Why participation of Dingdong, Alden a shot in arm for Mowelfund

The inclusion of younger actors like Dingdong Dantes and Alden Richards as board members of the Movie Workers’ Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund) was like a shot in the arm of the 50-year-old film-related institution because it is now able to connect easily and more directly with active members of the industry.

This was according to Boots Anson-Rodrigo, who is chair of this private, nonprofit foundation mandated to provide medical and general welfare benefits to marginalized film workers and offer subsidized film education to their dependents.

“With Dingdong and Alden around, our connection to other industry workers is faster and more effective. It’s always so difficult to catch the attention of young ones [to invite them as members] because they’re so busy. Maybe at this point in their lives, they still cannot imagine that all this affluence resulting from their status will all be gone at some point in the future. Their predecessors in the industry, those whose acting careers have ended, did not prepare them for this eventuality,” Rodrigo told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview.

“With Dingdong and Alden there, it’s easier to relate to younger workers and the more active ones the predicament of their more senior counterparts and those who are no longer active today—those who did not invest and are now in need of assistance,” she added. “Also, there’s such a thing as paying forward to the industry, that one shouldn’t wait to pay it forward until they are not ‘busy’ anymore.”

Grateful

The invitation for Dantes and Richards to join Mowelfund came from members of the board of trustees and the executive committee, reported Rodrigo. “We’re grateful that they readily said ‘yes.’ They are the ones who work more closely with other film workers so they know what is happening in the industry,” she pointed out.

“We can see that until today our members, for the past 50 years, are still among those who are in need when it comes to welfare,” Richards told reporters at the press conference that coincided with the foundation’s 50th anniversary celebration at UP Bahay ng Alumni in Quezon City.

Richards is helping out with the educational department or the Mowelfund Institute section, reported Rodrigo. “He is very much involved in Mowelfund’s awareness programs, especially through social media. In fact, he deployed his teammates from Myriad Productions, an events planning and media outfit, to help us out,” Rodrigo said.

Another project of Richards is the “Mowelfund Sessions,” a digital show hosted by Dantes. “It’s a series of in-depth interviews of the board members and the Execom, some of the other stakeholders and industry prime movers, and eventually, some of the beneficiaries themselves,” Rodrigo said.

“This is how we show our love not only to the members, but also to the whole industry,” Dantes told reporters at the anniversary celebration that was also attended by industry veterans like Vilma Santos, Imelda Papin, Leo Martinez and Ricky Davao.

‘Emphatic’

Dingdong is very much into the welfare projects, reported Rodrigo. “He was emphatic that by way of expanding and activating our membership campaign, there should also be amnesty for Mowelfund members who are not able to keep up with their P500 annual membership fee,” she explained. ”He also suggested that it’s about time this welfare program be given a face by putting up a medical clinic. That’s what we are planning with him today.”

Rodrigo said the day-long anniversary celebration on March 15 began with medical and dental checkups, a traditional Mowelfund activity, “but a little bigger, more elaborate and more encompassing because we just reached 50.”

“The attendance was pretty impressive at 800 members. It was the biggest so far from the existing 3,000 members from all over. One of the highlights was a Mass officiated by Fr. Bong Topino, the UP Catholic community chaplain,” Rodrigo said.

The program was hosted by Giselle Sanchez and Butch Francisco.

Rodrigo added that a Mowelfund fun run is also in the works, as well as the “Mowelfund Gala,” a concert “that is a very suntok sa buwan in ambition. This is inspired by the first mammoth concert in 1985 that was organized to institutionalize, by way of logistics, the Mowelfund.”

She also talked about the plan to restore the Mowelfund Film Museum, which was the only one of its kind when it was present in the old building in Quezon City. “In our last meeting with [Quezon City] Mayor Joy Belmonte, she announced that she would be setting aside a building for the museum. Temporarily, it will be housed in the Quezon City Memorial Circle until that building is put up,” Rodrigo said. INQ