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Our Trustees
Credibility
GK as an International Movement
Audited Financial Status
Accountability
GK’s biggest resource is our people. Team GK is composed of dedicated and passionate leaders who are at the forefront of transforming communities and building a global network of volunteers to fuel the work of ending poverty.
Antonio “Tony” Meloto
Founder and Chairman, Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc.
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Gerardo “Gerry” Ablaza
Senior Managing Director, Ayala Corporation
Gerry served as President and CEO of Globe Telecoms from April 1998 to April 2009 and became a member of Globe’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors. His stay in Globe was marked by 11 years of profitability, expansion and innovation. He took the company from being the fourth-ranked mobile services provider in 1997 into one of the biggest full-service telecom operators with a subscriber base of 25 million in 2008. In May 2004, Gerry Ablaza received the prestigious Asia Business Leader of the Year Award and the CEOs’ Choice of the Year Award presented by CNBC Asia Pacific and TNT in Shanghai. In the same year, he was conferred the Best Asian Telecom CEO Award by the Telecom Asia Awards in Singapore.
Gerry also pioneered the partnership with Gawad Kalinga by building the first Globe- TM GK Village in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City. He believes that in partnering with GK, companies can help bring about sustainable solutions to the country’s challenges.
Edgardo “Ed” Chua
Country Chairman and President, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation Country
Chairman for Guam, Palau and Saipan, Shell Corporation.
In September 2003, Ed Chua took his post as the Country Chairman of the Shell companies in the Philippines. Currently, he is also Country Chairman for Guam, Palau and Saipan. His extensive industry knowledge and his contributions to the energy industry and in activities that contribute to the country’s development won him numerous accolades: a Gold Medal for Outstanding Leadership in Chemical Engineering by the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineering and the 2005 Communication Excellence in Organizations (CEO) Excel award for his advocacy on sustainable development and nation building. The CEO Excel award recognized his leadership in programs that included millennium development initiatives, health and safety goals, and corporate social responsibility.
Pilipinas Shell was the first corporate partner to build GK Farms for the typhoon victims in the Bicol region. They also made GK history by honoring the work of ordinary Filipinos when they chose GK’s Tony Meloto to be the model for their campaign, “Malayo ang Mararating” to inspire Filipinos to reach for their dreams.
Michael “Mike” Goco
Mike is the Finance Director of Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc. He was formerly a Group Vice President of Metro Pacific Corporation and President of First e-Bank (PDCP Bank). He has been in the field of Finance and Banking for over 35 years and has had extensive experience in the Asian region with postings in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Currently, he is also a trustee of Lifebank Foundation Inc., a microfinance institution, and the CFO of Happy Communications, Inc., a 4G wireless broadband service provider. He has served as the Finance Head of GK since 2003.
Ernesto “Ernie” Maipid
Ernie Maipid joined the GK Board in 2006, and brought with him a wealth of experience as National Director of an IT Project of the United Nations Development Programme for 8 years. He also served as a member of the International Council of Couples for Christ, a global Catholic community whose members are very involved in the work of Gawad Kalinga.
Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J.
Father Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J. is the longest-serving university President of the Ateneo de Manila University. He succeeded Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J. in 1993, and has been serving as University President since. He currently sits as a member of the Board of Trustees of Georgetown University, Regis University, the Asian Institute of Management (where he sits as Vice-Chair), and other colleges and universities in the Philippines. He is also a member of the board of directors of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, and is currently chairman of the Synergia Foundation. He was also Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines.
Fr. Nebres was one of the first believers of Gawad Kalinga, and under his leadership, Ateneo de Manila University has now built several villages initiated by students and alumni and have pioneered various initiatives and studies to help capture the GK framework for development.
Anthony “Tony” Olaes
A veteran of the apparel industry, Antonio “Tony” Olaes founded and grew Olaes Enterprises (ODM) into a nationally recognized firm that designs, manufacturers and ships imprinted t-shirts which communicates today’s pop culture. The company supplies product to major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Hot Topic, Journey’s and over 4,000 independent retailers. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in October 2008, Tony chairs the Board of Directors for ODM and continues to be its primary visionary for its future growth.
Today, Tony is leading the GK movement in America, uniting fellow Filipinos and showing the world that the Filipinos are world class, not only in business but also in their beliefs and values. He has also set up GK1World Foundation, Inc. to support the expansion of Gawad Kalinga into a global template for development.
Jose Luis “Luis” Oquinena
Jose Luis Oquiñena is Gawad Kalinga’s Executive Director. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management at the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos in 1993. Right after college, he went on to serve as a missionary for Youth for Christ of Couples for Christ, spreading God’s love and building up the Filipino youth in different provinces and in other countries.
He worked as an engineer of a respected Property Management firm in Makati city. But after 2 years working in the industry, he felt called back to missionary life which is his first love.
Along with other brave young men and women, Luis gave a youth camp to gang members and juvenile delinquents in Bagong Silang, the largest slum area in Metro Manila. Seeing how the slum environment encouraged the youth’s slum behavior, Luis and his companions helped turn their lives around by building the first GK house for the Adduru family, which started the transformation of a whole community.
Fourteen years and 1,700 GK communities later, Luis is at the helm of Gawad Kalinga leading its workers forward in its mission of uplifting 5 million poor Filipinos out of poverty by year 2024.
Manuel “Manny” V. Pangilinan
Manuel V. Pangilinan is the Chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, the Philippines's largest telecommunications company, from 1990 up to the present. He is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ateneo de Manila University and of San Beda College.
Smart was one of the first corporate partners of Gawad Kalinga, and has constantly chosen hard-to-reach communities to give the most impact to families that need it most. Smart’s iniatitives with GK go well beyond just building villages, as they work to ensure that these communities are sustainable through various livelihood initiatives like the award-winning Banglos Project in Quezon province. PLDT and Smart also provided a grant for GK to invest in software and database for its global operations.
Maria Isabel “Issa” Santos
Maria Isabel Cuevas-Santos graduated in 1999 from the Ateneo de Manila University, and immediately served fulltime to start the work of Gawad Kalinga in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, the first slum area to be transformed by Gawad Kalinga. She was assigned in Mindanao, and helped organize the first communities and caretaker teams throughout the whole region, including conflict areas in the Southern Philippines. She also served as Head for Partnerships, and is currently the Head for GK’s Community Infrastructure Program.
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