Universal Social Pension artwork, for our lolos, lolas, and our future

September 15, 2021

The Coalition of Services of the Elderly or COSE needed an illustration highlighting their Universal Social Pension campaign. They’ve been working to pass legislation that will give every Filipino access to a pension for their later years.

This would be the 2nd illustration I’d make for COSE. In 2019 they needed an update to their existing visual for the campaign. They had me work on the artwork, which was to emphasize COSE’s diverse coalition.

Dapat may Pension illustration. — “Dapat may pension,” or “There must be a pension.” This is from a previous campaign, which would serve as the basis for the updated artwork.

They needed different sectors represented, from youth, LGBT folks, fishers, farmers, and Indigenous People. I took the initial design they had which featured a jeepney and updated it with a new illustration style. I also kept in mind the two-color theme in case they wanted to screen print the design and minimize costs for the printing.

Universal Social Pension illustration for COSE in 2019. — The updated design I made for COSE in 2019.

The latest design for 2021

This year, they needed new artwork for their upcoming sets of materials. They wanted the same communities portrayed, but this time instead of a jeepney, they wanted them to be featured in a neighborhood. We decided that a sari-sari store and a home would definitely be in the artwork, and we also threw in a pharmacy as a subtle hint to the pandemic we’ve all been in for a year so far.

A not-so-subtle hint to the pandemic would be masks on a few of the characters, which I minimized to emphasize the happy faces of the community members.

Universal Social Pension neighborhood — The latest artwork for COSE in 2021.

Close-up of the pharmacy and folks in masks.

“Slice of Life” illustrations by Larry Alcala

During a Zoom meeting with COSE they mentioned that the artwork reminded them of the “Slice of Life” works by Larry Alcala. I looked him up afterwards and found his art to be obviously far more detailed and prolific than mine. Not only that, he was a National Artist. I became an instant fan.

Slice of Life artwork entitled “Barrio Wedding” by Larry Alcala. Alcala liked drawing himself in his art, can you find him above?

Alcala was a fan of Alfred Hitchcock and his film cameos, so he applied this in his own art by drawing himself into scenes. Like “Where’s Waldo“, he would encourage fans and viewers to find his caricature with glasses, sideburns, and large chin. Can you find him in the above artwork?

Larry Alcala was born in 1926 and soon became a well-known cartoonist. He would eventually make over 500 characters and 20 comic strips throughout the five decades of his artistic career. He was posthumously declared National Artist for Visual Arts in 2018. I can only hope to achieve the scope of work Sir. Larry made with his love of drawing.

Artwork starring… my Mama!

In the same way Alcala did “cameos” in his art, I did something similar. COSE requested that differently-abled people be portrayed somehow in the artworks. When illustrating a person in a wheelchair I thought of my mom. In August of 2005 my mom had a stroke which paralyzed her entire left side. She passed away in 2018, so I couldn’t help but honor her in some subtle way without disrupting COSE’s message in the artwork.

My mom and I one Christmas in Mama’s home province of Bohol.

Mama in the latest 2021 design. My mom was in fact a teacher once, so it was fitting that her likeness would be represented in this way here.

Why Universal Social Pension

If you’re a young professional who worries from time to time about retirement, welcome to the club. As a freelance artist myself, I have yet to figure out my retirement plan. I just turned 39, which means I’m just two decades away from “retirement age”. Since I love drawing, my hope is that I’ll still be working with a decent enough nest egg to fall on in case I need it. This is what I’m working toward now.

But what about people who aren’t digital artists with access to information at their fingertips? Folks who don’t have the same privileges as I do, but work just as hard if not more so. What of those with families to provide for as they get older?

Even with social security and government pensions via GSIS, around 40% of Filipino older people will have no pension. And of those receiving pensions, half of social security retirees will receive less than P3,000 or $60 US dollars a month. You can find this data and more from “The Feasibility of a Universal Social Pension in the Philippines” report here, published in 2017.

A universal social pension would close these coverage gaps, and being universal, it would simplify eligibility criteria. In doing so eligibility criteria would be more transparent and easy to understand, creating less space for corruption.

Older people in a home. Photo from Coalition of Services of the Elderly Facebook. — Care homes can range from a few thousand pesos a month to P100,000 a month (around $2,000 USD) depending on the amenities. Some are free for those who can’t afford it, but often with limited facilities. Photo from Coalition of Services of the Elderly Facebook.

“Social” pension today

Today, the Philippines has the Social Pension Program under Republic Act 9994 or Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010. But it only gives P500 pesos to indigent senior citizens aged 60 years old and above. They are defined as frail, sickly, or with disability, and without pension or financial assistance from relatives. It can be costly and time consuming to validate and identify who can be considered “indigent”, which is the case today.

At the moment the Universal Social Pension or USP bill lingers in the House of Representatives. Because 40% of Filipino seniors are still without pensions, the Social Pension Program under Republic Act 9994 or Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 must be amended.

Learn more about universal social pension

Watch this video from COSE on how millions of Filipino elders are affected because they don’t have the means to live the rest of their lives fruitfully.