Owat Boys

The Owat Boys is a group of Filipino individuals formed in 1991 to promote financial assistance to less fortunate individuals within the local area in Tondo. They originated from Tondo, Manila, Philippines, just about 3 kilometers from Sto. Nino Parich Church in little town called Isla de Balut. The main focus are those potential students that can help their families as soon as they finish studying. Until today the group is still operating though not as actively as in their heyday in early 2000. They were able to help individuals finish their studies and eventually help their families. The founding member is Jerry Faustino. Other members are still active in promoting the group's cause though unannounced. The group's undisclosed activities remained popular to those who know of their existence. The group was so discreet that they would use inversely-spelled words in their local language, which they mastered through years of practice, if they have to talk about their organisation in public. The group's composition as whole, are combinations of former classmates and groupmates of the founding member from elementary, high school and college years.
Formation
In October 1991, Jerry Faustino formed a group called "Kikiam Boys". The first members were Ariel Mangawang, Michael Dela Cruz and Elmer Bulos. In February 1992, Faustino met Marlon Gaper, who agreed became the group's leader. Faustino then invited Joseph Ortega to join the group in July 1992 as a junior member. Later on, he brought in several new junior members, namely: Albert Marbeda, Jolly Cajurao and Erwin Cornejo. The group's appointed leader, Marlon Gaper, left in 1993 & the group had difficulties finding a permanent replacement. Eventually, Elmer Maniego, a fellow student of Faustino at Timoteo Paez Integrated School, joined in August 1992. Whilst the group grew in numbers, a succession of name-changes also ensued. Maniego suggested "Robbery Papa" as a tribute to Maning Gaper, the father of former leader Marlon Gaper & a frequent donater of kikiam (a kind of Chinese food) to the group. For the first few months of 1992, they were known as "Kikiam Boys with Robbery Papa." Other names included "Full Force" and "The Owatashi." The group finally became "Owat Boys" in January 1993 in honor of Mang Juanito (local reference), the look-alike of and father figure to Mangawang. Mang Juanito conceptualized the group's motto and he is thought of as the "Father of Owat." From the start of the group's existence, lack of funds posed a problem so their desire to help the Tondonians — especially the less-fortunate families — was subverted. Not long after, the group acquired steady funds from contributions from wealthy families who believe in
the group's cause and self-donations. Other key members joined, such as Randy Vidar Perez, who became the group's Supremo (a self-appointment), Gener Brugada, one of the main financier's of the group and Robert Depano, the manager. All three were former classmates of Faustino in secondary school and the last two were co-members of the well-known high school group Rage Bang. Perez was the other half of the popular matinee tandem of Hernandez-Perez in their local school.
1995-1998
The senior group slowed down during this period to concentrate on their individual careers while the junior members continued to observe their social responsibility in the selected areas in Tondo. They proved successful in promoting the group's image to what it is today (within the local area). They launched several projects that are still on-going up to now. They were able to establish their presence in the eastern region and they are also responsible for the group's hold in the southern part of the region, particularly Mandaluyong City. Ortega attempted to build a headquarters but was hindered because of circumstances.
1999-2003
In the year 2000, Owat Boys senior members Perez (the Supremo), Depano and Faustino launched the first ever headquarters in Buendia Street, Balut. This enabled the group to continue the successful operations from the previous years. During this period, the group branched out to other areas and recruited many others as supporting members. Several qualified participants started to benefit from the group's on-going projects, specifically education. Brugada helped a bunch of students finish their studies. He pioneered the program study hard-earn easy. It is a program specifically designed for average but hardworking students. First few who benefited from the program were Gloria Dacayanan, Mylene Delos Santos and Nelcy Danting. Delos Santos eventually became the wife of Brugada. Danting was Maniego's fiancee' back then. Other members were active gathering funds for the expansion.
They even operated in the port area (a.k.a. the "Juicy area" in the group's lexicon) through the initiative of Supremo Randy. It was a momentous event for the group as it was where they met Papay and Mamay, who became major contributors in the future and were very close to Perez. Ortega on the other hand, constructed a headquarters in Cebu. Dela Cruz brought the group's activities to Zambales province. Depano suffered a set-back when he got entagled with operational problems relating to what is referred to as "kalawang" (or "stain" in the group's terminology) in his local operations. Mangawang started the northern part, Bulacan and built a permanent office in the area. Altogether, during this period, the group was able to help local students finish their secondary and tertiary education. These achievements were unannounced for it is the group's policy to keep everything to themselves. Other contributors were Eddie Vahg Lee, a realty businessman from Pampanga, Philippines, and also a well-known distributor of panambak (a tagalog term), fil-am Leony "Mikasa" Dela Cruz, an eggplant farmer originated from Buras-Triumph, Louisiana , archer Felipe "Tutchang" Illut, a fish dealer from Agora, Navotas, Carlito "Abridor de latas" Serna, a gym instructor and Ivan Tagpis, a civil engineer who is now based in Bayaguana, Dominican Republic. Later on the power house tandem of Carl Santos, a stage actor who portrayed the role title role in "Zuka", a local play parodying the local movie Zuma and fellow alumni Rommel "Oicangi" Ignacio, an engineer who graduated from University of Technology, Iraq and also an alum dealer joined the fray.
Legacy
The Owat Boys' influence on social welfare was immense — to the people who knew of their existence, at least. They touched many lives on a personal level and provided reason to hope. Up to now, people are still asking for their help even if the group's activities have been at a standstill for quite some time. In the area of social responsibity & assistance, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive than The Owat Boys, according to its many admirers. From the 1990s, they consistently deprived themselves of the glory for the good work they did. Known as the "Birthplace of the Owat," the town of Tondo blazed the trail for a revolutionized style of assistance among its denizens. The Owat Boys inspired a many life by making a difference without publicising their work. They started what is known today (within their town) as the Owat Foundation. They became an influence in Tondo, helping establish a number of foundations in different areas and inspiring others to do the same. The Owat Boys redefined the concept of helping others as something more than just a means to earn bragging rights and they were the originators in Tondo of the now common practice of helping less-fortunate families.
Odd Politics
During their periods of Buendia residency between 1999 and 2003, The Owat Boys took an odd political tactic to bolster their campaign in an inconspicuous manner. They would normally engage themselves to prolonged drinking sessions to get new acquaintances. Ginebra San Miguel (Gin) and Red Horse Beer were their favorite subject. Even so, they maintained high profile stature in front of their scholars and peers. They used the advantage of being recreational-drinkers to build ties with influencial individuals and easily seek help to them if in case of a need.

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