MANILA, Philippines—Joey Velasco is the painter of the famous Hapag Ng Pag-ibig (Table of Love), an interpretation of the Last Supper depicting Jesus supping with 12 poor Filipino children that has won widespread renown, with countless reproductions in the country and abroad, including a giant billboard on Edsa.

Joey remains quite humble despite his rising 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 a recent talk he gave at Adamson University, 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 the loss of his left kidney.

It was a devastating experience. Even though the surgery was successful, Joey sank into a depression which he likened to being trapped in a dark, lonely, deep well. He totally withdrew from the world, avoiding any contact with friends and family.

He became a complete recluse, locking himself inside his room. Food would be left on a tray outside his door. He stopped shaving and bathing. He swung back and forth between despair, psychosis and suicide, even as he maintained a stubborn faith and hope of deliverance in God’s goodness.

He prayed for God to throw him a rope and in his desperation, he said he would have grabbed one laced with broken glass.

Rebirth, new career
One day in 2005, during one of his darkest moments of anguish and despair, Joey noticed a faint light streaming in from the window. Impelled by curiosity, he drew the curtain aside. Instantly, he was blinded by 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 though he did not realize it at the time, a new career. He suddenly felt the urge to pick up a paintbrush for the first time in his life and, despite lacking any training, he started to paint. To his surprise, he discovered he could draw, starting with human ears, a nose, a face. Like a little child elated over a new discovery, he was overcome with enthusiasm. 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 people on the street like the street sweeper and the policeman. He turned his entire house into a gallery, filling up all the walls, except for one in the dining room.

While thinking about what to put up on that last remaining wall, he was struck by an idea. His kids occasionally complained about the food served at mealtimes, craving better fare. That made him decide to paint something that would give them a strong visual reminder of God’s blessings, something that would compress 20 years of his own soul-searching into one compelling picture—the Hapag.

In search of subject matter, he set off for various depressed areas—to the Payatas dump, underneath bridges, and to cemeteries where he eventually found his 12 little “apostles” with whom he shared Jollibee happy meals, Lucky Me noodles and RTD juice. He took still photos of the 12, then returned to his room and started to paint. It took him only six weeks to complete the mural which measured 10 ft by 6 ft.

Reminder to his kids
Hapag was meant to be a reminder to his kids, but while working on the painting, he soon realized that it also became a reminder to himself.

The painting no longer remained a flat picture on canvas, but 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 a reminder to his children.

Joey was moved to search for the 12 children again. In that journey retracing his steps, he also found himself and found God. He says he learned so much— the nobility of spirit in the 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.

Gospel truths in poverty
He realized the children could take care of themselves and survive in the urban jungle, so that 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”.

Hapag did not merely transform the artist. Being a socially relevant illustration of Filipino life, a “kambas ng lipunan,” or a canvas of society, it did not just evoke admiration. The painting influenced public opinion and motivated people to act.

Joey started to receive calls and donations which he channeled through Gawad Kalinga. Most donors were not rich but middle-class Filipinos here and abroad. Joey recently learned that one of the donors—he sent $1,300, the cost of a GK home two years ago—was himself in dire straits. He was living in a California basement with his four children, having lost his job in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack.

Jewel of a donation
Another overseas Filipina living in Australia owned a piece of jewelry valued at $1,300. Every night, she would admire and kiss her jewel before hiding it under her pillow and going to sleep. But then she learned about Hapag and the plight of the children. She promptly donated the piece of jewelry to finance a Gawad Kalinga house.

[To date, benefactors have contributed $15,600 (12 x $1,300), but because of the rapid peso appreciation, the GK houses, due for turnover on Dec. 13, will need an additional P160,000. Donations may be forwarded to Gawad Kalinga.]

Joey has painted several other famous works, one of which was that of an old man embracing the Lord, a depiction of the prodigal son who had returned and was forgiven by his father. The subject was an intern at a home for the elderly, the 83-year-old Mang Crispin who came from a well-to-do family and had been abandoned by his seven children. Moved by his plight, Joey adopted Mang Crispin who now lives with him in his house.

Accidental reunion

Mang Crispin 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. At the emergency room, he was attended to by a doctor whose surname caught his attention as it was the same as his (the name is being withheld to protect the identity of the family). The doctor turned out to be his grandson. By God’s design, an accident became a chance for reunion.

Joey, who initially made his mark as a business entrepreneur, has gone on to write, direct, photograph and produce two amateur films on Hapag and Mang Crispin.