A Catholic priest who helped file plunder charges against Vice President Sara Duterte said he would not be silenced by online attacks, saying truth, accountability and service define his vocation.
Divine Word Fr. Flaviano “Flavie” Villanueva thanked priests, bishops, religious and lay supporters, saying their solidarity was “not a defense of myself, but a reminder of what truly matters.”
He said his priesthood was never about protecting a reputation but about accompanying people who suffer, are forgotten or whose dignity is easily dismissed.
Addressing criticism of his past, Villanueva said he never hid it and spoke openly about “a life that has been changed, healed and offered back in service.”
The priest has publicly acknowledged past illegal drug use, saying his story shows addiction can be overcome, lives rebuilt, and that murder never heals and violence never restores dignity.
Since 2015, he has led the St. Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center in Manila, serving the poor and homeless and sheltering widows and orphans of the deadly anti-drug campaign.
Through its “Paghilom” program, the center provides emotional healing, psychosocial support and livelihood training, helping families rebuild despite trauma and loss.
“I do not claim moral superiority. I claim only responsibility,” Villanueva said, adding that standing with grieving families, helping the homeless and restoring dignity to the dead are not political acts.
Villanueva recently received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called Asia’s Nobel Prize, for his ministry among the poor and victims of the drug war.
“If my story means anything, it is only this: that no one is beyond redemption, and no wound is too deep for God’s mercy” he said.
Villanueva and another priest, Fr. Robert Reyes of the Diocese of Cubao, recently joined complainants in filing a plunder complaint against Duterte over alleged misuse of 612.5 million pesos in confidential funds.
READ: Priest dedicates prestigious Magsaysay award to drug war victims | Priest who aids drug war victims named Ramon Magsaysay Awardee
He acknowledged that speaking about truth and accountability can unsettle some, but warned that “healing without truth remains incomplete.”
“Silence in the face of suffering is not neutrality,” Villanueva said.
Rejecting retaliation against personal attacks and insults, he said he entrusts himself to prayer, Church discernment and “the slow, often difficult work of justice.”
“Please continue to pray for me, as I pray for all of you. And may we never grow tired of choosing truth, mercy, and human dignity—especially when it costs us something,” he said.
