Fr. Flaviano Villanueva’s Journey from Drug Abuse to Healing the Addicted

Ramon Magsaysay’s grandson Paco Magsaysay, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Edgar O. Chua - Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

"Natutuhan kong kilalanin ang Bulsa ng Pangarap, Kutitap ng Pagasa.”

“I learned to recognize the Pocket of Dream, the Glimmer of Hope.” Edifying words that came not from the lips of a makata, a poet, but from the heart of an inspired man of the cloth.

A self-confessed drug user from age 15, Flaviano Villanueva was into the “substance” even after graduating from college and joining the corporate world. He finally sought help when he hit rock bottom.

“Alone for days fighting the demon of addiction with its chills, tears, and fears,” he found a balm for his deepest wounds during a solo retreat at the Munting Bukal in Tagaytay City. “Every day I would be in front of the Blessed Sacrament, just by myself, contemplating, crying, and just pouring myself out.”

This was where he learned to divine the Pocket of Dreams, the Sparkle of Hope. It was his road to redemption.

It seemed natural that he found himself entering the seminary, was ordained a priest, and became a religious-missionary priest of the Societas Verbi Divini Society (SVD) in 2006. He was appointed to lead of the office of the Justice and Peace Integrity Commission in 2014.

In honoring Fr. Flavie, the Magsaysay Award Foundation said he belongs to the 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.

Not surprising for one who was born on December 17, 1970. His birthday falls on the same day as the Pope of Mercy and Compassion–Pope Francis.

Fr. Flavie didn’t just interact with the homeless; he immersed himself in their street habitat where they swapped stories and begged for alms. Seeing them as human beings, he strove to elevate compassion–he realized that it was not enough to give them bread, but to provide them with dignified care.

This led him to launch the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in Manila in 2015 to provide “dignified care and service” to indigent and powerless citizens, serving thousands of marginalized Filipinos.

“From my own brokenness, I learned that healing is never one-sided — for in redeeming others, I, too, am redeemed.”  

The center welcomed 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.”

This mission is encapsulated in the concept of Kalinga – Kain-Aral-LIgo-naNG umAyos.

The word becomes flesh. A facility was built in the Catholic Trade premises where the homeless are treated to good buffet food, with sinandomeng rice instead of a cheap variety, and with proper dishes and utensils. But they have to be bathed first to be clean when faced with food that God provided.

Some of them were skeptical at the start, asking “Who are you?” There was the issue of trust. Some also refused to take a bath. Life in the streets had robbed them of the dignity of being clean; but they were eventually receptive. Bathing is both a literal and symbolic act of cleansing, to prepare them for a fresh start in life.  

“Maligo becomes a sacrament, a meal becomes communion, and every act of care becomes a prayer.”

Despite the many challenges, Fr. Flavie embraced the job. He recalls a street boy who was so dirty that the soap and the water from the shower turned black! The boy didn’t know how to bathe; so, he had to bathe him. When he refused to clean his toenails Fr. Flavie did it too. “For some reason, I felt someone pulling me down, and I was the one who scrubbed his feet.” 

Fr. Flavie’s experience caring for the homeless changed his views about poverty; their needs and wants became clearer. “We give the best to the poor because they have been ignored too much. I am thankful that they showed the way to my mission.”

“The Gospel is not only preached from pulpits, but lived out in basins of water, shared rice and listening hearts.”  

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Fr. Flavie’s Paghilom program seeks to provide them with the tools to rebuild their lives after being stigmatized by the drug war and left without any means to move on.

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Asked where he gets his emotional strength: “God is with me all the time. I have learned that prayer is a lifestyle, learning to look at things, how would God do things.” Looking back to the tokhang (extrajudicial killings of drug users) years, he adds, “and from the poor who withstood harassment.”

Villanueva was recognized for his work as cofounder of the Paghilom (healing) program, a Church-based support group that works with families of victims of extrajudicial killings, allowing them to find a safe space to cope with grief. It seeks to provide them with the tools to rebuild their lives after being stigmatized by the drug war and left without any means to move on. 

The government of the Netherlands recognized his accomplishments with the Human Rights Tulip Award, the first Filipino to earn the honor, for his work as a human rights defender, especially in line with his initiatives for families who had lost loved ones.

Father Flavie was bestowed the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 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.”

As he accepted the Award, Fr. Flavie pulled out a long list of EJK victims, saying,

“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.”

He explains the motivation for his advocacies: “The world is in a mess, chaotic. Subukan naman natin humanap ng paraan para mangalinga ng may dangal sa mga sugatan sa paligid (Let’s try to find ways to give dignified care for the wounded around us). Caring without expecting anything in return. At kasabay ng pagkalinga, dignified care, sabay sa paghilom natin sa mga sugatan (And together with care is healing for the wounded).

That way, we also heal our communities and hopefully, our wounded nation.

“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. Lastly, I’m trying to see myself as a spoon in God’s hand.”

Here is Fr. Flavie’s Ramon Magsaysay Award acceptance speech:

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Manuel Hizon is Manila-based communications specialist

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