Team DailyPedia
Gawad Kalinga (GK) founder Tony Meloto was apparently slammed by the University of Hawaii Center for Philippine Studies (UH-CPS), in a statement they released on their official Facebook Page.
Last April 11, 2015, Meloto delivered a speech for the Fiesta Celebration of the UH-CPS 40th Anniversary with the Filipino Community. However, according to the statement they released, Meloto was unable to deliver a speech that focused on the event’s theme and that he only focused on “almost entirely himself, his accomplishments and his family.” He also described the Philippines as “broken” and the poor as “hopeless”.
In addition, the statement also said Meloto was only promoting his company, Human Heart Nature, “to suggest the members of the audience might bring them back from the Philippines and market them in the U.S.”
But what appalled the audience, according to the statement was about Meloto’s sexist remarks promoting Filipina women to western men and labeling his (half-British) grandchildren as “cappuccinos”. These details, according to UH-CPS, further disappointed many of the audience, and had put CPS in a “very difficult position”.
The statement was then closed stating that the UH-CPS takes full responsibility for inviting Meloto, disavowing his views which do not represent and violates their values and ideals.
Recycled speech and cappuccinos
In the same statement, UH-CPS stated that what Meloto delivered was a “standard stump speech”. During Meloto’s speech in GK-Australia, he also refered to his grandchildren as cappuccinos.
The Filipino Chronicle says otherwise
In an article from the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle, parts of Meloto’s speech were quoted and did not reflect the views of UH-CPS. Instead, it actually commended Meloto for his words of wisdom.
Photo Credit: The Filipino Chronicle
Attendees confirm the truth about the incident
According to Coconuts Manila, who first wrote about the UH-CPS statement, some of the members of the audience during Meloto’s speech confirmed the statement released by UH-CPS. One even said that some members of the audience even walked out of the venue when Meloto started talking about Filipina women and cappuccinos.
As of this writing, The Dailypedia is still waiting for any statement from Tony Meloto regarding this issue via Gawad Kalinga.
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