In response to what they believed were conditions in the fashion-modeling industry that needed to be professionalized, top-caliber models founded the Professional Models Association of the Philippines, or PMAP, in 1987. They sought for reasonable working hours and standardized compensation for model bookings. “As a union we are vocal with our rights. As an association, we have a vision of what we want to become in the future,” says one of the original members, Tina Maristela-Ocampo, who co-founded the organization with co-models Ronnie Asuncion and Robert David.
PMAP is the very first of its kind in Asia, and probably the world. It is the only organization of models run by models themselves, each confident of their own talents, abilities and capabilities to manage and plan their modeling careers. Established on February 11, 1987, the PMAP aims to “uplift, protect and professionalize the modeling industry in the Philippines, and to develop and stabilize, national and international awareness, participation, involvement and competition in the field of modeling.”
