ANGAT (PHILIPPINES)
Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News) [Hong Kong]
June 2, 2026
By Paterno R. Esmaquel II
Antonio Meloto’s lawyer said they’re seeking detention at ‘a suitable facility’ due to his sensitive health condition
Filipino humanitarian Antonio Meloto, known for building homes for thousands of poor Filipinos, has been hospitalized days after his arrest north of Manila for alleged sex trafficking.
The 76-year-old founder of Gawad Kalinga (GK), a globally-acclaimed nonprofit dedicated to poverty alleviation, has been accused of sexually abusing two males who were former GK beneficiaries. Meloto has denied the accusations, claiming they form part of a “demolition job.”
The Department of Justice recommended a trafficking case against Meloto — a non-bailable offense — because he “held a position of authority over the complainants” and “abused them sexually to satisfy his lustful desire.”
Meloto was apprehended in Angat, Bulacan province, about 50 kilometers north of Manila, on May 29. The arrest took place in the village where Meloto allegedly abused the former GK beneficiaries.
His lawyer, Veronica Soriano, told UCA News on June 2 that Meloto was initially in police custody, but later “suffered a medical emergency and was rushed to a hospital in Bulacan.”
Meloto was hospitalized on the morning of June 1, she said, while adding that he “remains under police guard while receiving treatment.”
When asked if their camp is requesting “hospital arrest,” Soriano said they are “seeking Meloto’s detention at a suitable facility where his sensitive health condition can be adequately addressed.”
In the Philippines, where ordinary jails are known to be cramped and lacking in basic facilities, “hospital arrest” has often been associated with high-profile suspects. The most prominent among them was former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who spent nearly four years under hospital arrest over plunder charges.
Detainees’ rights groups have often protested such privileges given to prominent suspects but inaccessible to thousands of others.
The local police chief, Colonel Jay Baybayan, confirmed in a separate interview with UCA News that Meloto complained of dizziness and requested a hospital check-up and was brought to his preferred Dr. Yanga’s Hospital in nearby Bocaue town.
His physician recommended that he be confined until his blood pressure, sugar levels, and other vital signs stabilize.
Baybayan said Meloto will be discharged once his condition is “back to normal.”
When asked about possible accusations of special treatment for Meloto, Baybayan said that Meloto has the right to choose his physicians and that his hospitalization is temporary. “We are not giving him special treatment because he is still being guarded and under police custody,” he said.
Meloto began GK in 2003 as the social action arm of Couples for Christ (CFC), a lay Catholic organization for married couples. GK broke away from CFC in 2009 due to an internal conflict over the organization’s mission.
Meloto has since received numerous awards for his work at GK. Now that he is facing sex trafficking charges, Meloto’s critics have called on the organizations concerned to revoke or reconsider his awards.
The Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, where he finished his economics degree, awarded him its Ozanam Award for exemplary Christians in 2003. The university, in an email to UCA News, said it is looking into Meloto’s case “and, at this time, has no further comment.”
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, which presents the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, awarded him the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2006 for his work at GK. The foundation has not responded to UCA News’ requests for comment.