MANILA, Philippines – One of the oldest and richest Filipino-American organizations in the United States will donate a village to Gawad Kalinga (GK).
The Legionarios del Trabajo in America Inc. has pledged to fund 30 homes to poor beneficiaries in Pangasinan this year.
The Legionarios, a fraternal order that started in 1924, was organized by the first wave of Filipino migrants to the United States to serve as a support group for Filipinos in America.
When the group arrived in the US in the 20s, their main purpose was to serve as a social support system to the predominantly male Filipino migrants amid hostile pressures at the time, which included anti-marriage laws.
Today, the Order still provides support to Fil-Ams through scholarships and cultural assistance.
Bro. Zozimo de Veas, grandmaster of the Legionarios, said they have decided to fund the homes of poor beneficiaries in Pangasinan because it bodes well with their creed of love for God and country.
De Veas first came across GK through an article he read about founder Tony Meloto and the foundation in 2006.
It was then he realized that Legionarios and GK have the same vision.
“After I’ve read the article about GK, I felt very inspired and enthusiastic in following up GK. I really strived hard to know a lot about GK and convince my fellow members that this is a good vehicle to help the poor,” de Veas said.
He scheduled a meeting with other members of the Legionarios and they debated whether to help the GK or not. Initially, a lot of members were not receptive to the idea.
“They had a lot of reservations. Charity begins at home, they tell me, why not start here. Bakit sa Pilipinas na hindi natin nakikita? Ganun mentality nila. (Why in the Philippines? We don’t see it anymore. That was their mentality.) They wanted us to donate in the US and not in the Philippines,” De Veas said.
But he was persistent and his proposal to fund the GK homes won in a voting by a margin of two votes to pass a memorandum.
Funding is not a problem to the Legionarios.
The Legionarios is one of the most-financially stable companies in the US. It has 57 acres of farm near Stockton, California.
Their investments in the past have earned them enough money that continues to grow, which in turn are utilized for the needs of the members.
After donating homes to GK, they plan to support other projects like education.
De Veas also noted that after deciding to donate to GK and explaining to them the goodness of the cause, members had a turnaround in their thinking.
“In the beginning, they would not see the real purpose of what we do, but when I brought back some pictures and releases about GK, it’s like they have embraced GK. They were very happy with the decision to donate. You have this feeling that it feels so good to help,” De Veas said.
But sadly the members of Legionarios are dwindling. The youngest member is 50 years old and the oldest are 100 years old. They have 489 members.
De Veas said helping GK is his way of giving back to all the good breaks that he received.
He came from a poor family and was orphaned at a young age. He lost his mother when he was six and never got to see his father since birth. It was his grandparents who took care of him.
De Veas managed to finish high school and although he wanted to go to college, they didn’t have the money then.
“After high school, I worked on a farm. My aunts could not send me to school because they also have children. Luckily, there were people who gave me a break. I don’t know any skills. But I have a neighbor who let me study stenography at a school that owed him. My neighbor said, ‘ok, if you can’t pay me in full, just let Zozimo study in your school to lessen your debt’, and that was my first break,” he said.
The second break came when De Veas was able to study at the Far Eastern University (FEU) on a scholarship grant while working as a houseboy during the day.
When he was in third year college, he met an anthropologist from the US who was married to a Filipina.
He got the biggest surprise of his life when the American, who was touched by his kindness, invited him to come to the US.
Once in America, things started to turn up rosy and bright for the once-poor De Veas.
He finished a master’s degree in business administration in two years at a university in Illinois and worked for 20 years at the Oakland airport and then joined the IRS.
Looking back at all the good breaks that came his way, he realized that he must impart some of these to the less fortunate, especially those who lacked opportunities in the Philippines.
GK, for its part, promised to help the Legionarios get more members.