‘If you love Me, feed My sheep’

(The story of Joey Velasco)

I had an opportunity to meet and interact with Joey Velasco, the painter of the famous Hapag Ng Pagibig — Jesus’ last supper with 12 poverty-stricken Filipino children that has won widespread acceptance with countless reproductions around the country and across the seas, including a giant billboard on EDSA. Joey was invited in early December to exhibit his works at the Adamson University by Ms. Nenita J. Dimapilis, director of Cultural Affairs Office, at the San Marcelino campus where he addressed hundreds of Adamsonians at the School Auditorium. The non-profit school, celebrating its 75th (Diamond) anniversary and run by priests belonging to the Vincentian Fathers of the Congregation of the Mission, now boasts of 14,000 students who can avail of quality yet affordable university education, among whom are indigents on full tuition scholarship.

Joey remains very humble despite his rise in popularity as a champion of the urban poor. He has touched countless lives  — both rich and poor — with his newfound talent in painting. But few people know that his story is as edifying and moving as his works. During his talk, he must have invoked the “compassion of God” half a dozen times, whenever he was asked about his life-changing experience and newfound artistic talent. 

He traces his catharsis and ensuing epiphany to a near-fatal illness that afflicted him two years ago — when he was diagnosed with a serious kidney disease. A mass as big as a pomelo had to be removed, causing him the loss of his left kidney. He was devastated. Even after undergoing a successful surgery, he slumped into a depression which he likened to being trapped in a dark, lonely, deep well. He totally withdrew from the world — from his work and social life — he avoided any contact with his friends and even his family — locking himself in one room as a total recluse — food would be brought in on a tray and left outside his door — he even relieved himself anywhere in the room.  He stopped shaving and bathing.  He swung back and forth between thoughts of despair, psychotic tendencies and ultimately, suicidal temptations to a stubborn faith and hope in God’s goodness for deliverance. He prayed for God to throw him a rope for his salvation and in his desperation, he claimed he was ready to grab one even laced with broken glass.

One day in March or April of 2005, in one of his darkest moments of anguish and despair, Joey noticed a faint shimmer of light streaming in from outside his window. He ventured towards the light and felt a curiosity to draw the curtain aside. Instantly, he was blinded by a flash of light that seemed to envelop his whole body in a warm embrace.

That was the start of Joey’s rebirth — the beginning of a new life, and little did he realize it, a new career. At that moment, he suddenly felt the urge to pick up a paintbrush for the first time in his life, and despite lacking any talent, Joey started to paint. To his surprise, he discovered he could draw — starting with human ears, a nose, a face — and like a little child elated over a new discovery, he was overcome with enthusiasm.  With no formal training, he started by first painting a giant portrait of his wife, followed by his mother, then his children, the yayas, even the house pets and later on people on the street like the streetsweeper and the policeman. He turned his entire house into a gallery, filling up all the walls, except for one empty wall in the dining room. While thinking about what to put up on the remaining wall, an idea struck him. His kids occasionally complained about the food served at mealtime, craving for better cuisine — so he decided to paint something to give them a strong visual reminder of God’s blessings — something that can compress 20 years of his own soul-searching into one compelling picture — the Hapag.

For his subjects, he set off for various depressed areas — Payatas, underneath bridges, and in cemeteries where he eventually found his 12 little “apostles”, with whom he shared Jollibee happy meals or Lucky Me noodles and RTD juice. He started taking still photos of them. Then he went back to his room and started to paint. It took him only 6 weeks to complete the mural measuring 10’x6’. Hapag was meant to be a reminder to his kids, but as he was completing the painting, he soon realized, it also became a reminder to himself. 

The painting no longer remained a flat picture on canvas, but it started to reach out and touch him. He began to see himself in different stages of his life marked by emptiness, brokenness and powerlessness. He even began to question his own motives — realizing he was simply “using” the poor as his own children’s reminder. Joey was moved to search for the 12 again — even if it seemed like looking for needles in a haystack. In his journey to retrace his steps and find the 12 children, he also found himself and found God. He says he learned so much — the nobility of spirit in children who refused to give up amid wrenching poverty; the bravery and courage to keep going despite all odds — in Judith, a member of the Sigue-Sigue gang, Nene who lived in the cemetery, Joyce, siblings Jun and Rocel, Dodoy whom he found under the bridge. He realized the kids could take care of themselves and survive in the urban jungle so in a spiritual sense, it was the children who “fed” him as he rediscovered the truths of the Gospel amidst poverty, such as Jesus’ parting message to St. Peter, “if you love Me, feed My sheep”. 

Professional artists typically interpret their own paintings, since they have the right because they created it, but this time, it was the work of art that transformed the artist. It was a socially relevant illustration of Filipino life. It was a “Kambas ng Lipunan”. Unlike other famous paintings that usually evoke admiration from enthusiasts, this painting influenced public opinion and motivated people to act. He started to receive calls and donations which he channeled through Gawad Kalinga. Interestingly enough, most of those who donated were not the rich and affluent, but middle class Filipinos from here and abroad. One of the donors, Joey recently learned, who sent $1,300, the cost of a GK home 2 years ago, was himself in a difficult financial situation — living in a California basement with his 4 kids — thrown out of work since the 9/11 attack. Another overseas Filipina was living in Australia who owned a piece of jewelry valued at $1,300. Every night, she would admire and kiss her jewel, and hide it securely under her pillow before she went to sleep — until she learned about Hapag and the plight of the children — which prompted her to donate her jewelry to finance a Gawad Kalinga house. 

Christmas has finally dawned upon the 12 children of Hapag. In a simple yet moving ceremony last December 13th, the GK houses in QC were turned over to the children.

Joey Velasco had made his mark as a successful entrepreneur for the past 20 years. He recalls that as early as his schooldays, he would size up the worth of a classmate from the value of one’s allowance, and after determining that a classmate’s allowance is P5, he would think of shrewd schemes on how to get hold of the P5 by selling all kinds of merchandise.  When Joey reached 21 years of age, he had a girlfriend who borrowed P2,000. Because he couldn’t refuse, he gave her the money, but asked for a collateral — an electric typewriter. They eventually broke up, but Joey kept the electric typewriter until the girl returned his P2,000 plus P3,000 in accumulated interest over many years.

Joey painted several other famous works, one of which was that of an old man embracing our Lord depicting the prodigal son who had returned and was forgiven by his father. Apparently, the subject was an intern at a Home for the Aged, an 83-year old man from a well-to-do family named Mang Crispin who had been abandoned by his 7 children. Moved by his plight, Joey adopted Mang Crispin who now lives with him in his house.  Mang Crispin it seems has his own poignant story to tell. One day, he tripped and fell in the Velasco house, sustaining a head injury. He was rushed in an ambulance to a nearby hospital and in the emergency room, he was attended to by a doctor whose surname caught his attention as it was the same as his (withheld to protect identities) — it turned out to be his own grandson — by God’s design, an accident became a chance for reunion. 

Joey also shared two amateur films he himself wrote, directed, photographed and produced — on Hapag and Mang Crispin. A man who at one time thought God had forsaken him, has now found himself with multiple God-given talents as painter, writer, filmmaker and evangelist which he is now using to uplift Filipinos from poverty as he embarks on a new chapter of his journey to fulfill our Lord’s request to “feed my sheep”. Now, God is using Joey Velasco as his messenger to other Filipinos to feed His poor.

As the assembly in the auditorium drew to a close, I turned to our gracious hostess Ms. Dimapilis of Adamson, admitting that while I had never entered their university, I recall going to kindergarten school in St. Theresa’s Manila across the Adamson campus. She gasped saying, “This WAS the former STC Manila”. An eerie feeling then gripped me — I realized I was back for the first time in the same auditorium where I marched at graduation from kindergarten 40 years ago. Eerily, it seemed that I, too, had been drawn to return to my beginnings in my own life journey — like the painter and the prodigal son.