MVP calls on business community to support
livelihood, agricultural opportunities
Manuel V. Pangilinan, the longest-serving chairman of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), calls on the business community to address the need for more livelihood opportunities and creating a more consistent food production through agriculture.
By focusing its efforts on poverty reduction, zero hunger and good health and well-being programs, PBSP heeds the call of the United Nations to develop more sustainable solutions to societal problems.
Aside from livelihood opportunities and food production, companies, under the leadership of Pangilinan, have been at the forefront of the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The MVP Group continues to support frontliners and the government and its response teams by providing hospital equipment and PPEs. The Group also reaches out to various families and communities by providing grocery packs and other immediate assistance.
“Procuring vaccines is something that our Group is willing to sponsor in a large way — not only to accommodate the health needs of our employees and their families but also the patients of our hospitals… So that we are able to deploy those vaccines as wide as we can to our people — and use our network of hospitals to help deploy those vaccines. So we can inoculate as many people as we can,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan, through the MetroPac Movers Inc. (MMI), the logistics arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), has also committed to provide storage of the vaccines in one of its facilities.
Spirit of Bayanihan lives on
More than P3.5 million worth of donations were donated by citizens through the DonationBox.com platform in just over a month since its launch.
The all-in-one donation and fundraising platform created by software solutions company Multisys Technologies Corp. is aimed at creating a faster, more timely, and more convenient way of activating disaster response and relief operations after calamities or crises.
MultiSys added some P2 million to consolidate P5.5 million donations worth that reached 10,000 families in Isabela and Cagayan; as well as around 1,000 families in Bicol.
The platform was launched after the company held a 24-hour hackathon with the best of its full-stack developers and elite programmers.
More than 20,000 bears donated via the SM Bears of Joy 2020
SM Cares, SM Supermalls, and Toy Kingdom brought cheer to thousands of children throughout the country while honoring the country’s COVID-19 frontliners via the SM Bears of Joy project.
This yearly tradition encourages shoppers to share the joy of the season with children in need.
Launched in 2011, SM Bears of Joy is an annual Christmas charity project wherein mall holiday shoppers can purchase a pair of toy bears for just P200, one for taking home and the other to be donated to the chosen charitable organizations. The bears were given to frontliners and children from orphanages, communities, and public schools all over the country.
SM and its shoppers were able to collect more than 20,000 stuffed bears for donation.
Homegrown gelato brand Koibito’s World of Gelato
Kobito’s World of Gelato, the first and only authentic premium Italian gelato in the country, is now serving scoops in Manila.
Founded by Roger and Angelina Lantin-Monsale in 2012 in Lipa, Batangas, Kobito’s World of Gelato offers Italian flavors featuring Filipino ingredients like cashew, tablea, coffee, among others. but its flagship flavor is the cremino, hazelnut and salted caramel gelato with chocolate hazelnut ganache.
Koibito’s World of Gelato is available in Lipa Grill Makati in Chino Roces avenue and The Outlets at Lipa, Batangas.
Cathay Pacific’s cargo team aids in global vaccine distribution
Cathay Pacific Cargo has developed a fast and effective distribution solution for COVID-19 vaccines across the globe.
Built on Cathay Pacific Cargo’s many years of experience in transporting pharmaceutical shipments, the new, quality-assured solution makes use of next-generation tech to keep vaccines viable through transcontinental journeys.
“With our 20 dedicated freighters and cargo bellies of passenger aircraft supporting our extensive freighter network, we stand ready to assist with what will be the biggest humanitarian response to a situation involving civil aviation that anyone has ever seen,” said Cathay Pacific director Cargo Tom Owen.
Cathay Pacific Cargo is rolling out Ultra Track, a track-and-trace system that monitors information during flights to ensure the vaccines’ integrity. Ultra Track shows temperature, location, and humidity using low-energy Bluetooth readers. This gives the on-ground team near real-time visibility and keeps vaccines within their transportation temperature ranges.
Great deals from Toyota
Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is making car purchase lighter with enticing deals and freebies on Toyota models from January 7 to 31, 2021.
Up to P70,000 in discount can be had for a purchase of a New Vios; P60,000 on an Innova, and P50,000 on a Fortuner, Corolla Altis, or Hiace Commuter Deluxe. Other well-loved models such as the Wigo, Avanza, and Rush get outright cash discounts on participating variants as well. Flexible all in low down or low monthly schemes are also available on these models.
Selected models and variants get freebies such as Periodic Maintenance up to 20K KM and/or one year comprehensive insurance, and 5-year warranty for a brand new Toyota Vios G, E, or XLE. On top of these offers, customers looking to trade-in their old vehicle for a Toyota can get up to P40,000 rebate which can be used to purchase accessories or availed with other existing offers.
Concentrix to offer free COVID-19 vaccinations to staff
Concentrix Corp., a global provider of customer experience (CX) solutions and technology and the largest private employer in the Philippines, plans to offer COVID-19 vaccinations completely free to approximately 100,000 staff across the country.
As part of a trilateral agreement with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the national government, Concentrix has placed an initial order for vaccines for 50,000 recipients, half of which will be for company staff and the other half will be donated and administered to government-identified priority sectors.
The company’s distribution of the vaccines will include commissioning authorized medical providers to administer them accordingly.
Binalot Fiesta Foods wins HeroBrand award
Binalot Fiesta Foods Inc. received a HeroBrand Award under the Established Hero category. HeroBrand Awards celebrate those companies and brands that are making the world a better place.
The Established Hero category is for larger corporations that demonstrate a commitment to social good in their communities and beyond.
DAHON, Binalot’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm runs projects that address issues on the environment, livelihood, education, poverty alleviation, and calamity relief, all aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
These include Leaf of Faith which sources banana leaves from marginalized farming communities; Eggciting Harvest program, a salted egg production to a community located in Nagcarlan, Laguna; and the BAYANI program covers relief operations during disasters such as typhoons.
Binalot’s recent efforts have focused on soliciting pledges from companies and individuals to provide hot meals to both medical and non-medical frontliners in different hospitals in the country.
Mestiza Soap: How a classic continues to stand the test of time
The power of a good product comes from its ability to stand the test of time.
For Mestiza users, it is a beauty secret that gets passed on from one generation to the next as it stays true to its organic origins and it can be trusted to live up to its promises while committing to evolve with new generations of Mestiza users with each passing year.
Mestiza continues to grow the brand to reflect their users’ values and direction. The brand’s revamp of its iconic packaging is a testament to this vision. With the intent to always give more to their loyal customers, each bar now also comes with an additional five grams. Best of all, you can still get your favorite Mestiza Soap for the same price: P58 for the Original 125-gram variant and P89 for the Prime 125-gram variant.
#BeauTalk, airing every Friday at 4:30 PM on the Mestiza Philippines Facebook page is hosted by the esteemed Dra. Sarah A. Barba-Cabodil–an aesthetic dermatologist and president of Philippine Anti-aging Medicine and Clinical Aesthetics. The program hopes to address the most pressing questions users have about skincare and share the long-held ideals of the brand to a new audience.
Each Mestiza bar is anchored on its carefully chosen botanicals and fruits, and produced using their cutting-edge cold process manufacturing method that preserves all the benefits of its all-natural ingredients.
Mestiza Soap is available at Mercury Drugstore, Robinsons Supermarket, Watsons, and Lazada.
