Singer Grace Nono and Artists Welfare Project, Inc. push for bill to protect artists

Baltazar Endriga, Bayang Barrios, Ronnie Lazaro, Nanding Josef, Mae Paner,
Grace Nono, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, and Atty. Joenar Pueblo

An artist in dire need of financial assistance arising from a medical emergency is a call that I’ve heard far too often. Not having any health insurance, the artist had to rely on donations by fellow artists and other kind souls. Some eventually recover and go back to work while some do not bounce back and are unable to continue working. And the worst case scenario, there will be yet another call but for funeral expenses this time since the artist had no life insurance of any sort. This just exposes that majority of artists are ill-prepared and very vulnerable for whatever financial blows that befall them.

To soften the blows and to provide artists with more security, a group of artists from the various fields of theater, film, music, dance, visual arts, and traditional arts established the Artists Welfare Project, Inc. (AWPI) in 2007. The AWPI is an SEC-registered non-profit, non-stock, non-government organization that seeks to push for legislation that provides for health, housing and retirement benefits for Filipino artists, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, religious and political affiliation, and geographical location; and to contribute to the empowerment of its local artist-members through capacity-building lecture-workshops and other programs.

With singer Grace Nono, AWPI’s Executive Director, the group is now revitalizing their efforts starting with an artists’ consultation held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last October 2014. Hearing the needs and concerns of the artists, AWPI is now geared towards drafting a bill for artists’ welfare that will facilitate Philhealth registration and payment; provide medical and legal information services; and organize lecture-workshops on intellectual property rights, arts management, second careers, financial literacy, bookkeeping, and preventive healthcare for its members.

AWPI is also gunning for an awareness campaign among artists, the government and the private sector. A registration drive will take place at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on February 14, 2015 at the ASEAN Arts Market and also on February 15, 2015 during the Pasinaya Arts Festival. They will still continue their fundraising projects with an event in celebration of the International Women’s Month at the Star Theatre at the CCP Complex on March 7-8, 2015.

Baltazar Endriga, Bayang Barrios, Nanding Josef, Grace Nono,
and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde

I’ve had the pleasure of joining Grace Nono, along with the other officers of AWPI, actors Fernando “Tata Nanding” Josef (President), Ronnie Lazaro (Vice President) and Mae Paner (Vice Chairman), ballet legend Lisa Macuja-Elizalde (Treasurer), and advisers Baltazar Endriga and Atty. Joenar Pueblo for an intimate lunch at Sev’s Café with some members of the press to discuss the upcoming plans of AWPI. Atty. Joenar Pueblo, a filmmaker himself, explained that the bill he is drafting is just the start and that he aims to have it done before February ends. And once the bill is drafted, it’s time to lobby for it so that it will have an increased chance of being legislated.

The discussion of the artists’ current plight made me wonder if the country’s future artists, those who are currently taking up arts related courses in college, will be prepared for the real world as a working/performing artist. Sadly, of the handful of college music students that I’ve had a word with are completely at a loss when I talked to them about how health and social insurance works. The only thing they told me that had any semblance to business acumen is for piano majors being taught in their piano pedagogy course how to set up a music studio. For years, these music students are focused on mastering technique, developing artistry and musicality, and building their repertoire. But how to protect themselves from unscrupulous clients who would want them to perform with only “exposure” for compensation is not taught at all. These musicians may be able to play difficult concertos like it’s just a walk in the park but they couldn’t figure out how to file income tax returns which is very complicated for an artist compared from a regular employee. And with the not so lucrative state of the classical music scene in the country, it’s extremely rare for someone to be under a management company that will take care of his affairs enabling him to focus more in his craft.

I find the AWPI’s aim to improve the lives of artists in the Philippines commendable since artists contribute a lot to society as a whole and not just economically. It will take the combined efforts of the artists, the government, and the private sector to make into reality a society where an artist can work, create and/or perform totally secure that a sudden health/medical emergency will not cripple him financially.

Artists Welfare Project, Inc. (AWPI) is currently headed by theater director and actor Fernando Josef (President); film actor and director Ronnie Lazaro (Vice President); musician and civil servant Karina Constantino-David (Chairperson); theatre actor Mae Paner (Vice-Chairperson); prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde (Treasurer); painter and educator Karen Ocampo-Flores (Secretary); singer and scholar Grace Nono (Executive Director); arts manager Baltazar Endriga, CPA; and filmmaker Atty. Joenar Pueblo, legal counsel.

For inquiries:

Rica Concepcion 0926-6151182, artistswelfareproject@gmail.com