While Gawad Kalinga is about many people,
its public face is that of one man: Tony Meloto.”
Antonio Meloto or “Tito Tony” to the countless Gawad Kalinga volunteers and community
partners was born on January 17, 1950 to a low middle class family in Bacolod City, Negros
Occidental. At a young age, he was already exposed to the squalid living conditions of the poor,
his home being near a shoreline squatter community where poverty was already very pronounced.
Tito Tony’s natural acumen provided him the opportunity to be an American Field Service scholar, where
he took his senior high school year in De Anza High School in Richmond, California. But his big break
came when he qualified as a Full Academic Scholar of the Ateneo de Manila University. His college years
were dedicated to preparing for a career that would take him and his family out of the poverty of his past.
After he graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, he was offered a position as the
Purchasing Manager of Procter and Gamble. Eventually, he built his own name as an entrepreneur.
It was during an assignment in Australia that he heard the call to start the work with the poor through a
youth program in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City. Since it began in 1995, the program has now evolved to
become Gawad Kalinga, a movement that builds integrated, holistic and sustainable communities in slum
areas.
Gawad Kalinga is now being implemented in almost 2,000 communities in the Philippines and in
other developing countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. It has become a
concrete manifestation of the healing of relationships in the Philippines, bridging the gap between
the rich and the poor, government and the private sector by simply bringing back what is uniquely
Filipino – the spirit of ”bayanihan,” the willing sharing of any heavy load for the good of his
fellowmen. Driven by a strong commitment to faith, GK is able to bring out the patriotism in every
Filipino by making him a hero to his country – a “bayani” (hero) that can contribute to “bagong
bahay, bagong buhay, bagong bayan (new home, new life, new country).” At a time when most are
happy to leave the country to look for greener pastures, Gawad Kalinga sparks hope in the
Filipino dream – to restore this great nation and once again be proud to be Filipino.
This is Tito Tony’s passion. A true man for others, he has inspired not just his family but hundreds and
thousands of volunteers throughout the country and the world to work towards building model
communities where the poor can thrive and attain to their fullest potentials so that together, we can all
look forward to a better future for our children and the generations to come.
ANTONIO P. MELOTO JR.
Nationality:
Date of Birth:
Civil Status:
Filipino
17 January 1950
Married with 5 children and 7 grandchildren
Some of the Awards and Honors Received
Most Outstanding Alumnus, Negros Occidental High School , 2001
Ozanam Award (Ateneo de Manila University), 2003
Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Community Leadership, 2006
Family Values Award – Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, 2006
Manuel L. Quezon Award, 2006
1st Gawad Haydee Yorac, 2006
1st Jose P. Laurel Award, 2006
TOFIL 2006
People of the Year, Philippine Star, 2006
Filipino of the Year, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2006
Mabuhay Awards, American Field Service Awards 2007
Service Above Self Award, Rotary International District 3780 Quezon City 2007
Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary Foundation 2007
Quezon City’s Citizen of the Year Award, 2009
Humanitarian Service Award - Philippine Heritage Institute, 2009
Top 4 Most Trusted Filipino – Reader’s Digest Asia, 2010
Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Ernst and Young Philippines, 2010
Keynote Speaker, Asia Social Entrepreneur Summit, 2010
Japan’s Nikkei Asia Prize for Regional Growth, 2011
Plenary Speaker at the World Economic Forum for East Asia, 2011
Plenary Speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Swtizerland
Social Entrepreneur by Skoll Foundation to be awarded in Oxford on March 29,2012