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Tony Meloto
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Tony Meloto
Antonio "Tony" Meloto (born January 17, 1950) is a Filipino social activist and the founder of Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine-based poverty alleviation movement. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2006 for his work in community development and social entrepreneurship.
In September 2025, the Department of Justice approved the filing of two counts of trafficking in persons against Meloto after finding probable cause over allegations involving former beneficiaries of Gawad Kalinga's School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) program. On May 29, 2026, he was arrested in Angat, Bulacan after the Regional Trial Court of Malolos issued a warrant for two counts of qualified trafficking in persons, a non-bailable offense under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
Antonio Meloto was born on January 17, 1950, in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, to a middle-class family. He took his senior high school year at De Anza High School in Richmond, California, as an American Field Service scholar. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from Ateneo de Manila University, studying as a full academic scholar and graduating in 1971. He then took a job as a purchasing manager for Procter and Gamble.
Meloto became an active member of Couples for Christ (CFC) in 1985 and quickly rose in leadership, having a key role in establishing CFC Family Ministries in 1993. In 1995 he began a youth development program for juvenile delinquents in Caloocan. Within the CFC, Meloto established Gawad Kalinga (GK) in 2003, an organization which built houses for the indigent and homeless.
In 2006, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.
In 2008, a dispute emerged between supporters of Meloto and leaders of Couples for Christ (CFC), the Catholic lay movement from which Gawad Kalinga originated. The disagreement centered on the direction of Gawad Kalinga and its relationship with CFC's evangelization mission. The Holy See also cautioned CFC regarding Gawad Kalinga's acceptance of funding from corporations associated with the promotion of artificial contraception.
The dispute culminated in Gawad Kalinga formally separating from CFC in 2009. CFC leaders argued that Gawad Kalinga had shifted its emphasis away from evangelization toward social development work, a characterization that Meloto rejected.
In May 2015, Meloto faced criticism following remarks delivered during a conference marking the 40th anniversary of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. According to a statement issued by the Center for Philippine Studies, Meloto described Filipino women as one of the country's greatest assets and suggested that they should have children with Western men whom he described as the "best and brightest" in order to produce "cappuccino" children who would help shape the nation's future.
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Tony Meloto
Antonio "Tony" Meloto (born January 17, 1950) is a Filipino social activist and the founder of Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine-based poverty alleviation movement. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2006 for his work in community development and social entrepreneurship.
In September 2025, the Department of Justice approved the filing of two counts of trafficking in persons against Meloto after finding probable cause over allegations involving former beneficiaries of Gawad Kalinga's School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) program. On May 29, 2026, he was arrested in Angat, Bulacan after the Regional Trial Court of Malolos issued a warrant for two counts of qualified trafficking in persons, a non-bailable offense under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
Antonio Meloto was born on January 17, 1950, in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, to a middle-class family. He took his senior high school year at De Anza High School in Richmond, California, as an American Field Service scholar. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from Ateneo de Manila University, studying as a full academic scholar and graduating in 1971. He then took a job as a purchasing manager for Procter and Gamble.
Meloto became an active member of Couples for Christ (CFC) in 1985 and quickly rose in leadership, having a key role in establishing CFC Family Ministries in 1993. In 1995 he began a youth development program for juvenile delinquents in Caloocan. Within the CFC, Meloto established Gawad Kalinga (GK) in 2003, an organization which built houses for the indigent and homeless.
In 2006, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.
In 2008, a dispute emerged between supporters of Meloto and leaders of Couples for Christ (CFC), the Catholic lay movement from which Gawad Kalinga originated. The disagreement centered on the direction of Gawad Kalinga and its relationship with CFC's evangelization mission. The Holy See also cautioned CFC regarding Gawad Kalinga's acceptance of funding from corporations associated with the promotion of artificial contraception.
The dispute culminated in Gawad Kalinga formally separating from CFC in 2009. CFC leaders argued that Gawad Kalinga had shifted its emphasis away from evangelization toward social development work, a characterization that Meloto rejected.
In May 2015, Meloto faced criticism following remarks delivered during a conference marking the 40th anniversary of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. According to a statement issued by the Center for Philippine Studies, Meloto described Filipino women as one of the country's greatest assets and suggested that they should have children with Western men whom he described as the "best and brightest" in order to produce "cappuccino" children who would help shape the nation's future.