FROM THE MARGINS

Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta Platforms once said: “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” This brings to mind one of the best woman-leaders I have met, Silvida “Salve” Reyes-Antiquera, the general manager of Kasagana-Ka Mutual Benefit Association (KMBA) and president of RIMANSI/Microinsurance MBA Association of the Philippines (MiMAP) from 2019-2021. 

Salve steered MiMAP’s strategic direction to focus on capacity-building, advocacy and resource mobilization. She advocated the exemption of microinsurance MBAs from the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for insurance companies, which was then deferred by the Insurance Commission (IC), from 2023 to 2027. She also led the development of member education and information systems that were piloted during the Covid-19 pandemic. She pushed for the installation of MiMAP’s business continuity plan during the pandemic as well as the online cash management system that readied the association to transition its financial transactions.  

Salve has been KMBA’s manager since 2011. Her education reflects her commitment to social development: she has bachelor degrees in Agricultural Technology and Social Work, and a masters degree in Community Development.  Before managing KMBA, she was engaged in slum upgrading projects and worked as a project coordinator in the Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA), a network of 43 social development NGOs.  

Established in 2006, KMBA is a non-stock, non-profit organization owned and managed by members. Licensed by the IC to provide affordable insurance products and services to urban poor women and their families, KMBA enrolled 48,580 members and insured 242,900 individuals in 2022. Their membership has grown to 53,000 as of September 2023.  
“We pay, on average, two claims worth a total of ₱35,000 per day,” says Salve, expressing happiness about KMBA’s microinsurance products for low-income families. She says they process benefit claims within 24-hours. 

KMBA offers Basic Life Insurance Plan (BLIP), Credit Life Insurance Plan (CLIP) and Hospital Income Insurance Plan (HIIP).  BLIP is provided to all client-beneficiaries and staff of Kabuhayan sa Ganap na Kasarinlan Credit and Savings Cooperative (K-Coop) and Kasagana-ka Development Center, Inc. (KDCI), as well as client-beneficiaries of other partner organizations. Their members contribute ₱20 weekly (₱15 for insurance premium and ₱5 for retirement savings fund) for a maximum benefit of ₱50,000 for natural death and ₱100,000 for accidental death. CLIP is offered to partner-MFIs as credit insurance up to maximum of ₱200,000 per borrower.  HIIP is coverage for periods when members are unable to work due to hospital confinement. For just ₱250 annual premium, it pays ₱200/day of hospitalization, up to 30 days a year.

In partnership with commercial insurance companies, KMBA also offers K-Kalinga, a personal accident-with-fire-insurance plan: the annual premium is P50, with ₱25,000 personal accidental death/burial assistance and ₱10,000 fire assistance benefits.  KMBA also offers K-Bente, a ₱20-a-year plan which provides a ₱6,000 benefit for natural or accidental death.  
In 2021 and 2022, KMBA was recognized as a 2-Golden Arrow Awardee by the IC and the Institute of Corporate Directors. This award is given to top-performing insurance companies based on the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecards (ACGS).  KMBA has always performed better than the insurance industry average in the ACGS, garnering ninth place overall in 2017, 11th place overall in 2019, and winning the 1-Golden Arrow Award in 2020.

This series of good governance awards is a testament to Salve’s empowering leadership, although she attributes KMBA’s success to her co-members’ malasakit for each other, as well as the good governance principles that Kasagana-Ka pioneers have instilled in the membership.  

Asked about her strengths as a leader, Salve replies: “I am open to different experiences, and am used to relating with people of different backgrounds, especially the disadvantaged sectors in society.” She considers being friendly and a team player among her strengths, as well as good planning and implementation skills. She has a great respect for deadlines and perseveres to learn new ways of doing things.  Indeed, Salve is known for dealing well with change and confronting challenges with agility and wisdom. 

Self-awareness is also one of Salve’s strengths. She said: “I need to practice to be calmer.  I get terrified and impatient when I miss deadlines.” She adds, “I also need to learn to relax so I do not get stage fright. It affects my self-confidence, especially when speaking to large groups of people.” But she says her greatest weakness is difficulty letting go of people she cares about. This caring and passionate nature manifests in her commitment to KMBA and her fellow members.

With this kind of leadership, we can expect KMBA to promote inclusive growth and always listen to the safety net needs of its members. In the words of Salve herself: “We will remain anchored on our vision of a self-reliant and self-sustaining mutual benefit association that actively responds to the financial needs of poor Filipino families.”

(Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip is a poverty eradication advocate. He is the founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually-Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), a group of 23 organizations that provide social development services to eight million economically-disadvantaged Filipinos and insure more than 27 million nationwide.)