(CNN Philippines) — After getting flak for his alleged offensive speech at the University of Hawaii Center for Philippine Studies (UH-CPS) last month, Gawad Kalinga (GK) founder and philanthropist Tony Meloto on Tuesday (May 26) finally aired his side on the issue.
“It was a shock for me to hear about the negative report from University of Hawaii-Center for Philippine Studies (UH-CPS) 45 days after the event and this is the first time I’ve been called a ‘sexist,’ ‘elitist,’ and a person with ‘colonial mentality,’ which definitely I am not,” said Meloto in an official statement posted on the GK site.
According to UH-CPS, Meloto was invited as a guest speaker during the university’s 40th anniversary fiesta last April, when he allegedly gave a speech that did not sit well with audience members.
Meloto, who was given almost an hour and a half to address the academe, supposedly characterized the Philippines as “broken” and described Filipinos living in poverty as “hopeless and violent.”
It didn’t help when Meloto allegedly focused on the good work that GK has done throughout the years. He also promoted his family company, Human Nature.
“Many members of the audience found his ideas about economic development in the Philippines both condescending and self-serving,” UH-CPS said.
What the university and its audience members found most disturbing and “deeply offensive,” however, was Meloto’s sexist statements — when he said that the country’s “greatest asset” is its “beautiful women,” and that “the nation can be advanced by using them (Filipino women) to attract the ‘best and the brightest’ men from the West.”
According to Meloto, Filipino women could be used to encourage “men from the West” to “invest in the Philippines.”
“Equally offensive, Mr. Meloto went on to share his view on the need for Filipino women and their white husbands to produce what Mr. Meloto (apparently humorously) called ‘cappuccinos,” UH-CPS said.
Opposing views
Meloto, meanwhile, said that perhaps some audience members simply did not appreciate his humor, or that they just plainly disagreed with his views.
“I am deeply pained to read and hear about all that has been written, especially after hundreds of speeches in the Philippines and abroad, and after caring for the poor every day, protecting women and children and promoting pride as a Filipino everywhere I go in the last 20 years,” he said.
His Twitter account reflected his sentiments as well.
‘ ’14’: ‘contentWidth’: ‘100%’ ’embedCode’: ‘
1st time to be called "sexist &elitist"after 20 yrs of honoring our women & caring for the poor,after hundreds of speeches here & abroad.
— Tony Meloto (@tonymeloto) May 25, 2015
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