Utopia Village: Service through Social Responsibility

August 2013 marked the day for GK Utopia Village’s turnover ceremony

The year 2007 gave a new light to the people of Marcelo Green Village in Parañaque, when our Utopian brothers initiated a tie-up with Gawad Kalinga for the construction of the Utopia Village. Spearheading the project was (Brod/Boss) Antonio “Tony” Bernardo, who was already involved in other Gawad Kalinga housing initiatives since 2004 which, at first, started only as part of the roster of social responsibility projects of the Bureau of Customs, where he acted as its former Commissioner. In a recent interview with the Philippine Star, Bernardo said, “I got into GK by accident and I’ll be staying doing GK work by choice. Once you’ve been bitten by GK, you stay there. My philosophy has always been, to whom much is given, much is required. My dream is to see and make the communities the very best they can be. Everyone has a right to a decent home.” The village is composed of around 50 houses and is part of the much larger Gawad Kalinga Village in Parañaque, which shall shelter primarily low-income families and informal settlers. According to former Parañaque Mayor Florencio “Jun” Bernabe Jr., the hundreds of families that shall be covered by more than 30 housing programs within the Gawad Kalinga Village (including the Utopia Village), shall only be paying 600 to 700 Php in monthly amortizations for the next 20 to 25 years. In addition, the development also made crime-rates go down for areas that were once a haven for informal settlers.

Bernardo also said “Part of the initiation rites for the new members (of the fraternity) is that we will require neophytes and freshmen to take social responsibility orientation and let them build homes in GK sites.” Staying true to our vow of Service, not only must the Fraternity move in ways that would benefit its own kin, but we must also consider the plight of those who have less in life. Being members of this very prestigious organization, we must use our privilege of membership in empowering our fellow Filipinos in whatever capacity that we may exert. What Brod/Boss Tony Bernardo has given to the people of Parañaque is a material representation of the vow of Service that we uphold – that regardless of what we may become or where we may find ourselves in the future, our countrymen will always require the degree and intensity of Service that our Fraternity upholds.  This being said, social responsibility has and will always be a top priority of the Fraternal Order of Utopia.

Sources:
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2007/07/22/7558/ex-customs-official-embraces-gk-vision
http://asianjournalusa.com/bernabe-gk-making-dreams-come-true-in-paranaque-p5620-152.htm