MANILA, Philippines – Filipina peace negotiator and professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer was named as one of the recipients of the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Awards on Thursday, August 31.

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Coronel-Ferrer is a former senior mediation adviser at the United Nations and a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines. She is a founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators.

During the administration of the late president Benigno Aquino III, she chaired the government peace panel in negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that led to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014.

Coronel-Ferrer was given the award for emphasizing “the important role that women play in inclusive peace-building,” the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is considered as Asia’s premier’s prize and highest honor, the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. The award is named after Ramon Magsaysay, the 7th Philippine president.

The other awardees are:

• Korvi Rakshand, Bangladesh, education-for-all champion
• Eugenio Lemos, Timor-Leste, food sovereignty visionary
• Ravi Kannan R., India, hero for holistic healthcare

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said that the four awardees “are redefining inclusivity in these modern yet troubled times….their collective message is very simple yet often forgotten: treat one another with love, care and respect.”

In 2021, Filipino fisherman Robert Ballon won the award for his work in conserving the environment and improving livelihood programs in communities.

In 2022, Filipina children’s rights advocate Bernadette Madrid was named as one of the recipients for “providing medical, legal and psychosocial care in children and women who are victims of abuse.” – Rappler.com