I became involved with the Home for the Golden Gays in 2011 when PinoyG4M and Akei visited the Home. The Home is a place where elderly gays and lesbians (hence, “golden gays”) can stay if they have nowhere else to go. After speaking to its secretariat, Ramon Busa, and with the approval of its founder, Justo Justo, I offered to create a website, Facebook page and Twitter account for the Home for the Golden Gays to expand their online presence and make it easier for other people to help the Home.
Justo Justo passed away in May 2012 and Ramon Busa took over as the president of the Home for the Golden Gays. Shortly after Justo Justo’s passing, the residents of the Home moved out of his family home and into a new (but much smaller) apartment in Pasay.
I still post updates to the website and Facebook page, especially when Mr Busa requests that I add some content. My help to the Home is purely voluntary and the expense of renewing their website’s domain name is my small personal donation to the Home.
For some time now, I noticed new updates coming from the Facebook page that I did not upload. These were mostly photos from outreach projects made in the Home in 2012, when Mr Justo was still alive. I did not mind those photos because they are, after all, activities made in the Home for the Golden Gays.
However, I saw in my feeds an update from the Facebook page warning people that Mr Busa is no longer affiliated with the Home for the Golden Gays. Naturally, I was puzzled and I looked into the Home for Golden Gays Facebook page to see if there are similar posts.
Not only were there similar posts, I also found out that I was removed as a page manager. Based on the new profile, relatives of the late Mr Justo are now the new page managers.
The fact that I was removed as a page manager without warning upset me. But more than that, I am worried how the family can claim the name of the foundation while at the same time allow the Home’s residents to move out from their property. How can they call claim the name of the Home for the Golden Gays without the residents? Without the Golden Gays?
I sent a message to the new Facebook page managers and this was their reply:
Jade Tamboon: Hi. I’m the webmaster of the Home for the Golden Gays website which was developed with the approval of the late Justo Justo and Mon Busa. In fact, I was the one who created this Facebook page.
Who is now managing the Home for the Golden Gays?Home For The Golden Gays: the truth is the grandson of justo c justo ., francis gilou justo galvez..and we have plan to have an election within dis month of january for the new officers..,remember pasay is the original place for the home of the golden gays foundations..thank you and godbless..
I do not wish to speculate on the plans of the Justo family for the Home for the Golden Gays Foundation. However, I do not see any reason to support a foundation that no longer appears to follow the reason why it was created.
I also sent a message to Mr Busa to ask him what is happening to the Home for the Golden Gays. His reply to my SMS was:
Let me check. Will come back to you. Tnx Mon
I am not officially part of the Home for the Golden Gays, nor do I make any claims in that regard. But I am very fond of the “lolas”, as we call them, and would like to see them in a better condition than how they are currently.
This post is a heads up to friends in the LGBT community and to LGBT-allied groups who continue or plan to help the Home for the Golden Gays. Its former residents still need our help; however, I believe we should ensure that the help we provide them will reach the lolas who really need it.