Poverty and the suffering that comes with it are difficult enough. But for billions of people around the world—and certainly millions in the Philippines—being poor has not only meant material privations, but also the loss of pride and dignity, access to justice, social services, and too often, the loss of hope and a sense of being human.

For one Manila-based, religious-missionary priest of the Societas Verbi Divini (SVD), helping the poor involves much more than providing food, clothing, and shelter. It means recognizing their human dignity—even through such simple means as giving them a bath, a surprisingly restorative and quintessentially Christian gesture. That respect extends to the departed whose families are too poor to give them a proper burial.

Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva or simply “Father Flavie” belongs to that breed of socially committed clergy for whom godliness is to be found not in the halls of influence and wealth but in the streets, among the poorest and the most forgotten. Nursing the physically and spiritually afflicted back into the mainstream of society has become his life’s work.

In 2015, he founded the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in Manila to provide “dignified care and service” to indigent and powerless citizens, serving thousands of marginalized Filipinos. These beneficiaries are people of all ages and backgrounds, including those who may have engaged in drugs and petty crimes. He believes they deserve a second chance at leading decent lives, regardless of their past. Kalinga works to recreate the poor’s self-image, reclaim their self-respect, and restore their self-worth.

In a remarkable twist of fate, their redemption and renewal are Villanueva’s own, for he himself was once a self-confessed drug user since age 14 until he turned around in 1995, volunteering as a lay missionary in Bicol. In 1998 he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 2006. Today, Villanueva draws on that incredible transformation to prove that even the most wayward and destitute can find redemption and renewal.

Villanueva also led the effort to locate the bodies of victims of the government’s “war on drugs” where thousands of Filipinos were summarily executed. Adding more pain to this injustice was the inability of the dead’s impoverished families to secure permanent graves for them. Addressing their plight, Villanueva mobilized resources to provide funds for the exhumation of the bodies for their cremation and inurnment, and relocation to a proper resting place. Dambana ng Paghilom (Shrine of Healing) is the first memorial columbarium in the country for victims of the drug war, where both the living and wounded souls can find respite and healing. Villanueva’s Paghilom program has not only brought comfort to widows and orphans, but has also allowed them to continue leading productive lives. “I felt a strong affinity with the widows,” Villanueva says. “They had lost their family’s breadwinner, and were desperate. The Center’s Paghilom program welcomed them, providing dignified, holistic care encompassing emotional and spiritual restoration.”

Expectedly, Villanueva’s prophetic and activist ministry attracted critical attention from authorities, and in 2020, he and ten other citizens, including another Catholic priest, were accused of sedition—a charge that was dropped in 2023, although the death threats never stopped. These experiences left Villanueva even more resolved to seek justice for the poor. Here again, he emphasizes that justice extends beyond the legal realm. “Justice can take many forms—among them, the recovery of one’s self-confidence, and forgiving oneself.”

Beyond preaching, Villanueva employed his management skills to undertake a needs analysis of his constituency—and he realized that the poor needed not just food but dignity. Following the late Pope Francis’ example, he initiated showers for the homeless as both a literal and symbolic act of cleansing, to prepare them for a fresh start in life. He had them pledge that “As I have been cared for, so shall I care for others with joy,” expanding the circle of Christian charity even further.

When lives were reduced to statistics, he stepped up, with his heart on his sleeve, offering not merely shelter and food to the marginalized but a sense of worth, and human connection long denied. With deep compassion and quiet defiance, he created spaces to rebuild what were unjustly erased by healing the broken, leading home the abandoned, and rekindling hope when it seemed all but lost.

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.

Good evening.

To the Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, to my fellow awardees, to my SVD family, and to everyone who believes that faith and justice can walk hand in hand—maraming salamat po.

When I first learned of this award, I simply grew quiet—and I realized, this honor was never about me, but about the many lives and hands that gave it meaning: the homeless man and woman who asked not for food but for dignity, the mother who searched for her son taken by violence, and the volunteers who show up each day with open hearts.

This honor belongs to them.

And so tonight, I receive this Award not as a prize, but as a voice for those who are often silenced.

For the countless voiceless victims of the war on drugs—at least eighty of whom are here with us today.

For the thousands of homeless still wandering the streets, seeking not only a meal, but a little mercy—those whose karitons have been kicked aside by power, and crushed under indifference.

And I receive it, too, for the countless defenders of human and environmental rights, who keep speaking the truth, even when truth demands everything of them.

Because when injustice persists, silence wounds the soul.

To stop the bleeding we need to start the healing.

To start the healing, we should continue asking the difficult questions:

• How many were truly killed?
• How come the perpetrators and killers are still at large?
• Who are the real people responsible of having blood in their hands?

I STRONGLY propose and support the creation of an EJK TRUTH COMMISSION.

Ano na ba ang ating sigaw?

Sobra na. Tama na. Ikulong na!

But behind these cries is not anger alone—it is love, wounded yet still alive. Behind this work is a story—one I proudly tell.

There was a time when I, too, was lost—a young man once touched by darkness, until mercy found me.

That encounter with mercy changed everything.

It restored in me the will to live, the courage to love again. From my own brokenness, I learned that healing is never one-sided—for in redeeming others, I, too, am redeemed.

Out of that grace was born a calling—and from that calling, the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center—where maligo becomes a sacrament, a meal becomes communion, and every act of care becomes a prayer.

In each bath becomes a sacrament, each shared meal becomes a communion, we reclaim not just the body, but the dignity that poverty tries to steal.

Ang Kalinga—hindi lang ito pangalan ng proyekto.

It stands for Kain, Aral, Ligo, ng Ayos— Eat, Learn, Bathe, to Live Anew.

Simple words that remind us: the Gospel is not only preached from pulpits, but lived out in basins of water, shared rice, and listening hearts.

It is here where the poor re-create their self-image, reclaim their self-respect, and restore their self-worth.

Through the years, I have walked with the forgotten—the homeless, the addicted, the families left behind by the drug war. I have seen mothers carry grief heavier than any cross, and yet whisper, “Salamat pa rin, Panginoon.”

I have witnessed how forgiveness can bloom where fear once ruled, and how God hides in those the world refuses to see.

Through Paghilom, we have seen how healing begins where justice once failed—among widows, orphans, and those told they no longer matter. When mercy embraces their sorrow, it becomes the justice that restores what violence has taken.

There were times when truth became dangerous, when mercy was mistaken for rebellion, and compassion was branded as defiance. But each time, I remembered what I tell our volunteers: “Hindi tayo tinawag para maging ligtas; tinawag tayo para maging tapat.”

We are not called to be safe—we are called to be faithful.

And when you walk with the wounded, you let their pain touch your own. But in those wounds, we meet Christ again—not in statues, but in the living, the broken, the brave.

And so I have learned that greatness of spirit is not about power or prestige, but about choosing—again and again—faith over despair, compassion over indifference, truth over fear, and always, Christ above all else.

Because hope is what the poor have taught me. They have shown me that dignity can rise even from the streets, that kindness is stronger than cruelty, and that love—when lived—is the only revolution that lasts.

A special message to the young who are listening: You may not all wear collars or habits, but each of you carries a calling.

Look around you—someone’s hunger, someone’s grief, someone’s silence—that is your altar.

You do not need permission to be kind; only the courage to begin.

Hindi tayo tinawag upang mamuno, kundi upang makibahagi.

We are not called to rule, but to accompany.

I dedicate this Award to those whose names may never appear on plaques or in the news—the families of the slain, the poor who still dream, the volunteers who choose compassion over comfort, and my fellow missionaries who believe that the Church must carry the scent of its people.

And to those who still doubt that goodness can win—look again. Every act of care, every moment of courage, is proof that light still breaks through.

Dilexi Te —“I have loved you.”

These are not just words from Scripture; they are the heartbeat of our vocation.

It is love that moves the hands that wash tired feet, love that opens the arms that keep embracing the rejected, and love that strengthens the hearts that keep believing that mercy will always be stronger than fear.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is not an ending, but a sending—not a medal to display, but a mission to renew.

A call to keep washing the tired feet of our nation, to keep rekindling hope where it was buried, so that by serving the least of our brethren—we may all be restored.

Muli, Maraming  maraming salamat po.

Maglakad po tayo sa liwanag—magkasama!

In a world torn and threatened by wars, the work of advancing and sustaining peace is an urgent imperative. It is also extremely difficult. The issues are complex and often intractable. But through time, conscientious peace-makers have forged and collected the vital tools of conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Women, in their gendered roles of settling disputes, healing, and nurturing, have risen to the task in many conflict-ridden communities. However, they have typically been left out of the decision-making processes that are crucial in ending wars and transforming the polity.

This is changing, albeit slowly. An exemplar in this shift is Miriam Coronel-Ferrer of the Philippines. Her impassioned engagement in political issues started in the late 1970s, when, as a student activist, she joined the resistance against martial rule. After the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship, Coronel-Ferrer felt the need to find peaceful resolutions to the many armed conflicts that continued to divide the country.

With other women peacebuilders, Coronel-Ferrer initiated the drafting of the Philippines’ first National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. The draft was eventually adopted by the government in 2010 as part of its commitment to the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The landmark document urges all member states to ensure the protection of women’s rights during armed conflicts, mainstream the gender perspective in peace keeping and peace building, and advance the role of women as peacebuilders at all levels.

In the same year, she joined the government panel tasked to negotiate with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), subsequently becoming its chief negotiator in the latter part of 2012. In this role, she was consistently focused and determined, humble but tenacious, and empathetic and open to the position of others. Soon, she earned admiration and respect for her analytical command of the issues and skill as a negotiator.

In 2014, the Philippine government and MILF signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), ushering the transition process that created the new Bangsamoro entity with a more empowered autonomous government. As crucially, the agreement also provided a process for the decommissioning of weapons and combatants and the transformation of conflict-affected areas into peaceful civilian communities.

The CAB has been described by international observers as a model for the integration of gender-responsive provisions and the inclusive participation of women and civil society organizations. Coronel-Ferrer sees this achievement more modestly: “There is no perfect agreement, but we make it more imperfect by leaving women out of the process.”

Coronel-Ferrer’s long-standing peace advocacy has gone beyond the country’s borders. She has since been invited to be part of international teams looking into the conflict situations in East Timor and Cambodia. She had provided support work for the peace programs of the Carter Center in its work on Sudan and Syria. In 2018, she became a member of the United Nations Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers, the only one from Southeast Asia so far. In her three years with the UN, she was deployed to support the mediation and preventive diplomacy work of UN missions in places like Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, the Maldives, and the ASEAN region.

In 2020, Coronel-Ferrer co-founded the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators, a pioneering group of women engaged in convening safe spaces for dialogues and supporting mediation initiatives in countries like Myanmar and Afghanistan. Today, this is her main work. In addition, she also sits as member of the board of trustees or advisory bodies of several key conflict resolution initiatives such as the International Crisis Group, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, the Harvard University-based Negotiations Strategies Institute, and the Peace Treaty Initiative.

“Conflicts,” she wisely observes, “are best resolved not through the annihilation of one party, but by the mutual transformation of all players towards a common vision and shared responsibilities and accountability.”

In electing Miriam Coronel-Ferrer to receive the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her deep, unwavering belief in the transformative power of non-violent strategies in peace building, her cool intelligence and courage in surmounting difficulties to convey the truth that it is through inclusion rather than division that peace can be won and sustained, and her unstinting devotion to the agenda of harnessing the power of women in creating a just and peaceful world.

It has been 35 days since the outbreak of the most horrendous war yet of the 21st century running its course before our eyes in Israel and Palestine.

Over 20 months of bombardments have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The year before that, the coup of Feb 2021 in Myanmar.

And long before these crises, in many parts of the world, occupiers lording it over other people, regimes using violence against their own.

More than 10,500 people have been killed in Gaza, 1,400 in Israel,—almost half, children. Hundreds of thousands have been forcibly displaced… In the West Bank, the killings are alarmingly spiking up.

In Ukraine, the death toll has reached 9,614 civilians with twice that number injured over the course of 19 months.

Since Myanmar plunged in a civil war with many fronts, an average of 130 civilians have reportedly been killed by junta airstrikes, shelling, gunfire, etc.

I thank the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation for giving me this platform to raise my voice of concern. To draw attention to the desperate need for us to wake up, and to push to find lasting solutions to these nightmares.

To affirm that, might is not right.

The Ramon Magsaysay Awards and its Transforming Leadership program, with its motto on the greatness of spirit, however, is not a platform of gloom. On the contrary, it is a platform to spread the message of hope….

Hope. A beautiful four-letter word pregnant with life’s meaning.

Hope that we find in the stories of efforts that have paved ways out of large-scale, longstanding political violence.

Through stories such as our Bangsamoro peace process. Not a perfect process nor agreement. A very slow one – 17 years of talks and by now 9.5 years of unfinished implementation.

Still, an example that bidding for peace through political negotiations can still produce comprehensive peace agreements, a scarcity nowadays.

An example that, through collaborative action and committed partnerships, a peace agreement can be sustained, and the governance infrastructure for meaningful autonomy, a reordering of the relationship between the national state and the substate created, not only to give life to the principles of the right to self-determination but also to engender more democratic, responsive, participatory politics within and among the Bangsamoro.

Of course, we know that this process will take time. It has to prevail over both conservative and extremist mindsets. It must consequently remove the guns from politics and everyday life. Most important, it has to tame the unruly behavior of the political class, and eventually produce transformative leadership in the next batches of leaders to come.

I thank the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation, its Board of Trustees (past and present), partners, and all those awardees who came before the four of us here because they are what this Foundation is all about.

I thank you for this encouragement to promote the stories of courageous women and men who never tired in building peace, every day, everywhere, for every person, one step at a time through peace and human rights education, mediation, humanitarian work, campaigns, and so on, in every imaginable and yet to be imagined ways. A good representation of them are here with us by the way, my fellow peace advocates.

I offer this recognition to them who keep the faith, the faith that it does happen that history, history will be written by the victors, where the victors are those from all sides who did not forsake our humanity but defended it.

Most important, I offer this to the many women in their communities, often ignored, often sidelined, but now empowered to believe in their own strength and capabilities, in no small way by being part of an evergrowing movement, a sisterhood of peacebuilders, mediators, negotiators, conflict preventers, and transformers.

I said it before and will say it again, sisterhood rocks.

It rocks for peace and justice.

Maraming salamat po.

Violence against children is a dark stain on our common humanity. It takes various forms that, for cultural, social, and economic reasons, are not always or fully recognized. Because the problem is often suppressed and unreported, a silent scourge that is not “seen,” it does not get the attention it demands. Child protection laws and safety nets are weak or non-existent; there is a lack of trained medical professionals and social workers; and dedicated health facilities and services are absent or inadequate.

In the Philippines, pediatrician BERNADETTE J. MADRID has devoted her career to ensuring that the problem is “seen” and fully addressed. Born to a family of professionals in Iloilo, Philippines, she studied medicine and pediatrics at the University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) and did a post-residency fellowship in ambulatory pediatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. The center’s Child Abuse Program opened her eyes to a problem that she and fellow Filipino doctors did not quite discern, though this was very much a part of daily reality in her home country, with its conditions of poverty, child labor, trafficking, and violence.

Upon her return to the Philippines, she tried to establish a Child Abuse Program in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, the country’s premier public hospital, but the program was short-lived for lack of support. MADRID returned to Iloilo, started a private practice, and seemed headed for a quiet, provincial career until she was called back to Manila in 1996 to head an emergency unit for abused children in PGH, at the insistence of UP Manila and American child protection crusader David Bradley and the Advisory Board Foundation (now CityBridge Foundation). In 1997, MADRID assumed as head of the PGH Child Protection Unit (PGH-CPU), the first such facility in the country.  She would in the next twenty-five years pursue an active, multifaceted career that would put her at the helm of what has been praised as “the best medical system for abused children in Southeast Asia.”

A one-stop health facility, PGH-CPU provides a coordinated program of medical, legal, social, and mental health services for abused children and their families. As of 2021, it has served 27,639 children. It became the axis of a national network of child protection units when the Child Protection Network Foundation, Inc. (CPN), a partnership of civil society, academe, and government, was established in 2002. As CPN executive director, MADRID has designed programs and engaged with family courts, schools, hospitals, local government units, community organizations, and policymakers in advancing the cause of child protection.

In partnership with UP Manila, PGH-CPU, CPN, Department of Health, local government units, and the private sector, the Network of Women and Child Protection Units (WCPUs) was formed. The network now consists of 123 WCPUs in sixty-one provinces and ten cities, which have served 119,965 children and adolescents and 30,912 women. The network has a total staff of 237 physicians, 199 social workers, and eighty-five police officers. As head of CPN, MADRID oversees and coordinates the network’s five areas of work: medical and psychosocial care, child safety and legal protection, a national program for training in child protection, a national network of WCPUs, and research for a national database on child abuse. It is multidisciplinary work that calls for MADRID to be all at once a doctor, educator, researcher, social leader, organizer, and advocate. She has pursued it with humility and strength grounded in faith. She says: “I feel that I was prepared to do this work. I was given the talent to do this and it has developed as I worked. That’s why I’m happy. It has become, for me, work that is God’s work.”

In electing BERNADETTE J. MADRID to receive the 2022 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her unassuming and steadfast commitment to a noble and demanding advocacy; her leadership in running a multisectoral, multidisciplinary effort in child protection that is admired in Asia; and her competence and compassion in devoting herself to seeing that every abused child lives in a healing, safe, and nurturing society.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude to have been selected to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award.  Thank you all so much for being here to share this momentous occasion with me. I am so honored to have my work recognized by Asia’s most prestigious award!

I was asking “Why me?”  I found more reasons as to why I am undeserving of this Award.  It is like the violin player receiving recognition on behalf of the whole orchestra…I am just one violin player.  The other members of the orchestra are here tonight and I share this Award with each one of them.  It is a recognition of our work.  Please stand up and take a bow.

Women and Children Protection Units in every province is the core work of the Child Protection Network Foundation. This year, The Philippine General Hospital Child Protection Unit is celebrating its 25th anniversary.  In the last 25 years, I have learned that there are no quick fixes, that we cannot do this alone, that we need the system to work and that we need ordinary people to do their job with purpose, compassion, and skill.

Unfortunately, I also found out that ending violence against children will not happen on its own.  We need to fight for it. It needs planning, commitment, resources, persistence, and leadership.  With it comes accountability.

There is no other cause where everyone in the country has a responsibility – starting with parents, schools, and communities. Universal parenting programs, safe schools, access to justice seem like common sense but they are not.

When we meet with leaders, they say protecting children is a nice issue and we will get there after we have solved this crisis or that crisis.  But violence against children is a crisis!  Children are fast becoming an endangered species and with them goes our humanity.  We can prevent violence against children and most importantly we know how.  We are stewards of this world and particularly of the children.  We are stewards of their soul.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award has made me realize how much people care and that I am not alone.

Can we count on you?

If we can, please stand up.  Place your hands on your chest and repeat after me

“Ako Para sa Bata!”  I am for every child.

I am humbled and appreciative.

Being an archipelago in the heart of the Coral Triangle, the global center of marine diversity, it is not surprising that the Philippines is one of the top fish-producing countries in the world. Yet, the tragic irony is that fishermen—particularly municipal fishermen, who constitute 85% of over 1.6 million people employed in the fisheries sector—are among the poorest labor groups in the country. Traditionally unorganized, small-scale, with meager assets and access to outside assistance, they have suffered over past decades as their life-sustaining resource, the marine environment, is severely degraded.

One 53-year old fisherman has broken the mold by leading his community in preserving the coastal environment that has been the life-source for generations of fishing families. He is ROBERTO BALLON (fondly called “Ka Dodoy”). His Visayan parents migrated to the village of Concepcion in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay province in Mindanao, when he was in his teens. KA DODOY knew the realities of diminishing fish harvests in once rich fishing grounds; how his father, like other village fishermen, would spend long hours at sea and come home earning barely enough to buy rice for the family. Poverty prevented KA DODOY from going to college; so he knew he would have to “go back to the sea.” Having started his own family, he had to take command of the situation he was in.

In 1986, DODOY and thirty other fishermen started Kapunungan sa Gagmay’ng Mangingisda sa Concepcion (KGMC), or Association of Small Fisherfolk of Concepcion. Seeing how rampant fishpond conversion was, and how the abandonment of these fishponds when the business collapsed had destroyed the mangrove forests, KGMC decided to focus on mangrove reforestation. With little help and meager returns (since the benefits of reforestation are not felt quickly), the association saw its members dwindle to just three but KA DODOY, the association chairman, persisted.

Their perseverance attracted government support, reaching a milestone in early 2000, when the fishermen were granted tenurial rights to the reforested land under a government forestry co-management program. The fifty hectares they replanted by 1994 had expanded to five-hundred hectares of mangrove forests in 2015. What was once a desert of abandoned fishponds is now an expanse of healthy mangrove forests rich with marine and terrestrial life. Fish catch has improved dramatically from 1.5 kg per fishing trip of eight hours to as much as    7.0 kg in three-to-five hours of fishing. The improvement in the fisherfolk’s quality of life has been evident in their ability to buy a boat engine or simple household appliances and send their children to school.

From a handful members in the 1980s, KGMC now has a membership of 320 households. The group’s success led to other projects. In partnership with the municipal government, KGMC members were deputized to conduct the local Bantay Dagat or Sea Patrol volunteer program, aimed at protecting municipal waters from illegal fishing and mangrove logging. They have also attracted partnerships with development institutions in livelihood and social enterprise projects like oyster production, shell and crab culture, and seaweed farming. KGMC’s initiatives have been replicated in other towns in Zamboanga Sibugay and even beyond. These and other changes have given new life to Kabasalan, now regarded as the seafood capital of the province and an ecotourism destination.

The key mover in this transformation is DODOY BALLON. His exceptional dedication to serving others and self-sacrificing leadership that puts the group’s interest before his own have transformed his community. When KA DODOY and his fellow fishermen were starting out and it seemed like there was no one to help them but themselves, he said: “Our families depend on the sea for our survival, not on politicians or other people, so it is only right that we make its protection our priority.”

In electing ROBERTO BALLON to receive the 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his inspiring determination in leading his fellow fisherfolk to revive a dying fishing industry by creating a sustainable marine environment for this generation and generations to come, and his shining example of how everyday acts of heroism can truly be extraordinary and transformative.

“Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start.” These words from Pope Francis in his encyclical letter – Laudato Si exemplify the choices I made and continue to make, as an ordinary fisherman – to dauntlessly see riches from ridges to reef and thereby choose to rise, to choose what is good, and to choose to make a new start. By God’s grace, standing before you at this moment, remind me of these humble choices that yielded fruits and even earned international recognition.

I am profoundly honored and pleased to be chosen as one of the Awardees of the most prestigious award in Asia, in honor of the legacy of the late Pres. Ramon Magsaysay. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I will be counted among the array of great community leaders to be recognized by the Foundation.

As a simple fisherman, I only have one desire for the community that makes me do what I have been doing: to offer myself to help provide a better environment, sustainable livelihood, and an empowered community to realize our vision and mission in life – that is, to have 3,8…agahan, tanghalian at hapunan, tatlong kainan in English, breakfast, lunch, dinner, so 3 eat.  If we have 3 eat, 3 meals in a day, I believe we would be content.

But more than this, I see a hunger that not even three full meals could satisfy.  Day after day, I see the need to strive for progress, to live a harmonious life propelled by a sustainable and equitable co-existence in the coastal vicinities of Zamboanga Sibugay. This has always been our aspiration as municipal fisherfolks together with our government and other stakeholders in preparation for a better and productive environment for the next generations.

Because of this Award, I am exceedingly grateful and hopeful that this platform could be a great mechanism to help our poor fisherfolk sector attain more leverage to sustainably manage our coastal resources. Through this stage, I am advocating my fellow fisherfolk in the entire archipelago that this initiative will not stop with this award but will serve as a vehicle to sail smoothly and navigate towards sustaining our natural wealth.

What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? Asks Pope Francis using the lenses of the same encyclical. Today and in the years to come, we respond to the daunting task of making the earth truly a home. To my fellow fisherfolks, let us help our government by keeping our coastal habitat protected and sustainably utilized.

1. Let us support our fishery program while being faithful to the laws and local policies that augment coastal measures in our pursuit for better production and environmental preservation.
2. Let us take heed of the environmental cries that continue to haunt us because of sheer apathy and personal interest resulting in environmental abuses which badly affects the poor.
3. Let us take the step of empathy because progress entails sacrifices and unity. If our government fails, we also fail. If our government succeeds we also succeed. However, let us also be vigilant to the developments that are offered…we don’t just exist and be lavished with what the world can render us but take the proactive step instead and see for ourselves what we can render to those who need us most.
4. Let us not hook our destiny with the ways and means that our government has for us. We are capable of shaping our own. We break the silence of each dawn with a noble purpose. Ours is not a passive waiting for whatever the government can do for us. Ours is the call to be proactive and thus help our government achieve its goal for the common good.

My fellow fisherfolk, it is not our government leaders who brave the waves and the storms to earn a good catch from the seas. While others just stand at the stretches of the coast, we find ourselves delving into the deep because we are confronted with much deeper and greater responsibilities.

This is where we earn a living. But beyond quenching this human need is the vocation to give life to our natural resources, to see life from ridges to reefs, and eventually bring life to our common home.

To our family in the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, I am deeply thankful that you have recognized, if I may say, the collaborative efforts that empowered poor fisher folks like us, and thus take our initiatives in a larger arena which now garners greater consciousness for the protection and conservation of our coastal environment. Thank you for making us realize that even the smallest efforts that we exert for such advocacies are not futile and never stupid. Convinced that we shall reap more bountiful harvests, we are able to see that all these are appropriate actions – most valid and ethical contributions that we can offer to our future generations.

Let me take this chance to render my sincerest appreciation to our community development workers on the ground who have always been my company even when the sail goes rough and perilous.

1. To the Local Government Unit of Kabasalan who has given support since 2001 in the protection of our municipal waters until now. The Office of the Municipal Agriculture despite having the least fund allocation never ceased to stir collaborative efforts with our fisherfolk organization and for cementing strong policy support in the Integrated Coastal Resource Management.
2. To the Provincial Government of Sibugay, national government agencies like the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the DA – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Department of Science and Technology, the Philippine National Police, and the Coast Guard for pushing us to reach our potentials and for supporting us in one way or another.
3. To all our able partners who have been my constant support, foremost to the Xavier Agriculture Extension Service Foundation of Ipil that honed my skill and talent in community development and coastal resource management.
4. To the various   Non-Government Organizations namely, the Forest Foundation Philippines formerly PTFCF, Condura, the Peace and Equity Foundation, AADC, AsiaDHRRA, RARE Philippines, PAKISAMA, HEED Foundation that funded our mangrove reforestation projects, strengthened our association, developed our leaders, and provided us functional technical knowledge and skills.
5. To the various academic institutions, the Ateneo de Zamboanga -School of Medicine, Xavier University, Ateneo de Cagayan, MSU – Naawan, UP Manila for providing us scientific results as basis for our local legislation and ongoing programs.
6. To my immediate community of Balungis, Concepcion, Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay, the KGMC and COMFAS for always believing in me, for tirelessly supporting me.
7. To our  Local  Church in the Diocese of Ipil for raising in me profound consciousness to be faithful despite our very poor condition, for molding my values since my youth to be a grateful and responsible steward of God’s creation.
8. Lastly and most importantly, I would like to thank my family — my parents and my siblings who raised me and taught to me fulfill my responsibilities as a leader; to my wife, Rebecca, and my eleven children, who are my source of joy and who give me strength and give light to the path I take every day.

Let me say it again, no matter how simple we are, we are capable of rising above our weaknesses, capable of choosing what is good, and ever capable of making a new start. May this crusade continue until we can achieve our goal of becoming successful and progressive Filipinos in the entire nation and to the whole of Asia and the world.

MABUHAY ANG MANGINGISDANG PILIPINO! DAMO GUID NGA SALAMAT SA INYO NGA TANAN!

In a country known for its rich musical culture and blessed with a surfeit of musical talent, to stand out as singular and indispensable is truly outstanding.  In the Philippines today such a musical leader is RAYMUNDO “RYAN” PUJANTE CAYABYAB.

Born in Manila, one of four siblings, RYAN’s father was a government employee, his mother an opera singer and music teacher. Though the family’s circumstances were modest, theirs was a home filled with music, particularly since his mother took in music students as boarders.  Everyone in the house seemed to be either singing or playing an instrument, and RYAN grew up listening to classical music, opera arias, and traditional native songs.  Heeding his mother’s admonitions to shun the musician’s financially unrewarding career, RYAN took up a business management course, but to help pay for his university studies he took on side jobs as pianist or accompanist for musical artists. The parents of one such artist were so impressed with his talent that they gave RYAN a full scholarship to pursue a degree in music instead.  From this point on, music would be his life-work.

Versatile, a consummate professional, and universally liked, RYAN CAYABYAB is virtually omnipresent in the Philippine music industry today.  For over four decades, his contributions as a composer, arranger, music director, conductor, performer, and educator have been huge.  RYAN started to write music in the late 1970s, making his mark when his signature song “Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika” (How Beautiful is Our Music) won the grand prize in the first Metro Manila Popular Music Festival (Metropop) in 1978 and in an international song festival in South Korea in the same year.  He went on to win in other competitions and performed widely in the Philippines and abroad.  As head and artistic director of the San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts, he acted as conductor, arranger, and composer of its award-winning Philharmonic Orchestra and Master Chorale.  Subsequently, he would be involved in training singers and music groups that have won significant national and international recognition.

At home in diverse genres and media—choral and orchestral works, musical theater, opera and ballet, television programs, film scores, commercial recordings of popular music—RYAN has influenced the shaping of Philippine music culture.  An instance is the role he has played in the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) movement to promote a culturally distinct, contemporary Filipino popular music.  The movement arose in the 1970s with the Metropop, continuing to this day with Philippine Pop Music Festival (Philpop).  RYAN has played a leading role in these and other festivals, which have been important in inspiring and promoting thousands of singers and songwriters in the country.

RYAN is driven by a passion to mentor, educate, and contribute to the flourishing of Filipino musical talent.  He has served in the music faculty of the University of the Philippines, runs a music studio with his wife, and has conducted free workshops for thousands of students all across the country. He is a moving force in the Philpop Musicfest Foundation and the Elements Music Camp, major initiatives dedicated to music training, promoting Filipino music abroad, and fostering Filipino cultural identity through music. Honored in 2018 as Philippine National Artist for Music, he was cited for his music that “extols the exuberance of life and human happiness, thus capturing the very essence of our Filipino soul.”

An inspiration and guiding light to many, RYAN says, “The next generation should be better than us for our country to move forward.  For this to happen we must teach them everything we know at every possible instance.  I like teaching, I like sharing what I know, and I like playing music.  When I’m doing all these, I’m very happy.”

In electing RAYMUNDO PUJANTE CAYABYAB to receive the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his compositions and performances that have defined and inspired Filipino popular music across generations; his indomitable, undeterred confidence to selflessly seek, mentor and promote young Filipino musical genius for the global stage; and his showing us all that music can indeed instill pride and joy, and unify people across the many barriers that divide them.

The first song I ever wrote was based on a poem I found in the notebook of a school mate. I was twelve years old and a freshman in high school.  I had no idea that this was the start of a creative music writing career. And even if my mother, an opera singer, dissuaded all her children to take up a career in music, it was here that I found my calling. Songwriters are chroniclers who write about their happiness, their sorrows, their surroundings, their country, their aspirations and anxieties. They mirror everything that happens around them, including socio-political changes in society, and write personal stories in the context of their milieu, in a language that transcends time and barriers.

When I was starting out as a teacher at the U.P. College of Music in Diliman, I realized immediately that this was what I would like to do: spend my life teaching music. Teaching all I know, to young musicians. My wife and I even started to operate a small music school, teaching non-degree courses in music performance and creative music writing just to feed a simple desire. A professional musician once asked me, “Aren’t you afraid that by teaching everything you know you are actually divulging trade secrets?”  Because of this remark it became even clearer to me why I wanted to teach. There really are no trade secrets; but even if there were, I would divulge them anyway.

Teaching can transform lives. I want everyone I teach to discover their maximum potential. I also want them to be better than me. And because I think this was the basic track that I wanted to take, I was able to influence many of my younger colleagues in the music industry to adopt the same vision: to enable the new generation of songwriters to be better than our generation, so that our music community can to move forward, and thus bring the entire creative music industry to new heights, and hopefully help the country to move forward by becoming leaders and songwriters of new music for the world to hear.

Another very compelling vision I share with many of my colleagues is this goal to make the Filipino public aware that our original music is not only a form of entertainment but a living tradition. It is the binding ‘glue’ that forms, strengthens and positively moves the Filipino community, thus rendering it vital and essential to keep on making, promoting and supporting Filipino-made music.  Moreover, it contributes to the vibrant music movement happening in the entire Asian region affecting the lives of its people.

Thank you for this honor bestowed upon me. Thank you to the board of trustees. I share this award with all my colleagues in the music industry who tirelessly give their time to help accomplish our goal of discovering and training future generations of creative songwriters; and to writing new works to contribute to the music literature of our country and of the world.

Poverty eradication. Indigenous people’s rights. Social justice. Peace building. Each of these issues involves complex aspirations, seemingly intractable conflicts, radical implications. All are interconnected, elusive, yet crucial to building a progressive, inclusive society. In the Philippines, no one private citizen has been as directly engaged in addressing all these issues as HOWARD DEE.

DEE was born to a middle-class Chinese family engaged in the lumber business. Living in Tondo, Manila, working in a lumber yard while a student, and raised in the values of frugality, hard work, and concern for the poor, DEE developed his social sympathies early. After his studies at Manila’s University of the East, he carved out a successful business career as shareholder and president of United Laboratories (Unilab), a pioneering local pharmaceuticals company. Even then, his interest in social work was evident, when in 1970 he helped establish Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), composed of business corporations, modeled after a Venezuelan initiative in which member-companies commit to donate 2% of their profits to social development. PBSP was a response to a deep political and economic crisis that would lead to the declaration of martial law in 1972.

This historical moment marked a crisis of conscience for DEE. He withdrew from Unilab; feeling that PBSP was “too little, too late,” he decided to commit himself wholly to the cause of social development. With Jesuit priest Francisco Araneta he founded Assisi Development Foundation (ADF) in 1975, a foundation that, invoking the saint who loved the poor and lived with them, seeks to “pursue peace through development with justice.”

Peace, development, and justice are the intertwined issues driving DEE and ADF. In over four decades of work, ADF has implemented 4,123 projects that have served 10.5 million Filipinos. It incubated ASA Philippines, established in 2004, that has become one of the largest, best-performing microfinance institutions in the country.  Working with the Catholic Church, ADF initiated Hapag-Asa, an integrated nutrition program that has fed 1.8 million children. During the period 1998-2002, DEE initiated a concerted response to life-threatening emergencies in Mindanao, southern Philippines, caused by drought and famine, people displaced in the armed conflict between Muslim separatists and the government, and the deportations of Filipinos from Sabah. Mobilizing a multisectoral task force of corporate, civil society, media, and church groups, the Tabang Mindanao (“Help Mindanao”) program provided over 2,000,000 families with food relief, shelter, water systems, farm support, and health and education assistance. Subsequently, ADF took up the cause of indigenous peoples (IP) rights through legislative advocacy, scholarships, leadership training, and IP development programs, like the innovative Pamulaan Center for Indigenous People’s Education in Mindanao.

DEE does not present himself as a “leader” but a “convenor” choosing to remain mostly invisible as he resolutely assembles people, institutions, and resources in addressing a societal problem. It is in this role that his impact has been far-reaching. He is a person who thinks strategically and works quietly but effectively, one whose dedication to social service and personal integrity are unquestioned. For this reason, he has been asked by government and civic leaders to lead peace-building and reform initiatives such as the National Peace Conference (1990-92), Social Reform Council (1993-95), Peace Talks with the Communist Party (1993-94), and the Bangsamoro Basic Law Peace Council (2015). That he did not shirk the challenge of facing the most intractable issues demonstrates his deep capacity for service. That he served five Philippine administrations in four different capacities shows the deep trust he enjoys across sectoral and party lines.

If DEE sees his many engagements as part of an integral whole, the work he does is also integral to the man. Deeply spiritual, DEE explains himself thus, “Loving others is an expression of being human. We can’t be human unless we are just.”

In electing HOWARD DEE to receive the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his quietly heroic half-century of service to the Filipino people, his abiding dedication to the pursuit of social justice and peace in achieving dignity and progress for the poor, and his being, by his deeds, a true servant of his faith and an exemplary citizen of his nation.

It is with a deep sense of profound gratitude, and unworthiness, that I receive this great and distinct honor, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2018. The accomplishments attributed to me, in truth, are not mine alone, but of many co-workers. We receive this Award on behalf of our Lord and Master for whom we work: the “Omnipotent One in Three”. He is our motivation and our inspiration, the source of our strength and the strength of our cause. All that we do is to follow His commands and do His holy will. Nothing is impossible for Him.

There are a number of people I wish to thank. First of all, my wife Betty and my family for their love, prayers and sacrifices to support and sustain my work. Then, I wish to thank the five presidents of the Philippine Republic who gave me their trust and the privilege to work for five administrations: their Excellencies, President Cory Aquino, President Fidel Ramos, President Joseph Estrada, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

There are many colleagues, associates and co-workers who gave me invaluable help in my social apostolate of 50 years. I wish to thank all of you: in public service, in the peace office, in foundation work and development agencies, local and international, for your dedication to the cause of the poor and for your work for justice, peace and development. Special thanks to our Catholic bishops, priests, religious and laity and to our Muslim brothers and indigenous peoples of the Philippines.

Some of you have written me: and I detect a general sense of discouragement and even despair during these difficult times. This is my advice: “Do not be discouraged. Do not despair. It is in the darkness that our lamps should be lit. It is in the darkness that we see the stars of heaven. The victory promised by our Blessed Mother at Fatima is near. Goodness and righteousness will triumph! Justice and peace will reign in our land.”

And finally, my heartfelt thanks to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for keeping alive the legacy of President Magsaysay’s greatness of spirit, so that “those who have less in life would have more in law.”

Mabuhay Ramon Magsaysay! Mabuhay Pilipinas, ang bayang magiliw! Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo!

Burdened by endemic poverty and a weak, corruption-ridden economy, the Philippines took a major shift in the 1990s when it pursued a policy of liberalized, export-led, globally competitive growth. A key component in this shift was the creation the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to revive the country’s export processing zones, replacing the earlier agency which had failed dismally in boosting export-oriented investments. PEZA was placed under the leadership of a career public servant who, in over twenty-one years, has built the organization into a showcase of successful regulatory reform, a model institution of honest and committed public service, and a key contributor to the nation’s economic growth.

This public servant was LILIA B. DE LIMA. Born in Iriga City, Camarines Sur province, and raised in a family of public servants, her upbringing instilled in her the imperatives of integrity and the ideals of public service. Trained in law, she pursued a career in government, serving in various senior assignments until in 1995, she was asked to serve as PEZA’s first Director-General charged with promoting and regulating foreign investments in the country’s economic zones. Her first challenge was to regain the trust of investors grown skeptical of the country’s institutional capability and political will to spur economic growth. And her performance was ultimately to be measured by how increased investor trust would be converted into actual gainful employment for Filipinos nationwide.

Bucking tremendous pressures and threats, Director-General DE LIMA single-mindedly pursued a program of reform: she determinedly halved the bloated 1,000-person bureaucracy she had inherited from a system of political patronage; she developed PEZA’s work culture into one marked by honesty, efficiency and—quite literally—one-stop, nonstop service. Putting the right systems in place and leading by strict and consistent example, she gradually transformed a failed agency into a model of transparent, productive, and customer-friendly efficiency, one that the World Bank has cited for demonstrating “best practices” in ecozone management worldwide.

Under LILIA DE LIMA’s leadership, PEZA enabled the rise of the Philippines as one of the region’s top investment destinations. Among the radical policies that made this possible were a shift from government-financed to private sector-led ecozone development; streamlined 24/7 PEZA operations to reliably service global locators; investor-friendly regulations, purposeful interagency partnerships, and strengthened relations with local governments in the ecozones. Defying conventional wisdom, she successfully encouraged existing locators to expand operations despite the volatilities of the global economy.

During her term, PEZA’s accomplishments have been nothing short of spectacular. The number of PEZA ecozones increased by 2,000%, from the initial 16 she inherited to 343 by 2016; the number of registered enterprises rose from 331 to 3,756; investments reached PhP 3 trillion; and ecozone exports totaled US$ 629 billion. Also during DE LIMA’s tenure, PEZA remitted to the national treasury PhP 16.6 billion in corporate income taxes and dividends, and paid off the PhP 4.6 billion debt of its predecessor agency. What is most deeply gratifying to DE LIMA, who is acutely aware of the urgency of the problem of joblessness, is that PEZA has generated, in direct and indirect employment, some 6.3 million jobs for Filipinos.

In a world where there is rampant cynicism and real pain about how governments function, examples of public servants like DE LIMA and her PEZA team are especially impressive. And yet, reflecting on her career, she says: “I cannot solve the problems of the world but if in my own little area I can make a difference, then I must make that difference.” For all workers in government, it is a credo to follow.

In electing LILIA B. DE LIMA to receive the 2017 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her unstinting, sustained leadership in building a credible and efficient PEZA, proving that the honest, competent and dedicated work of public servants can, indeed, redound to real economic benefits to millions of Filipinos.

I thank the Lord for this significant milestone in my life. Thank you most sincerely, Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation, for recognizing my work at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority or PEZA. Truly, this is a blessing to be awarded for work I enjoyed doing. My 21 years at PEZA was a privilege as it was a commitment. It gave me the opportunity to serve my country and help generate employment for our people. Thanks to the investors, who trusted in our capability to ensure that their operations can be set up at the soonest time and at the least cost undertaken with the PEZA hallmark brand of service—“One-stop shop, non-stop shop, no red tape, and no corruption.”

It wasn’t all a walk in the park. We inherited an extremely bloated bureaucracy. Trimming the fat by 60% was a long, torturous, and emotionally-draining process. It was the most bruising experience in my public career. Everything was thrown at me, but we did not waver and we cleaned up. As we strengthened the organization, we also instituted sweeping structural and policy reforms to remain competitive and address the ever-changing investment climate. All these paid off. PEZA gradually transformed into clean and efficient organization with highly-motivated, hardworking professional individuals. And I hope, I hope, they will continue to be so.

Our mantra from day one is absolute honesty and utmost service in all our dealings with our stakeholders. I am proud to have worked with my PEZAns, and with them I shared this award. I must likewise thank the investors—many of them I see here tonight.

The question most often asked is how I survived 4 presidents of different political persuasions and management styles. My answer is simple: Do your job with integrity and professionalism, and the bottomline will show it. It’s the best credential you can have and the only endorsement you will need.

But tonight, we honor the beloved president Ramon Magsaysay, who believed that a high and unwavering sense of morality should pervade all spears of governmental activity. I am reminded of his words of wisdom that remains as relevant today. And he said, and I quote, “I believe the president should set up the example of a big heart, an honest mind, sound instincts, the virtue of healthy and patience, and an abiding love for the common man. Guns alone are not the answer. We must provide hope for young peoples, for better housing, clothing, and food. And if we do, the radicals will wither away.”

Ramon Magsaysay has given us that heartbeat for humanity. What we have all been awarded for is in rhythm with the pulse that gleans towards what is right, what is just, what is good, and what is free to make ours a better world. This singular award, its salience and substance, and the precious memory it stands for, I shall forever treasure.

The power of the arts to raise awareness, shape identities, impel action, and change societies is a truth commonly acknowledged, yet it is not always evident. In the Philippines, no theater organization has been as committed and effective for so long in demonstrating this truth as the PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL THEATER ASSOCIATION (PETA).

Now on its fiftieth year, PETA was founded with the initial vision of creating a “national theater” in the Philippines. Working out of a theater in the old ruins of Intramuros, Manila, this non-profit organization rose to prominence with groundbreaking productions in Filipino, the national language, that were remarkable for their artistry and social relevance, at a time of resurgent nationalism and deepening political crisis in the country. After Martial Law was declared, PETA stayed active, together with other groups, in staging theater as a medium for protest and conscientization even under a dictatorship. By the time democracy was restored in 1986, PETA had built a fund of experience, knowledge, and skills to respond to new and continuing challenges, staying true to its vision of a “people’s theater” directly engaged with the realities of the time.

PETA has grown way beyond its early traditions as a theater company. It is today an integrated, people-based cultural collective engaged not only in performance but also in training, curriculum development, national and international network building, and mobilizing communities using a participatory approach that is rooted in local culture and responsive to real issues in the larger society.

Operating as a collective of “artist-teachers,” and now with its own permanent home in the PETA Theater Center, PETA’s major units include Kalinangan Ensemble, its repertory and performing arm; the School of People’s Theater engaged in year-round training and community development; and a Special Programs unit that undertakes specific advocacies, ranging from women’s and children’s rights and the plight of domestic and overseas workers, to environmental protection, reproductive health, and electoral reform. Focused on the trifold goals of artistic excellence, holistic education, and social development, PETA has fostered people’s creativity in combining the traditional and contemporary; infusing this creativity into the pedagogical practices of the country’s schools; and advancing a people’s development agenda by empowering communities and releasing their creative energies to effect positive social change.

Two sterling examples illustrate the range and diversity of PETA’s development engagements. From 2005 to 2010, PETA took the lead in the Greater Mekong Sub-region Partnership, which mobilized, mentored, and supported a host of performing artists from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern China to effectively undertake advocacy-through-the-arts on issues that included gender, health, sexuality, and HIV-AIDS. Then in 2013, working with local partners in the immediate aftermath of super-typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda’s devastation, PETA launched the bold initiative Lingap Sining (Nurturing Through the Arts), a culturally-grounded, participatory program in Leyte province that creatively harnessed the arts in interventions ranging from emergency relief and psychosocial debriefings to disaster preparedness training and the building of more resilient, DRR (disaster risk reduction)-ready communities.

Over five decades, PETA has produced 540 original, translated, or adapted plays, reaching an audience of close to a million across the nation and abroad; it has helped form more than three hundred community-based culture collectives; and conducted training workshops that have involved 4,650 artists, school teachers, community leaders, and development workers. Still, these “artist-teachers” remain clear-eyed and steadfast about the future; PETA president Cecilia B. Garrucho asserts, “Our vision is to have a nation of fully-actualized citizens, creative, and able to find a way, a solution, even when it seems like there is none.”

In electing the PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL THEATER ASSOCIATION to receive the 2017 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes its bold, collective contributions in shaping the theater arts as a force for social change, its impassioned, unwavering work in empowering communities in the Philippines, and the shining example it has set as one of the leading organizations of its kind in Asia.

(The response was delivered by PETA President, Cecilia B. Garrucho)

In 1967, PETA staged Bayaning Huwad, a Filipino translation of Virgina Moreno’s The Straw Patriot, directed by PETA founder Cecile Guidote. For me, as a young person then, the play was a powerful lesson about Philippine history and heritage. It was my very first time to watch a play where the actors spoke in Filipino. I sat there overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of our own language. I remember asking, how have I become a total stranger to my language and to my culture? That play changed the entire direction of my life. I felt that, as a Filipino, I have finally come home.

Inspired by the play, I joined PETA. We were taught very early on that whatever we learned as artists, we were to share by teaching others, especially non-theater people. We were to use our art to serve. We went in small teams to barangays all over the country. The purpose was always to draw out the creative power of ordinary folk – women in poor communities, students and public school teachers, child workers in sugarcane fields, farmers, workers, and fisherfolk. It didn’t matter whether they were literate or not. The PETA workshops’ main goal was to give people the creative tools to be able to tell their stories that tackled ways to solve their common problems that would bring about healing from trauma and that spoke of their dreams and aspirations.

As actors, we would bring the stories of the people we met to life on stage so that their voices could be heard. It was then that I finally came to understand the power of theater to transform lives, both mine and of others. I tell my story of personal transformation simply because it is a most common one. PETA’s other artist-teachers have similar stories to tell. These inspired them to embrace a vision larger than themselves, to use theater to help transform the lives of people.

So, armed with this commitment, the artist-members plunged into years of trailblazing work, adding more productions to PETA’s list of original plays. Collaborating with many sectors, PETA developed and refined its pedagogy of people’s theater. This we shared with groups across the country, with our partners in the Mekong Region and Asia, as well as with migrant Filipinos and many other groups in Europe, North America, and Australia.

Fifty years have passed. We continue to do what we do because with the stories we discover in the communities, we see potential for a better society to be realized. With every play we put on stage that inspires young people to reflect, to ask questions, to give way to imagination, understanding, and insight, we see the possibility of a generation of Filipinos who could embrace the task of building a better future for our society.

And because theater is an art that involves so many, allow us to thank those who contributed to our cultural work throughout PETA’s 50 years. We remember our members and staff who have passed away. We thank all the PETA alumnae, current members, and staff, many of whom are here with us tonight. Please stand to be acknowledged. We thank our board of trustees, past and present. Our many partners – too many to mention, but they know who they are – who understood and supported our work. Our appreciation also goes to Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, PETA visionary and founder. And we share this award with all theater groups, who, despite limited resources, keep theater alive in this country. Most of all, we deeply thank the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for recognizing that arts and culture have an important role to play in building a nation.

This award inspires us to create more stories for our people, so that through the power of theater and arts, we can move forward with hope to create a just, peaceful, and inclusive society. Maraming salamat po.

The Philippines is reputed to be one of the countries in the world where government corruption is highest, where large state resources are diverted to private gain and corruption is so “normalized” as to corrupt public morality itself. Since 1950, government has had a series of anti-corruption bodies. Weakly institutionalized, lacking in will, and often corrupted themselves, the record of these bodies has been dismal. The creation of the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) in 1987 was to be a major step in the anti-corruption campaign, yet again failed to live up to its promise. The justice system is extremely sluggish; cases have mostly involved low-level officials and employees; and public confidence in government’s resolve to root out corruption is practically non-existent. This was the daunting challenge that CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES faced when she was appointed Ombudsman in 2011.

Born to a family of lawyers, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer herself, and pursued the dream in impressive fashion: passing the bar in 1969, working in the Department of Justice, becoming a regional trial court judge, a justice in the Court of Appeals, and finally a Justice of the Supreme Court. Through her long career, she demonstrated the qualities of the quintessentially good public servant: professionalism, competence, integrity, and equanimity in the face of difficult challenges. She set a standard for herself when she said: “The most difficult case to decide is the most fulfilling achievement. However you decide it, you come to a certain point that you think will spell the difference.”

She brought these qualities to her work as Ombudsman. In her strict, scrupulous style, she professionalized and upgraded OMB’s capabilities; revolutionized its anti-corruption program to include the designation of deputy ombudsmen for environmental concerns and for investment-related problems; and improved its responsiveness to calls for public assistance. Setting a target of zero backlog in the investigation or adjudication of cases and disposition of all requests for assistance, the backlog has already decreased and she expects to hit the target by 2018. She raised the independence and quality of OMB’s fact-finding investigations, evidence build-up, prosecution strategies and case management to ensure that meritorious cases are not sabotaged, withdrawn, or dismissed. The results? From 2011 to 2015, the conviction rate of cases handled by OMB before the Sandiganbayan rose from 33.3 percent to 74.5 percent.

She prioritized the filing of cases against high-ranking officials, sending the strong signal that OMB is earnest in its anti-corruption campaign. Under her leadership, OMB has boldly imposed strict administrative sanctions on high officials, filing cases against a former president; a former vice-president; incumbent senators, congressmen, and governors. She is the first Ombudsman to use the waiver in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (required of government officials and employees) as basis to secure bank records in impeaching one of the country’s highest officials.

Recognizing that corruption is not just a matter of persons but systems, she took the initiative in creating an integrity management-based program that mobilizes government agencies and the public and addresses the lack of strategy and direction in the overall anti-corruption campaign. She advocated the passage of legislation to strengthen the OMB’s investigative, disciplinary, asset recovery, and preventive powers. All these are part of her resolve to go beyond political tokenism by establishing the framework of an effective anti-corruption campaign.

Her work is unfinished, and the challenge is not hers alone; but already she has radically improved the efficacy and credibility of OMB, and has shown the way towards a more coherent, concerted action against corruption. Unfazed and quietly determined despite death threats, MORALES, now 75 years old, does not sensationalize her efforts and always works within the law even as she pushes its limits. She is, quite simply, an inspiring public servant.

In electing CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES to receive the 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her moral courage and commitment to justice in taking head-on one of the most intractable problems in the Philippines; promoting by her example of incorruptibility, diligence, vision and leadership, the highest ethical standards in public service.

I would like to extend my profound thanks to the Foundation for this honor.

Please allow me to break tradition by reading a letter to my grandchildren who call me Grand C:

Dear Ennio and Cece,

Grand C has just received this prestigious recognition.

I am often asked why and how I continue to work. I will now tell you my secret: I draw inspiration and energy from you. I continue working because I want to secure a just and honest society for you and for every Filipino child.

When I retired from the Supreme Court five years ago, I was ready to play the role of a doting grandmother. Called upon to help ensure a better future for our children, over the opposition of those who thought that gender and age were not in my favor, I did not shrink from this responsibility. Because the stark reality is that there are millions of other grandchildren who are being robbed of a bright future by those consumed with greed and lust for power.

This award proves the skeptics wrong. Indeed, gender and age are irrelevant in this crusade, the primary qualification being unassailable integrity, earned through consistent application of the rule of law. I pray that you —and all young Filipinos —imbibe the same moral value and pass it on to the next generation.

Today, we also celebrate the life of President Ramon Magsaysay. In school you will learn that President Magsaysay steered the Philippines to its golden years, his tenure being one of the cleanest and most corruption-free in the history of our country. We should look back to this glorious past as guiding light in our search for leaders of the same persuasion. Children should never lose faith. Children should never lose hope.

Please pray that Grand C and her colleagues at the Office of the Ombudsman will win the fight against corruption. Without the continued support of other stakeholders and most importantly, the family, it will remain an uphill battle.

Thus, I am accepting this award on behalf of my colleagues at the Office for their perseverance in carrying out our constitutional mandate as protectors of the people. I am also accepting this recognition on behalf of all anti-corruption advocates including journalists, civil society workers and good governance volunteers who complement the work of the Ombudsman. They are the real heroes in the fight against corruption.

I hope that our shared crusade results in succeeding generations of Filipinos who will not allow corruption to tear at the protective mantle of the rule of law, the anchor of our democracy. But it is up to us to stay safely anchored, or drift into the dangerous currents of anarchy. It is up to us to earn the distinction of being a society that lives by the credo of President Magsaysay that “those who have less in life should have more in law.”

Ennio and Cece, as you go to bed tonight, know that your grandmother is optimistic that your tomorrow will be a better day.

In a time that has seen nations violently torn apart by ethnic and religious wars, it is important to be reminded of the healing power of the arts in showing that while culture is what makes people of various ethnicities, religions, and nationalities distinct, it is also culture that connects them in the awareness of a shared humanity that is enriched by such differences.

This truth lies at the heart of the lifework of LIGAYA FERNANDO-AMILBANGSA. Born to a prominent Catholic family in Marikina, Metro Manila, FERNANDO-AMILBANGSA had always loved dance and the arts. A turning point in her life came when she married a schoolmate and moved to his home in Sulu where, in the next three decades, she immersed herself in the rich cultural life of the Muslim South. In the midst of the region’s secessionist and insurgent conflicts, she turned her love for the arts into a vocation as cultural researcher, educator, artist and advocate of the indigenous arts of the southern Philippines, particularly the Sulu Archipelago.

Her signature involvement has been the study, conservation, practice and promotion of the dance style called pangalay (“gift offering,” or “temple of dance” in Sanskrit), a pre-Islamic dance tradition among the Samal, Badjao, Jama Mapun, and Tausug peoples of the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. A highly intricate and expressive dance of many variations, traditionally performed in weddings and other festive events, pangalay has the richest movement vocabulary of all ethnic dances in the Philippines and is the country’s living link to the ancient, classical dance traditions elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Fascinated by its beauty and recognizing its importance in the cultural heritage of the Sulu Archipelago and the entire Filipino nation, she was saddened to see that pangalay was becoming a marginalized tradition. Thus she committed her life to patiently documenting the dance and its allied expressions; teaching the dance using a method she personally developed, promoting it by choreographing and organizing performances, and making it known to the world through her lectures, performances, and writings on pangalay and the visual arts of the Sulu Archipelago.

Working mainly in an individual capacity and using her own personal resources, she inspired the formation of performing arts groups, networked with dance scholars and practitioners in Asia, and presented both traditional and innovative pangalay choreographies in and outside the country. Moving back to Metro Manila in 1999, she formed the AlunAlun Dance Circle (ADC) and lent her own home for a dance studio—to study, teach, and perform pangalay and other traditional dance forms. The group has since done hundreds of performances and workshops throughout the country.

For FERNANDO-AMILBANGSA, traditional dances like pangalay are not museum pieces but something to be nurtured as a living tradition that grows as societies change. Thus she has innovated with pangalay performances done to modern music, conveying contemporary themes like women’s rights and environmental conservation. Yet she has always stressed that art must stay rooted in the basic values that humanize—beauty, grace, a disciplined spirituality, and harmony with nature and fellow humans. “Without looking to the past,” she says, “something really new cannot be created.”

In electing LIGAYA FERNANDO-AMILBANGSA to receive the 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her single-minded crusade in preserving the endangered artistic heritage of southern Philippines, and in creatively propagating a dance form that celebrates and deepens the sense of shared cultural identity among Asians.

As a youngster in 1954, I shook hands with a smiling, tall, gentleman. He was Ramon Magsaysay, the popular third president of the Republic of the Philippines. I imagine that that handshake more than half a century in advance was a prelude of this stunning event, with me as a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Two decades later in 1975, the Tambuli Cultural Troupe, which I founded the year before, performed on this Main Theater stage, in celebration of Philippine Independence Day. The troupe performed again at the CCP in 1976 at the Little Theater, in conjunction with the first Tawi Tawi Arts and Crafts Exhibits, which I organized. The goodwill performances were simply magical for me and the young dancers from the Sulu College of Technology and Oceanography, a unit of the Mindanao State University in Bongao, Tawi Tawi. Our cultural activities during those Martial Law years served as a unifying force, and painted a favorable image of the Tausug, Samal, Badjaw, and Jama Mapun peoples of the Sulu archipelago. Thankfully, my work gained momentum, inspired by the countless native co-workers whose cooperation enabled me to document their artistic heritage of which every Filipino can be proud. Two National Artists for dance also inspired me: Leonor Orosa-Goquingco and Francisca Reyes-Aquino, herself a Ramon Magsaysay Awardee in 1962.

What else can a cultural worker say while savoring this moment of magic with deepest feeling? Not much, except to emphasize the importance of keeping alive the folk artistic expressions that link us to our past and to one another, and to the rest of Asia and the world. I appeal for renewed efforts to develop a sensible program for dance education and conservation of indigenous dance forms, and to provide facilities conducive to the well-being of dancers. Allied to this, I appeal for more assistance and other incentives for academic research and publication. I wish more government and private institutions in the Philippines would be sincerely responsive to the plight of researchers and authors who need funds—more than sympathy—to carry on with their work. Their findings will enable others in the cultural sector to teach and write better, conserve, create, and innovate for the greater glory and growth of artistic traditions in the Philippines.

Of special interest are living artifacts or records of the past like pangalay, also known as igal or pansak—a dance tradition that affirms our cultural affinities. To see beyond the authentic nature of pangalay is to see the essence of Filipino ancestry: artistically refined, dignified, and profound.

Safeguarding an artistic tradition like pangalay goes beyond sharing its beauty and versatility through changing times. It is promoting respect for tradition which is vital to national identity and unity. A fast-changing world with unstoppable growth patterns needs the silent eloquence of an ancient symbol like pangalay or igal residing in a moving body to express what it feels than what it sees. Respecting such symbols can contribute to the greatness of the Filipino nation.

Honorable trustees, thank you very much. Fellow cultural workers, I share this recognition with you. Mga kalasahan ku, mga bagay ku, mga kakampungan ku, magsarang sukud tuud makaan kamimun. Mabuhay!