Never Too Late for Seniors to Hope

by Monette Iturralde-Hamlin / October 13, 2022

I’ve admired Tony Meloto from a distance for many years. I first learned about him at the League of Corporate Foundations when he did the keynote of one of our LCF (League of Corporate Foundations) Expos.

Tony gave a new face to corporate social responsibility or CSR. A new twist. One that moved from philanthropy to volunteer engagement, inspiring people to get on board Gawad Kalinga (GK). Business leaders, employees, students and even families wanted to participate in building homes for the disadvantaged. 

It wasn’t just a simple matter of donating money; you gave your time and effort, got your hands and knees dirty and participated in building the houses, whether it was carrying bricks, mixing cement, hammering nails, or painting walls. And this you did, shoulder-to-shoulder with the family that would live in the house. You got to know the people who would live in the community you were helping build, learned about their personal circumstances, so there was a personal connection built. It was an inspiring, fresh proposition, and we were hooked.

Over the years, GK gained traction, and more and more GK houses and communities were built, benefitting Filipinos throughout the country. GK and Tony’s fame grew brighter and brighter, reaping national and international recognition, including the coveted Ramon Magsaysay Award.

It was, thus, a huge surprise to me when I read Tony’s letter a few months ago, which was making the rounds of social media. Entitled “The Poverty of Old Age: Life after the glory,” the letter shook me to the core with its raw honesty. Tony shared the silent battle with aging and acute psoriasis that he has been dealing with for years. One that caused him constant pain and embarrassment, pushed him to self-medicate and become addicted to a powerful anti-cancer drug that harmed his liver, and subsequently drove him to drink heavily, robbing him of his sense of worth and purpose. He felt lost and lonely, after all that fame and glory, and thought the end was near. 

His story resonated with me as I had been grappling with this myself, now faced with an empty nest, graying hair, and looming retirement. I had seen my maiden aunts Maria Luz and Julia, both brilliant vibrant women, deteriorate rapidly, mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually when they stopped teaching at their beloved alma mater, College of the Holy Spirit. They lost their zest for life and seemed to just wait until death came knocking at their door. Tony seemed to be going that way too.

But Tony being true to himself did not wallow in self-pity for long. Realizing he was the only one who could stop his life from spiraling down, he withdrew from much loved social involvement, went into isolation, detoxified to get rid of his addiction, and slowly regained his zest for life with the help of friends, like Bobby Joseph and his family. 

In doing so, Tony found a new purpose in life: to provide a healing sanctuary at Paraiso Farms to help wounded seniors like himself overcome the loneliness of old age. To this end, he set up the Seniors Faith Club at Paraiso where they could gather in prayer, eat together, share stories, and keep inspired.

Last Saturday, October 1, my friends and I went to Paraiso at San Jose, Batangas to attend the Seniors Hope Expo which Tony organized for over 1,000 seniors. Andre Kahn and I rode with Ida Joseph and her friend Vina Pelaez to Batangas. There we would meet friends from the Women’s Business Council Philippines (WomenBizPH): our president Rosemarie Rafael with her husband Joey, treasurer Ida Tiongson and her partner Juan Martin del Prado, and member Alpha Allanigui with her son Tristan and his beau.

We toured the various booths of the different towns of Batangas featuring their unique hometown specialties. We sampled the delicious Kurobuta bacon and sausages of Esguerra Farms, which we enjoyed with Ralph’s wines. I drank the rich and creamy Batangas chocolate offered at one booth and nibbled on some delicious pastillas. I bought a trip of beautiful orchids from a Lipa grower (vivibyflossom on IG) for my mom who would soon turn 88, and some bottled tuyo and tawilis. 

We then settled down to a delicious buffet lunch of lechon baka from Ric Casabuena, lechon, dinuguan at puto, kinilaw, sinaing na tulingan, tawilis, bibingka, and more.

After lunch, WomenBizPH had a session called “Fly High, EntrePinay” at the multipurpose hall. Rosemarie, Ida, Alpha, and I shared our life stories and answered questions to inspire the mostly senior women attending the workshop. One question that had us stumped was how seniors could avail of loans when they were immediately denied based on their age. Ida responded by recommending them to sign up for a GCash account, and to start building their credit history.

Proving that it is never too late for seniors to celebrate life, have fun, and learn new things, the senior women gamely participated in the Boomerang activity to help promote Fly High, EntrePinay. These women are truly admirable. They have raised children, and even grandchildren, taken care of their families, and yet are still gungho in their advanced years to continue making a living as microentrepreneurs. 

We stayed till night to attend the Seniors Hope Ball, where awards were given out to the best booths, the best kaldereta, the best performers, and the like. The late Bobby Joseph, a co-founder of the Seniors Faith Club and a very close friend of Tony Meloto and of Andre Kahn, was also honored that night, with Melissa de Leon Joseph rendering a beautiful song. Bobby’s family was in full attendance. Bobby’s legacy of helping others lives on through his family.

Senator Tito Sotto, author of the Senior Citizens Law, actor Christopher de Leon, well-known health and wellness personality Cory Quirino, and many others graced the occasion to show support to Tony Meloto. Sadly, we missed dancing to the music of Heart & Soul band and Spirit of ’67, but we were very tired from the day’s outing. 

On our way out, we said goodbye to a visibly tired Tony Meloto. Truly, here was a generous man who made wise use of the talents given by God to bless everyone.

Tony showed that old age need not be daunting, and that it is never too late to help others and sow hope in their hearts. May his tribe of volunteers and sponsors increase so that more people will be blessed!

If you’d like to extend help to Tony and his Seniors Faith Club in Batangas, reach out to him at +63 917 777 7175.