. His efforts extended to locating the bodies of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects killed in Duterte's police-enforced crackdowns and raising funds for their proper cremation and burial. He also put up a memorial shrine for the victims to ease the plight of widows and orphans.

Despite facing death threats, Villanueva's dedication never wavered. His work was recognised with the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, Asia's version of the Nobel Prize, in 2021. Duterte's presidency ended in 2022, and in March 2023, he was arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for an alleged crime against humanity over the widespread killings of drug suspects.

Meanwhile, in the Maldives, Shaahina Ali, the third winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, founded Sea Savers Maldives in 2015. The organisation combats plastic waste in the Maldives and turns it into a resource for income generation. Ali's goal is to ensure that her grandchildren will see whales in the ocean in their lifetime, as she did growing up.

Ali started an anti-pollution project in 2015, turning waste plastic into a resource for livelihood. Her work has also extended to collaborating with the government to address climate change and sparking a marine movement rooted in community, science, and resolve.

In India, Safeena Husain established the Educate Girls foundation in 2007. The foundation focuses on communities with high illiteracy rates, starting in Rajasthan. It works to bring poor girls to schools in underserved regions of India, and has benefitted over 2 million girls across India, with a high retention rate.

Educate Girls brings unschooled or out-of-school girls into the classroom until they are able to acquire credentials for higher education and employment. The foundation's work has made a significant impact in empowering girls and women in India, providing them with opportunities that were previously out of reach.

Ali's group, Parley Maldives, has undertaken massive cleanups and information and recycling campaigns in the Maldives. Her efforts, like those of Villanueva and Husain, serve as a testament to the power of individual action in creating positive change.

Philippine Clergy Member Triumphs in Magsaysay Award for Antagonizing Duterte's Brutal Drug Enforcement Campaign