By Raine Nakpil
RAMON Magsaysay Award Foundation chairman Edgar Chua set the tone for this year’s celebrations with the words, “There is hope.” The hopefulness was not just a slogan, but a testament to work done with persistence and purpose; and to dignity restored, classrooms reopened, and oceans cleared of plastic pollution.
On its 67th edition and carrying the theme, “Illuminating our future,” the Ramon Magsaysay Awards showed that change was built not merely on pronouncements but on optimistic action.
The morning began with solemnity at the Ramon Magsaysay Center. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at the statue of former president Ramon Magsaysay, whose legacy continued to shape Asia’s premier awards show. Members of the Magsaysay family were in attendance.
This year’s laureates confronted urgent issues such as gender inequality, poverty, and ecological decline. Their work reaffirmed the Ramon Magsaysay Awards’ long-standing message: Asia’s greatness lay not in power but in service.
Founded in 2007 by Safeena Husain, the Foundation to Educate Girls Globally has mobilized thousands of local volunteers, collectively called Team Balika, which has gone door-to-door to bring out-of-school girls back into classrooms. These initiatives have resulted in millions of children being reached, in communities being reshaped, and in girls being equipped to lead.
The first female professional diver from the Maldives to be recognized by the Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation, Shaahina Ali was cited by the judges for “her unwavering commitment to protecting the marine ecosystem of the Maldives with passion, vision, and inclusivity.” What began as beach cleanups became a national movement that phased out single-use plastics, revived marine habitats, and drove innovation in environmentalism.
Fr. Flaviano Antonio Villanueva was honored by the judges for “his lifelong mission to uphold the dignity of the poor and the oppressed.”
In 2015, Father Flavie founded the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in Manila. Its program KALINGA, which stood for Kain, Aral, Ligo naNG umAyos (nutrition, education and cleanliness for orderliness), offered food, hygiene, and shelter while its other program, Paghilom, aided families in rebuilding their lives.
The Ramon Magsaysay Awards remained both a ceremony and ongoing conversation about what it means to uphold Asia’s living tradition of conscientious excellence.
This year’s laureates met the call of the present with care and conviction. As the clamor for flood control and disaster preparedness grew louder, as schools still struggled to service the underserved and unserved, and as poverty persisted, their ongoing work offered both urgency of action and clarity of direction.
On Nov. 7, 2025, the Ramon Magsaysay Awards would be staged at the Metropolitan Theater in Ermita, Manila and livestreamed worldwide.
This year’s awards show theme underscored one shining lesson: palpable change was within grasp if leaders held up a light for others. The hope for change began with illuminating acts that shimmered outward until they enlightened societies.
Such was the legacy of Ramon Magsaysay that was reflected not merely in monuments but in living testimonials shaped by service and tested by time.
