Mowelfund plays Good Samaritan to Janice

Janice Jurado had it all: a name with instant recall plus money overflowing from TV and movie assignments. She thought these would never end, so she squandered her money in vices, foremost of which was drugs. And then the big blow: she discovered she had breast cancer. Her doctor told her she needed six operations to remove the cancer cells.

She ran to friends for help. And they dug deep into their pockets for their colleague. But it was not enough. Janice had to pay for two more operations to fully recover. She has reached the end of her rope.

Enter Mowelfund (Movie Workers Welfare Fund). The Good Samaritan that it has always been, Mowelfund pledged to shoulder the cost of Janice’s operation and hospitalization.

Today, she is cancer-free and can’t thank her benefactor enough.

"I feel so guilty because I never contributed to Mowelfund when I was still earning a lot," Janice said in Filipino during a press conference. "I thought Mowelfund only comes in when a person dies. Little did I know I’ll be using other people’s money in Mowelfund to save my life."

Now, Janice vows to give 10 percent of her earnings to Mowelfund if she’ll be lucky enough to earn as much as she was earning before.

"Imagine, Mowelfund even gave me transportation fare!" she gushes. And, Janice adds, "the hospital staff didn’t even have to follow up Mowelfund about the payment. The bills were settled at once."

Romy Blanco, head of the stuntmen’s group, is singing the same tune. Now that roles are hard to come by for stuntmen like him, Blanco says, Mowelfund is heaven sent.

If they are vocal about how Mowelfund is helping them, a fully-recovered Janice and Romy are just as up front about another appeal: for people to help the foundation in an upcoming fund-raiser. The show, called Alay Ko Para sa Aking Kapwa Artista, is set at Merk’s tomorrow in time for Mowelfund executive director Boots Anson-Roa’s 61st birthday.

"Instead of giving me gifts, I ask well-wishers to buy tickets to the show. They will go a long way in helping our needy movie workers," says Boots.

She has pegged this year’s target amount to P350,000 to P500,000. Still, this amount is a drop in the bucket, considering that it can only cover a month’s worth of benefits for Mowelfund’s 4,500 members.

True, the 2005 Metro Filmfest, which gives part of its proceeds to Mowelfund, outstripped the previous year’s earnings, but Boots insists costs continue to climb. The newly-built Film Museum has to be maintained, and the finishing touches to the Mowelfund Building’s upper three stories are being done so they can be rented out and used as additional sources of income.

Boots’ friends have pledged to lend her a hand on her birthday project. Among those who agreed to perform for a song are Pilita Corrales, Kuh Ledesma, Ivy Violan, Montet Acoymo, Tirso Cruz III, Jacqui Magno, Pat Castillo and Edgar Mortiz. Former senator Ramon Revilla will donate a big amount of money. His son, senator Bong Revilla also pledged support, as did senators Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid, Manny Villar and John Osmena. Precy Florentino of Music Museum also agreed to pitch in.

Private companies like Enerva, CDO, Hershey’s, SM Cinema and Nestle have also come to the rescue.

Richard Merk offered his restaurant-bar in Greenbelt 3 as venue for the show.

Leo Martinez and German Moreno will host the gathering of stars.

"We need P13-M a year to get by," Boots reveals. "And we need all the help we can get, especially now that our annual budget has plummeted by as much as 50 percent."

Boots also plans to put up a big fund-raiser that will see younger stars paying tribute to their senior counterparts in October or November.

The show is ambitious. But with a task as Herculean as hers, Boots has all the reason to dream big and aim high.