A social media post seeking volunteers for an upcoming pop culture convention earned questions about how it will compensate individuals during the three-day event.
The Facebook page of TOYCON PH or the Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention on Tuesday announced the opening of its slots for “talented and dedicated individuals who wish to volunteer as an event marshal for the event.”
It said that the event organizer, Anime Alliance Philippines, would be responsible for “actively reviewing volunteer applications” from April 17 to May 15.
Anime Alliance PH will also conduct online interviews until June 10 “to assign critical roles for the event to lucky volunteers” by June 15.
“Be a part of the biggest pop-culture event [in] the country! We look forward to you joining our TOYCON Fam!” the announcement of TOYCON reads.
As of Tuesday afternoon, it has already edited the post following the comments and now redirects Filipinos to a separate post of the event organizer.
Below is the announcement of Anime Alliance PH:
Before it was edited, part of TOYCON’s announcement made its way to r/Philippines, a subreddit in the discussion website “for the Philippines and all things Filipino.”
“Paid event na naghahanap ng ‘lucky’ volunteers to be marshals. Pay your workers!” the OP or the original poster said on Tuesday.
“Free labor?” another Reddit user commented.
“Kung charity event ‘to, okay lang eh. Pero this event is planned to generate profit,” the OP wrote in the comments.
Similar comments were also found on TOYCON’s Facebook post before it was edited.
“Classic labor exploitation! 20 years pero wala pa ring character development. 20 years nang nag-oorganize, may banat pa din na ganyang free labor, haha. Pasalamat kayo may trabaho kayo (na walang sahod),” a Facebook user wrote before.
“Kaya pala [‘yung] Mega marshall sa event, masusungit, kasi [wala] pala silang bayad dun,” another online user commented with an anguished face emoji.
“Wala [nang] libre ngayon! Kayo, may kita, tapos ‘yung mga marshal [niyo], wala? Lucky ba ‘yung hindi [niyo] babayaran sa event? Bibigyan [ninyo] pa ng gawain, kunwari lucky?” wrote a different Pinoy with rolling-on-the-floor laughing emojis.
‘Not labor exploitation’
In response to the online comments, Anime Alliance PH operations manager Michael Ramas said that they do not force any individual to be part of the convention for their financial gain or profit.
“There is no monetary compensation for our volunteers. It is called volunteer for a reason,” he said in a statement sent to Interaksyon.
“Labor exploitation, I think, is too harsh of a term to be used since we do not force any individual of any work for our financial gain or profit,” Ramas added.
“Volunteering is not labor exploitation, we always seek out like-minded individuals that are willing to dedicate their time and effort to help out with an event that either they may be a fan of, or even just gain experience for themselves to get them ready in the real world,” he continued.
“We also do not abuse our volunteers, if anything — we are very lenient with them. It has always been our policy to have the utmost patience and leniency with our volunteers,” Ramas further said.
“These people who help us run the show could’ve used their time to do more important things in their life, and yet they choose to dedicate it [to] us, so the least we can do is give them the dignity and respect that they deserve while they fulfill their duties and have fun — all in helping us run a great show,” he added.
Ramas emphasized that they have “no intention” of exploiting anyone for their gain, adding that they always ask about the potential volunteers’ expectations from them during interview sessions.
“We always ask them what their expectations are from us and we level off right then and there. Everyone who comes onboard is also briefed with our expectations and are always more than welcome to rescind their interest otherwise with no repercussions at all,” he said.
“Our team is no different from other organizations or events in and out of the country that seeks volunteers to make their events run smoothly,” the operations manager added.
“If you look at other local pop-culture events, or events in the US like New York Comic Con, San Diego Comic Con, AnimeNYC, MatsuriCon, or even in Asia and the likes — they too seek volunteers out to run and help their [shows] look magnificent despite their event’s magnitude, compared to ours,” Ramas said.
According to him, their event marshals in conventions enjoy the following perks:
- Free entrance to the event
- Early access to all areas and vendor’s hall
- Event tokens, t-shirts and freebies
- Volunteer raffle for event-exclusive items
- Food provided at the duration of the event
- Other perks that may arise on-event as management deems appropriate
“I hope this further explains more of what our volunteers and what volunteerism is all about when it comes to our team,” Ramas said.
The convention
TOYCON PH is celebrating its 20th year this 2023.
It is considered Asia’s biggest and long-running convention for toys and collectibles, cosplay, comics, gaming, and digital entertainment.
TOYCON PH also prides itself in making the local pop culture scene “the most dynamic and the most fan-centric experience” in the region.
The convention is said to attract 30,000 visitors annually from all over the country and from its Asian neighbors.
Attendees usually need to buy a ticket to enter the convention area.
Meanwhile, Anime Alliance PH is a non-stock and non-profit organization covering most of the biggest and known anime events through the web — live and recorded — for anime fans.
Its goal is to recruit anime enthusiasts of any age to interact with fellow anime lovers and unite themselves as they grow larger with other anime organizations in the country and across the globe.
During TOYCON, event marshals are deployed for behind-the-scenes operations of the convention so it can run smoothly for eventgoers and exhibitors. They keep the event secure.
Ramas said that some of their duties include — but are not limited to — providing assistance to event attendees, guests and liaisons, production coordination, ushering, and volunteer relations.
This year’s convention will happen on July 7 to 9 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
