Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto arrested in Bulacan over trafficking charges
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of sexual abuse.
Tony Meloto, founder of the non-government organization Gawad Kalinga, was arrested at a farm in Bulacan over trafficking charges linked to the alleged sexual harassment of two beneficiaries in 2017.
Meloto was arrested on Friday night, May 29, by Bulacan police in Barangay Encanto, Angat, Bulacan, on a warrant issued the same day by a regional trial court in Malolos City, with no bail recommended, per a Philippine National Police report.
He is facing two counts of qualified trafficking under Republic Act No. 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
Prior to this, the Department of Justice ordered the filing of criminal charges against Meloto in September 2025 after finding probable cause.
In its resolution, the prosecutors said that the 76-year-old's actions “fall within the definition and elements of sex trafficking, qualified by abuse of authority.”
They noted that as GK’s founder and head of its School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development program—where the complainants were scholars—he “received, maintained and harbored the (victims) by accepting them under care and control, giving them shelter and place of refuge, providing them with some basic needs in order to facilitate exploitation.”
“The ultimate purpose in receiving, maintaining, and harboring was shown to be sexual exploitation as complainants gave a detailed account of how the respondent abused them sexually to satisfy his lustful desire,” prosecutors added.
The resolution also said Meloto used psychological coercion “to be able to control the complaining victims.”
The complainants, identified by the aliases “Daniel” and “Michael,” filed their complaint with the Department of Justice in November 2024.
In a 24 Oras report, Daniel said that in 2017, while staying at a GK farm, Meloto allegedly called him into a room and touched him in sensitive areas. Michael recalled a similar incident that same year.
One of the victims also claimed he witnessed Meloto applying cooling gel to another boy’s private part while massaging it.
For his part, Meloto and the witnesses he listed in his counter-affidavit denied the accusations, calling them "baseless, false, malicious, and improperly filed."
GK was founded in 2003, though its work started in 1995. The organization said it's "dedicated to [eradicating] poverty and [restoring] human dignity." Meloto is no longer a GK board member.
In 2006, Meloto received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called Asia’s Nobel Peace Prize, for his work with GK. His profile is no longer listed on the award’s website.