The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has mourned the death of artist and animal advocate Robert Alejandro.

Alejandro, one of the co-founders of Filipino stationery brand Papemelroti, has passed away on Tuesday, 5 November. He was 60.

He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016.

“Robert’s kind and generous heart is well-known by the Filipino people as he has lent his talent to many causes — mostly for the environment, for children and for animal welfare,” PAWS wrote.

“If one looks closely at every art tableau he created, you would see that images of dogs and cats are almost always there. Robert felt a kinship with animals and supported PAWS’ campaigns in promoting their kind treatment,” it added.

PAWS recalled that when it desperately needed merchandise to sell to raise funds but did not have designs for shirts and mugs, Alejandro immediately created artworks and sent them over to the non-profit group as his donation.

“He was in full support of our initiative for the PAWS Junior Cadets in 2010 because he believed in the importance of teaching kids to love animals,” PAWS recounted.

Alejandro was one of the judges of PAWS’ Kindness to Animals art contests and said yes to all its invites for fundraisers.

He was also the one who proposed and created a new and fresh PAWS logo to replace the original logo that the organization had been using since 1954.

“The only time Robert had ever said “no” to PAWS was last month, when he could not personally receive his Golden Paw award during PAWS’ 70th anniversary celebration as he was already very ill. His sister, Meldy, received the award on his behalf,” PAWS said.

“Robert, we thank you for sharing your amazing talent with us and — oh so generously — helping speak for the voiceless,” it added. “Your favorite things to draw were happy people and animals in a cheerful and colorful place. We believe you are there now.”

Alejandro received his Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1984.

He hosted his own TV show “Art-Is-Kool” and taught free arts lessons in the streets and in cemeteries.

During the pandemic, Alejandro initiated his own Facebook live workshops for children.