‘I can open heaven for you’

For two decades, Antonio “Tony” Meloto was the name of a builder, a hero, a living saint.

Meloto, 75, was the founder of Gawad Kalinga (GK), a nongovernment organization known for building homes for the poorest Filipinos.

A married man who preaches Catholic values, Meloto established GK in 2003 as the social arm of the lay organization Couples for Christ (CFC). In 2009, GK parted ways with CFC after an internal feud over whether or not GK was focusing too much on social work at the expense of evangelization — a “dualism” that Meloto rejected. 

Since then, GK has built 100,000 homes in the Philippines, a developing country where around 4.5 million people, or around 1.09 million families, remain homeless.

Meloto’s work at GK has earned him numerous honors, including Asia’s coveted Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2006 and the Ozanam Award, the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University’s award for exemplary Christians, in 2003. 

“Central to my being Catholic is Jesus’ love for the poor,” Meloto said in 2008, at the height of the CFC feud over GK. “The challenge for me is to care for them in a manner that will help them rise to their highest potential.”

But Meloto, who resigned from GK in 2017, now faces a scandal that could rewrite his legacy.

For at least two of Meloto’s former male beneficiaries, there’s another term to describe this builder of homes: a sexual abuser.

In late 2024, Paul and Matthew (not their real names) filed separate complaint affidavits against Meloto at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for alleged acts of lasciviousness, sexual harassment, and trafficking in persons. 

The crimes allegedly took place at the GK Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan, and in the case of Paul, also in Lyon, France, several times in 2017. 

The incidents prompted Meloto to resign as GK chairman in October 2017, after an internal investigation.

Paul and Matthew’s complaint affidavits — more than 200 pages combined — contained graphic descriptions of how Meloto allegedly asked to see their penises and masturbated them, telling them it is his form of affection for them as their “father.”

Meloto denied their accusations as “baseless, false, malicious, and improperly filed” in two separate counter-affidavits dated February 3, 2025. A month later, on March 10, he himself appeared at the DOJ to file rejoinder-affidavits, but declined to grant reporters an interview.

Rappler also tried to reach Meloto on Tuesday, June 17, through an email address in his counter-affidavit and also through GK’s email and Facebook accounts, but we have not received a response as of posting time. We will update this story once he replies.

The DOJ resolution on the case is expected soon. 

Boys like Jesus’ 12 apostles

A common element, in the stories of Paul and Matthew, was a promise to be saved from poverty.

In a complaint affidavit docketed on December 10, 2024, Paul said he comes from a poor family in Nueva Ecija, and traces his roots to an indigenous community in Benguet. At the age of six, he lost his father to meningitis, leaving his mother to support him and his six siblings.

To finance his studies, Paul worked as a kaingin (slash and burn) farmer in Nueva Vizcaya while attending high school at a school for indigenous people. 

Eventually, at the prodding of his sister, Paul joined the social entrepreneurship course at the School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) located at the GK Farm in Angat. He was chosen as one of 50 scholars from a pool of over 100 applicants.

Paul initially lived in a rented apartment a kilometer away from SEED, until one afternoon in late 2015, as he was watering plants, Meloto took notice of him. 

Meloto, according to Paul, offered him accommodation at the Bamboo Villa, where other students of the SEED pioneer batch had been living. 

Paul moved into the Bamboo Villa on October 6, 2015, and arrived at an accommodation building called the Spartan House. He said Meloto himself welcomed him, telling him to make himself comfortable and find a space. 

Paul said the Spartan House is a building for select male SEED students, chosen by Meloto himself. He recalled Meloto explaining to them the rationale behind the group, inspired by the movie 300, “where a king led 300 Spartans into battle.” Meloto “envisioned us as a symbol of courage, loyalty, and commitment to ending poverty, embodying the values of the GK family.”

“As Spartans, we had to follow a strict way of life to develop discipline, fidelity, and honor. This involved waking up early in the morning, following a strict schedule for the day with our classes, doing our individually assigned task in the upkeep of the Farm, and following the orders of Respondent without question,” Paul wrote in his affidavit. 

“There were 12 of us in the Spartan program, chosen to be transformed from ‘men of horror’ into ‘men of honor’ to use the words of Respondent. This is akin to the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. Respondent explained that the problems in society are often caused by men — ‘the abusers, the gamblers, the drunks.’ He wanted us to break the stereotype of poverty and become role models,” he recalled.

At first, according to Paul, being a Spartan meant spending time with Meloto as he “shared stories of his family, his experiences, and reflections from his travels.” The GK founder also encouraged the Spartans to tell their own stories, which made Paul hesitant, as he “was not used to sharing personal details.” Paul, however, shared as much as he could, “as a sign of my respect” for Meloto.

Eventually, however, “we learned what it meant to become one of the Spartan boys” of Meloto.

“To borrow the words of Louis Faure, one of the former French volunteers of GK since August 2014 to 2017, being a Spartan in GK means working long hours with few hours of sleep, and we were constantly at Respondent’s beck and call, rushing to serve his needs such as getting him coffee, cooking for him, giving him massages, and cleaning his room,” Paul said.

“Every one of us, the Spartan boys, was trying to please him and anticipating his needs since we were psychologically conditioned to think that he is our father who will lift us from poverty,” he added.

The smell of cooling gel

Then, the sexual advances began.

Paul remembered one day when he was landscaping at the farm — a chore he usually did without his shirt on, to prevent staining it. Meloto would often join him in landscaping and offer help.

“One time,” Paul said, “while he was waiting for a group of visitors under the mango tree and staring at me while I was landscaping, he remarked, ‘Ang ganda talaga ng katawan mo, Igorot (You really have a beautiful body, Igorot).’”  

Paul said that “things took a dark turn” one morning in September 2016, providing “the first hint” of Meloto’s abusive acts. 

Meloto “introduced us to this product that he said he needed to cool off” —  “a cooling gel, which Respondent would lather on his chest, under his nose, and even on his genital area particularly his balls as it gives a cooling effect to combat the humidity.”

“After he showed us how he applied the cooling gel on his balls, he asked one of the Spartans to take off his (the Spartan boy) shorts so that he (Respondent) could also apply it on him (the Spartan boy). This Spartan boy stood up and adjusted his shorts, showing his penis. I then saw how Respondent applied the cooling gel on the Spartan’s balls, while massaging his penis. Respondent then remarked, ‘Malaki rin titi niya oh (His penis is also big),’” Paul recalled.

Meloto allegedly tried to apply the cooling gel on another Spartan boy, who declined, prompting the GK founder to label him as “mahinhin (soft).” Later on, Paul said he also rejected Meloto’s offer to apply cooling gel, as he felt uncomfortable. 

The first sexually abusive act against Paul allegedly took place one evening in January 2017, when Meloto invited him to sleep at the Pool Villa. 

The Pool Villa, according to Paul, is a structure half a kilometer away from the Bamboo Villa. In the last quarter of 2016, Meloto was said to have alternated between sleeping at the Bamboo Villa, where the Spartans live, and at the Pool Villa, where he accommodates his guests. 

“In January 2017, Respondent moved to the Pool Villa permanently and this was when I noticed that he was always accompanied by a Spartan student of his choice to sleep there,” he said. 

Paul was, in fact, jealous of boys who got to sleep in the Pool Villa “since they got to swim in the pool.” “However, I knew that my turn to be invited and swim in the Pool Villa with Respondent would eventually come.”

And it did — but, unexpectedly, with his heart racing.

At around 9 pm on January 17, after dinner at the Bamboo Villa, Meloto and Paul proceeded to an air-conditioned room on the second floor of the Pool Villa.

Meloto and Paul were supposed to occupy two separate beds with white bedsheets, one of which had a roll of tissue paper on top. 

The room was filled with the smell of cooling gel. 

When they were already on their beds, Meloto asked if he was awake, to which Paul answered yes. “Halika nga dito sa tabi ko (Come here by my side),” Meloto said. 

‘Payayamanin ko kayo’

Meloto allegedly hugged Paul with his left arm, telling him: “Ang sarap talaga ng pakiramdam na nayayakap ang anak. Alam mo, son, ang anak kong lalaki, hindi ko nayayakap nang ganito. Hindi niya ako maintindihan. Kahit ‘yung pamilya ko minsan hindi nila maintindihan ang ginagawa ko, ‘yung ginagawa nating trabaho. Pero lagi kong pinapaintindi na you are family to me — my extension family.”

(It really feels so good to be able to hug a child. You know, son, my own male child — I don’t get to hug him like this. He doesn’t understand me. Even my own family, sometimes they don’t understand what I do, what we do in this kind of work. But I always try to make them understand that you are family to me — my extension family.)

Meloto, according to Paul, said he was ready to support them, the way he raised his own kids. 

“Payayamanin ko kayo. Payayamanin kita kaya makinig ka lang sa akin at sundin mo ang mga sinasabi ko kasi I can open heaven for you. I can turn on the light for you. I will always be a father to you,” Meloto said. 

(I will help all of you get rich. I will help you, in particular, get rich — so just listen to me and follow what I tell you, because I can open heaven for you. I can turn on the light for you. I will always be a father to you.)

Later, Meloto asked Paul to take off his shirt, with the latter “desperately trying to convince myself that this was normal.”

Meloto, according to the complaint affidavit, later asked to see Paul’s penis, touched and gently squeezed it, then later “aggressively masturbated me until I released.” Paul added, “As if his sexual pleasures were still not satisfied, he then played with the semen that got to my belly.”

Paul said the experience triggered the past trauma of being abused by a school administrator as a minor. “Just like my abuser then, Respondent had so much power and influence over me as Chairman of the GK Farm. I felt helpless as I had to experience this trauma again in the hands of someone whom I completely trusted and respected.”

Similar acts happened a second and third time at the GK Farm, and another time in Lyon, France, where they had speaking engagements in March 2017. 

‘I felt powerless, betrayed’

Matthew, who comes from a poor family in Tondo, Manila, had similar experiences, according to his separate complaint affidavit received by the DOJ on November 11, 2024.

Matthew introduced himself as one of the beneficiaries of a GK project in 2004, after a fire burned their house in Tondo. He was also a beneficiary of two GK youth programs.

Like Paul, Matthew said he was invited to sleep with Meloto in the Pool Villa in January 2017. The GK founder also masturbated him, according to Matthew.

At least two more incidents of abuse followed.

“What Respondent did to me traumatized me deeply. I felt powerless as I was unable to stop Respondent from committing these sexual acts on me. Despite my respect for Respondent due to his role in improving my life through the GK programs, I can no longer remain silent about these traumatic experiences,” Matthew wrote.

“I felt betrayed by Respondent because he knew that I was under his influence and control. Respondent abused his authority over me as my mentor in the SEED program and as a father figure to me,” he added.

Explaining the cooling gel

In his counter-affidavits, however, Meloto denied the allegations against him, and said he was “very strict” when it came to sex education. He filed two separate counter-affidavits of around 100 pages each, addressing the claims of both Paul and Matthew. 

Meloto denied the depiction of Spartans in Paul’s affidavit. “The Spartans are the result of the ‘Spartan Experiment’ I curated, which helps the SEED scholars define their own worth through the Spartan Code of 5Hs — honesty, hard work, humility, heroism, honor,” Meloto said. 

He said, however, that their students are exposed to local and foreign volunteers and partners, who bring with them “uncommon and frowned-upon” cultures, such as skinny-dipping in pools and “sexual liberation.”

“For this reason, I was very strict on imparting sex education, among others, to the students to prevent teenage, premarital, and unwanted pregnancies. Which, in truth, became rampant in the community with the mix in nationalities and cultures,” said Meloto.

“In every talk and speech I would give in the community, or in every life lesson I would impart, I would always emphasize the importance of chastity and controlling sexual urges to prevent teenage, premarital, and unwanted pregnancies,” he added.

In the case of the Spartans, Meloto said:

• “I encouraged the male students how to decrease their sexual urges and therefore introduced the idea of using cooling gels”;
• “I would also encourage the female students to give their male partners cooling gels to decrease their sexual urges”;
• “I would always emphasize to the students, especially the male students, the importance of chastity — ‘if it is not the right time, it is the right hand,’ meaning, not engaging in premarital sex with their partners”

He added that he “never gave special attention” to Paul, “more than what was appropriate in order to encourage him to maximize his God-given abilities.” He also denied attempting to be a “surrogate father” to SEED students, or making suggestive comments about their physique. 

Meloto attached the affidavit of Ann Marie Pronove Cavosora, a social entrepreneur who taught at GK Enchanted Farm from 2015 to 2017, as part of his defense.

“And since Spartans spend more time with Tony Meloto, I observed him, giving practical advice to male students on how to manage their sexual urges. It was during these occasions when the idea was raised, of applying cooling gels that cause a somewhat ‘unpleasant and spicy’ sensation on the male erogenous zone, in order to suppress the male libido,” Cavosora said.

She added: “Tony Meloto would often use humorous and creative expressions to drive his point across, especially when he would declare in his addresses, that ‘if it is not the right time, it is the right hand,’ which effectively means that it is better to masturbate than to outrightly and directly engage in premarital sex. This, again, to me, was practical, even sage, advice that seemed appropriate and impactful, given the circumstances.” 

Another witness, Prince Lopez, testified that Meloto “never forced us to apply cooling gels to our genitals, nor swim naked in the pool, nor suggest any act of masturbation.”

GK investigates its founder

Referring to Paul’s affidavit, Meloto said: “To be clear, I never invited Complainant into my room at the GK Enchanted Farm or anywhere else for that matter, for any lewd purpose or intent, much less to sexually abuse the Complainant.”

Calling the complaint a “harassment suit,” Meloto added: “It is puzzling, dubious, and wholly inconsistent with human experience and nature for the Complainant, who was already a 20-year-old adult male in 2017, to only feel compelled to file this complaint, seven years after the end of any and all contact and/ or interaction with me. Surely, I could not have exerted any chilling effect on complainant during that time, if indeed the allegations are true.”

Meloto also denied Matthew’s allegations, citing arguments similar to those against Paul.

“My lawyer even pointed out that, indeed, if Complainant was harassed, he would have done something — anything, on said matter. He would have refrained from being cordial with me. And surely, Complainant would not wish to stay in the GK Farms any longer if he was really harassed, sexually and in an education or training environment,” Meloto said of Matthew.

“I vehemently deny allegations on all counts of alleged masturbation of Complainant, or anyone else, by me in the Pool Villa of the GK Enchanted Farm. I deny having abused my authority in the alleged commission of the said acts of lasciviousness,” Meloto said.

In a statement on March 10, GK confirmed that in 2017, “several male SEED scholars who were part of the Spartan program complained and claimed that Mr. Tony Meloto, physically violated them.”

“The GK Board of Trustees conducted an internal investigation and subsequently Mr. Meloto tendered his resignation as chairman of Gawad Kalinga, SEED Philippines, and Enchanted Farm on October 26, 2017. The Board proceeded to act on his disengagement from all his official functions with the mission, which included the public announcement in January 2018,” said GK chairman Jose Luis Oquinena.

“The Board acted discreetly upon the request of the complainants to protect their privacy and keep the matter from the public. With the help of professionals, including a crisis interventionist and therapists, we also initiated a series of actions to care for the complainants,” Oquinena said.

Oquinena then appealed to their volunteers, workers, and partners not to allow this scandal to discourage or distract them “from our very important work of creating communities and transforming lives now and in generations to come.”

“We remain committed with our partners to forge forward to build mighty currents of hope as we care for the poorest,” the GK chairman said. 

But the scandal, if proven true, will forever haunt them as the tale of a hero’s fall. – Rappler.com