For TV-movie actress Boots Anson-Roa Rodrigo, chairperson of the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund), the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a blessing. It enabled the foundation to give greater focus on important development projects and partnerships that have resulted in more opportunities to generate funds for its members.
The foundation for marginalized film workers was established in 1974 by former action star and 1998 Philippine President Joseph Estrada, to provide welfare and health benefits to its members, as well as film education opportunities through the Mowelfund Film Institute (MFI). It has since served 4,000 workers, Rodrigo reported.
During the COVID-19 interim, Mowelfund engaged in a joint realty project with Victor Consunji Development Corp. (VCDC). “The construction of townhouses by VCDC didn’t stop during the pandemic. It was also at this time that the construction of our six-story building went into full force,” recalled Rodrigo, adding that Mowelfund transferred offices there early this year. “The funds generated from the partnership were used to put up postproduction facilities for editing, color-grading, sound and similar services that we have been offering for several months now,” Rodrigo said.
Masterclasses
Despite the lockdown, the Mowelfund benefits continued, with a skeleton force bringing “ayuda” to the members’ homes, its chairperson said. “We also organized small gatherings of 20 to 25 people to distribute cash gifts and groceries, as well as cell phones that the children of our members used during their study-from-home sessions.”Film education was not neglected either, with the MFI conducting webinars and online masterclasses in acting, directing, scriptwriting and cinematography, and inviting Leo Martinez, Jose Javier Reyes, Ricky Lee and Raymond Red as resource speakers, respectively.
As one of the beneficiaries of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival, Mowelfund receives 50 percent of the festival’s earnings, while the Film Academy of the Philippines gets 20 percent; the Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy Council also gets 20 percent; the Optical Media Board, 5 percent; and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), 5 percent.
According to Rodrigo, Mowelfund has also tied up with the FDCP for special assistance to film workers who are nonmembers, under the agency’s Sagip Tala program. “[Marichu] Vera Perez, who was chairperson until her demise, was so intense in her fundraising activities that even on her deathbed, she asked for monetary donations to Mowelfund instead of flowers. Her family was able to collect P1.6 million,” Rodrigo said.
Housing project
“Our funds in general have helped with our sustainability. [But] we know we can’t rely solely on that so we went into partnership with several business groups through our multipurpose cooperative. These partnerships focused on livelihood programs for our members,” the Mowelfund official explained.
Then there’s the collaboration with the National Housing Authority and the San Jose Del Monte City government in Bulacan, which enabled 16 members to avail of the city’s housing project in Barangay Gaya-Gaya after undergoing a series of screening and evaluation to meet the prescribed requirements.Rodrigo added that because of their tie-up with Mowelfund, Potato Corner and Maris Pure Corp., owners of Healthy and Pure Water, have waived their franchise fee for members interested in putting up their own stalls or becoming distributors of the products for additional income.
Mowelfund members are entitled to the following benefits: medical assistance (P8,000) for a maximum of three hospital confinements per year; surgical aid (P13,000) per year for a major surgical procedure (invasive or noninvasive); continuing medication in the form of medicine purchase reimbursements for a maximum of P5,000 once a year and funeral assistance (P35,000) to immediate relatives of the deceased member.
More benefits
This year, the foundation introduced Platinum Membership, which provides increased financial benefits and additional perks to film workers who can afford a higher annual membership fee. This is in partnership with the newly formed actors guild called Aktor, led by Dingdong Dantes.
Aside from Rodrigo, Mowelfund is guided by its board of directors composed of Gina Alajar, vice chairperson and treasurer; Edgardo “Boy” Vinarao, trustee; Jim Baltazar, trustee; president and CEO Rez Cortez; and vice president and COO Julius Topacio. Day-to-day management and operations are handled by the executive committee headed by Cortez and Topacio, with administration and finance director Emma Mon Alon, welfare director Joey Roa and education director Ricky Orellana, as members. INQ
