A Mechanical Engineer by profession but a Social Architect in practice, he was part of the pioneering team that worked closely with volunteers and partners in 1999 to establish the first Gawad Kalinga communities.
In 2012, together with Mr Antonio Meloto, received the prestigious Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship of the Skoll Foundation. An international award giving body recongizing game changers from different countries in the field of sustainable and scaleable social transformation. This award a great affirmation of the contributions the volunteers and partners of Gawad Kalinga.
Guided by the founding principles of GK that "poverty is a crisis in values that has economic consequences" and "looking at the poor equal in worth and dignity", he continues to challenge barriers that keep the poorest poor.
Currently, serving as the Executive Director of Gawad Kalinga Foundation (a Ramon Magsaysay Awardee) , Mr Jose Luis Oquiñena is leading the charge in scaling the model
to create sustainable momentum to end poverty for 5 million families. It is GKs hope that the rising poor today will be the new middle class of our country in our lifetime.
