Antonio "Tony" Meloto (born January 17, 1950) is the founder of Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine-based poverty alleviation movement. Meloto was named 2006 "Filipino of the Year" by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Early life and career

Antonio Meloto was born on January 17, 1950 in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

, Negros Occidental to a middle-class family. He took his senior high school year at De Anza High School in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

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.

Couples for Christ and Gawad Kalinga

Meloto became an active member of Couples for Christ 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. The program evolved into Gawad Kalinga, a global movement for building sustainable communities within slum areas. In 2006 he was awarded the

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...

for Community Leadership.

Criticism

In May 2015, Meloto generated controversy for allegedly sexist remarks made at a conference at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

References

External links

Gawad Kalinga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meloto, Tony 1950 births Living people Filipino philanthropists People from Bacolod Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Ateneo de Manila University alumni Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize