Even before she joined SM Foundation, Inc. as its Executive Director for Medical and Health Programs in 2001, Connie Angeles has already immersed herself in public service. Her love to be of service to others inspired her to run for a post in the local government of Quezon City where she served as councilor and later vice mayor.
A film and television actress, Connie Angeles has put her acting career on hold. But she remains a popular television personality—as host of the Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko Program aired over GMA7. Her foray as co-host of the top-rating public service show began in 1983 when she was asked to be a substitute host.
“Mr. Mercado [Orlando “Orly” Mercado] called me to pitch in for absent hosts. That started it. I told him I didn’t want to leave even when the hosts started coming back” Angeles shared. According to Angeles, it was a dream come true for her as she was already an avid viewer of the program. “I have always wanted to be of help to the less fortunate.”
Mr. Mercado is Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko founding host and Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko Foundation president who remains host of the television program. He is also a journalist, broadcast executive and television personality who was one of the original hosts of the noontime show Lunch Date. He has served the country as Assemblyman, Senator (1987-1998) and Secretary of National Defense (1998-2001). He was the first Philippine ambassador (Permanent Representative) to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Angeles looks up to Mercado as her mentor in public service. Like her mentor who never left hosting Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko despite his busy schedule, Angeles did not give up co-hosting the program over the years.
“One of the biggest challenges was arranging my schedules. But I always make sure to be present to co-host whenever I am needed, especially when Mr. Mercado is unavailable or travelling abroad” she said. Then there were encounters with patients who were did not know how to go about getting the needed help for their severe health problems. There were so many lining up to seek help, “How I wished Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko could accommodate all of these patients.”
In 2023, Angeles was honored with the Ading Fernando Lifetime Achievement Award during the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) Star Awards. In 1990, Angeles was bestowed by the PMPC with the Best Public Service Program Host award for the television show Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko.
The television program Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko is celebrating its golden anniversary this year, with its first broadcast on December 1, 1975. The organization that runs the daily operations, Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko Foundation was established in 1976.
Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko’s mission is to transform lives of the disadvantaged through guidance, connection, and empowerment. It taps private donors to help shoulder expensive medical and surgical procedures needed by indigent patients. It has a clinic-on-the-air and off-air to accommodate the number of patients seeking help.
Among the program partners of Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko is SM Foundation whose Health and Medical Programs team is headed by Angeles. The health advocacy of SM Foundation aligns with the vision of Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko.
Other partners are: Mabuhay Deseret Foundation, Philippine Association of Interpreters for Deaf Empowerment (PAIDE), The Optical Shop Incorporated, St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC), Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, National Children’s Hospital, Philippine Red Cross, Philippine General Hospital, Quezon City General Hospital (QCGH) Medical Center, and the Lung Center of the Philippines.
