Aboitiz Foundation aids fire-stricken PGH
Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Aboitiz Group has turned over cash donations and N95 masks to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Medical Foundation after a fire ravaged the hospital last May 16. (From left) Welfredo Dalumpines, Aboitiz Foundation supervising project officer, Gloria Rio, PGH Medical Foundation finance officer and Vic Zoleta, PGH Medical Foundation administrative officer during the turnover ceremony.
PhilHealth reiterates commitment to pay partner hospitals
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has reiterated its commitment to pay its obligations to its partner hospitals, the government health insurer said in a statement, adding that it has sufficient funds to fulfill its obligations. As a public fund, PhilHealth said that it has safeguards in place based on accounting and auditing rules and regulations prior to disbursements. For 2021, as of May 17, 2021, PhilHealth said it has paid a total of P25.38 B in claims, P4.88B of which are for COVID-19 related claims.
PhilHealth said that it recognizes the need of the hospitals for funds especially in highly critical areas for COVID as identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Infectious Diseases, that has introduced the Debit-Credit Payment Method (DCPM) wherein 60% of good “in process claims” are paid outright to qualified hospitals minus 2% withholding tax, while the remaining 40% shall be paid after claims processing and reconciliation, minus 2% withholding tax. The accelerated payment method provides hospitals sufficient cash flow to continue providing the sick with quality health care during the pandemic.
To date, PhilHealth paid almost P6B in DCPM to 182 hospitals, the statement said.
SM Investments, BDO lead PH firms in Forbes 2021 Global 2000 list
SM Investments Corp. leads Philippine firms in the Forbes 2021 Global 2000, the 19th annual ranking of the world’s largest public companies. Only six Philippine firms made it to the list.
SM Investments has the biggest market value ($24.3 billion) while BDO is the most profitable ($569.5 million) among Philippine firms.
SM Investments ranked #877 while its banking arm, BDO Unibank ranked #1,159 in the global list.
The Forbes Global 2000 list measures the world’s largest public companies in terms of four equally weighted metrics: assets, market value, sales and profits.
According to Forbes, the 2,000 companies on the list have seen their collective market capitalization surge 47 percent to $79.8 trillion, while their collective revenues slipped 6 percent to $39.8 trillion and profits have fallen 24 percent to $2.5 trillion. Despite sales and profits being down, total assets and market value were up.
Globally, the Forbes Global 2000 list is dominated by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (#1) followed by JP Morgan Chase & Co (#2), Berkshire Hathaway (#3), China Construction Bank (#4) and Saudi Aramco (#5).
PH’s biggest 5G Hackathon kicks off with enablement workshops
As Globe Telecom and DLSU’s Animo Labs kicked off its 5G Hackathon’s enablement workshops on May 21, with over 600 students, professors, startups, and tech professionals participating.
The 7-day workshop will happen on Globe Prepaid’s Virtual Hangouts, where leaders from various industries will discuss a wide range of topics that push 5G technology and innovations for reinvented experiences and real-world applications.
Representatives from Google Cloud, Microsoft, Huawei, MDI Novare, Amazon Web Services, Tech Mahindra, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Intel, and Alibaba will also be present to share technical know-how.
The three main areas in which Globe encourages participants to contribute to nation-building using technology are: 5G for society– education, healthcare, and livelihood; 5G for industries– retail, manufacturing, logistics, and e-commerce; and 5G for Smart Cities– disaster risk management, sustainability, asset and resource management, and transportation.
Ten teams with the best ideas will be selected to present and demonstrate their prototype in the 2-week hackathon following the workshops and pitch competition. The top three winners receive a cash pool worth half a million pesos, get a chance to turn their ideas into a business venture under 917Ventures, the corporate venture builder arm of Globe, and have the opportunity to work directly with Globe’s 5G Acceleration Lab.
Isuzu opens 47th dealership
Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) is well on its way to achieve its target to achieve 50 dealerships as it signed its 47th last week. IPC president Hajime Koso formalized the company’s partnership with Isuzu Subic under Velocity Motors Sales Corp.
Isuzu Subic’s 3,799-square meter (sq.m.) dealership will follow the Isuzu Outlet Standard and include a display showroom, a customer mezzanine and parts warehouse.
The dealership is located at at Block 3 Rizal Highway, Subic Gateway District, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales.
PayMaya powers cashless payments for Red Cross
Booking and paying for a COVID-19 test gets safer and more convenient as PayMaya powers the online payment gateway of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC). With this tie-up, Filipinos can use any credit, debit, and prepaid card, as well as their PayMaya account when paying for PRC services online.
PRC has been stepping up on its COVID-19 test services by making it more accessible by enabling advance booking and cashless payments powered by PayMaya.
To avail of the PRC COVID-19 tests and other services, simply go to the Philippine Red Cross booking platform at the PNR website. Select the preferred location for the swab test and set the date and time. Click on “Book Now” to add the appointment to the Shopping Cart and click Checkout to proceed. Once you review the details, choose the preferred payment method then proceed with cashless payment. An email confirmation will be sent by the PRC. Results will also be emailed once the tests have been conducted.
COVID-19 Swab Test are available at the PRC’s collection sites in Mandaluyong City, Port Area in Manila, and Mandaue City in Cebu.
Alviera Country Club treats
Alviera Country Club in Pampanga offers some of the classic and new pastries and delicacies, well-loved by Filipinos.
Pasteleria — Alviera Country Club’s premiere pastry shop, is open to members and non-members tp get a taste of the finest selection of baked goodies from traditional-with-a-manyaman (tasty)-twist, that are worth the 1.5-hour travel for: two -cheese ensaymada, the signature moist dark chocolate cake, chocolate crinkles, frozen brazo de mercedes among others. Apart from these delectable sweets, Pasteleria also offers sumptuous savory bestsellers perfect for brunches or snacks, or anytime of the day.
Visitors can complete the experience by enjoying a day of fun and relaxation at Alviera with its amenities such as swimming pools featuring a 6-lane lap pool, a lounge pool and jacuzzi; sports courts, and fitness gym.
Nokia to provide software to PLDT, Smart
Nokia has announced it will supply its Digital Operations software, cloud infrastructure software and AirFrame servers to enhance the nationwide network of PLDT, and its wireless unit Smart Communications.
The suite of solutions will also standardize PLDT and Smart’s virtualization environment for multi-vendor applications. The deployment will allow PLDT and Smart’s integrated network to increase agility, flexibility and reduce operating costs and time to market when deploying new consumer and enterprise services, with the primary focus of significantly improving customer experience, speed of delivery, and cost of production.
Nokia will deploy its Digital Operations software to automate the round-trip lifecycle management of network functions, as well as network-facing and customer-facing services. Specifically, as PLDT and Smart evolve their integrated network from physical to virtual form, the solution will manage two interrelated flows.
Nokia will also standardize PLDT and Smart’s Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) across the South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao regions of the Philippines, as the unified NFVI for the deployment of multiple vendors’ Virtualized Network Functions. Nokia will deploy applications, operations and network management solutions across its NFVI cloud platform and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) core.
Teleperformance, Kythe hold Virtual Day Camp
Teleperformance (TP) partnered with Kythe Foundation for its Virtual Day Camp.
Kickstarting its 25th anniversary celebration in the Philippines, Teleperformance sponsored the celebration aiming to provide psycho-social support for the children of Kythe, lessening the anxiety of these young pediatric patients who suffer from chronic illnesses. Kythe kids were partnered with TP volunteers and enjoyed a fun program which included animal yoga exercises and storytelling, a safari hunt, trivia games, and even a Talentadong Kythe Kids showcase and Costume Contest.
The activity was done through Citizen of the World, Teleperformance’s charitable initiative that helps the world’s most vulnerable infants and children meet their basic survival needs and, ultimately, reach their individual potential. Kythe Foundation has been a partner organization of Citizen of the World since 2008.
Aside from organizing day camps and theme parties, Citizen of the World also provides monthly allowances for the Kythe Child Life Coordinators, who provide psychosocial support to children with cancer and other chronic illnesses and their families.
TP’s Citizen of the World has also provided medical assistance through the Kythe Adopt-a-Patient Program.
