City Council approves Order of Rajah Humabon Award to Msgr. Villanueva

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City government is set to grant the Order of Rajah Humabon Award to award-winning Monsignor Rodolfo “Rudy” E. Villanueva.

The City Council on Wednesday approved a resolution conferring the Order of Rajah Humabon Award to Villanueva, per recommendation of the Cultural and Historical Affairs Office (CHAO).

Councilor Joel Garganera sponsored the resolution regarding the matter.

The Order of Rajah Humabon is the highest award that the city can bestow, and given to individuals who have done gratuitous acts to the general citizenry of extreme magnitude.

“The ability, integrity and devotion of Msgr. Rodolfo E. Villanueva enabled him to render substantial and valuable contributions to the City of Cebu,” said Garganera.

Villanueva was born on September 16, 1940 and was ordained on June 5, 1963.

He was known as an award-winning literary writer, fictionist and playwright, composer and icon of liturgical music.

He was the composer of several collections of church music widely used in Visayas and Mindanao areas such as “Cancionero Cebuano”, “Twenty-Four Masses”, “Salterio Cebuano”, and the three-volume, “Festive Series”.

Villanueva, who is an accomplished literati, is writing under the pseudonym “Renato Madrid.”

He received literary distinctions such as Don Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature particularly for his short collection, “Southern Harvest,” and the 2003 Umpil Gawad Alagad ni Balagtas.

He also wrote novels that appear to combine sociology and religion such as “Devil Wings” and “Mass for the Death of an Enemy”, published in 1997 and 2000 by the Ateneo de Manila University Press.

In addition, he is an educator, as he maintains his post as resident professor of Music and English at San Carlos Seminary College and a lifetime visiting faculty at the Dipolog and Dumaguete Seminaries. He also taught at the Silliman University School of Music.

In the regular meeting held on May 6, 2022, the CHAO issued a resolution conferring the Order of Rajah Humabon Award to Villanueva, recognizing his contributions and deems it best to confer such award.

CHAO head Bryner Diaz said they are now finalizing the date for the awarding ceremony for Villanueva.

Other recipients of the Order of Rajah Humabon Award include the late Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, Environment Sec. Roy Cimatu, National Artist for Literature Dr. Resil Mojares, the late Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, among others. — GMR (FREEMAN)