Business, community luminaries honored
Chua, the chamber’s chairman emeritus, received the Presidential Excellence Award, the highest award given by the PCCI. It is the first of its kind in PCCI’s history and bestowed by the chamber’s president to leaders of the business community who contributed immensely to economic and social growth.
The special award was conceived by PCCI president Benedicto Yujuico, while the awardee was chosen by the Council of Leaders headed by former trade and finance secretary Jose Pardo and Menardo Jimenez.
Manila Bulletin founder Dr. Emilio T. Yap Sr. and ASG Group of Companies founder Alfonso G. Siy were awarded the ICCP Global Excellence Posthumous Award for their “leadership and innate business acuity and vision continues to inspire generations of businessmen and entrepreneurs.”
San Miguel Corp., Andrew Tan Group of Companies and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines meanwhile, received the ICCP Global Excellence Corporate Award.
Edgardo Lacson, president of MIS Maritime Corp. received the ICCP Global Excellence Award.
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Aboitiz Group looks forward to next 100 years
This year, the Aboitiz Group celebrates its centennial anniversary and looks forward to the next 100 years with sustainability at the core of its operations across various businesses, namely power, banking and financial services, food, land, infrastructure, as well as construction.
The Group rolls out its community development programs through its corporate social responsibility arm Aboitiz Foundation.
In its 100th year, the Aboitiz Group’s best practices in environmental management, social responsibility, and good governance are strengthening its ongoing new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, similar to how the group’s corporate values strengthened the establishment of the company amid an earlier pandemic a century ago.
Tracing its roots to the 1800s as an abaca trading and general merchandise business in Ormoc, Leyte, Aboitiz & Co. was formally incorporated in 1920. Today, it serves as the private holding company of the Aboitiz family.
The Aboitiz Group was established as the world grappled with the challenges of the 1918 influenza pandemic, considered by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “the most severe pandemic in recent history.”
Sabin M. Aboitiz, Aboitiz Group President and chief executive officer, said that the 100th anniversary celebration is a reminder of how Aboitiz was built and strengthened over the century by challenges and adversities.
“A sustainable future is only certain when it is firmly anchored on what is consistent… We are committed to delivering one purpose and for the next 100 years…as OneAboitiz… (to) build a future that will transcend for generations to come,” Aboitiz said.
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KonsultaMD, ZRewards partner with DepED for free telehealth services
KonsultaMD and ZRewards by Zeal partnered with the Department of Education—Paranaque (DepED Paranaque) in honoring the heroes who are at the forefront of public school education by providing some 4,000 teachers, school administrators and staff, with free one month subscription to telehealth services.
The two companies gave out personal subscriptions to KonsultaMD’s 24/7 telehealth hotline during the virtual World Teachers Day celebration in Paranaque recently.
The digital vouchers contain a custom registration link to the Zeal platform. KonsultaMD is equipped with modules and internal protocols in handling different health issues and provides a telephone triage or a means of determining the urgency of the caller’s condition.
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Amway Ph, OVP donation drive
Amway Philippines partnered with the Office of the Vice President Leni Robredo (OVP) to distribute over P300,000 worth of care packages to frontliners and communities in need, and 2,000 hot meals to locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and street dwellers for its Share-a-Meal project.
The beneficiaries of the Share-a-Meal project include LSIs waiting for a trip back to their hometowns, stranded seafarers, and street dwellers from Manila North Port, Sta. Cruz Manila, Paco Manila, Delpan, and Quezon Memorial Circle.
Aside from the Share-a-Meal project, the partnership will also distribute over P300,000 worth of care packages of various Amway products to frontliners and communities. These packages include daily essentials from the Amway portfolio such as G&H body wash, Glister toothpaste, and sugar-free XS energy drink to help frontliners stay active without sacrificing health.
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The Good Guys Market: Not your usual bazaar
The Good Guys Market, a weekend bazaar set up by SM Development Corp. (SMDC) has given startup companies a venue for their businesses.
The bazaar was established to connect displaced farmers with consumers through SM Foundation’s Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan on Sustainable Agriculture program.
SMDC has also been conducting an entrepreneurship webinar series to help prepare residents for their business start-ups, from getting business permits all the way to product development and marketing.
One such entrepreneur is Jasper Munji, owner of a franchise for a Korean barbecue brand and sold frozen meat products. Munji introduced his products at Princeton Residences in New Manila, “Munji” the brand quickly gained a following. Soon Munji introduced a new concept, Mr. Chef, which offers ready-to-eat meals — from Bicol Express to Queso de Bola Caldereta, Japanese Curry and the bestselling Roastbeef Lenggua.
Munji and his partner later introduced 10 microwaveable tubs at The Good Guys Market. He has since expanded his operations outside Princeton and now joins The Good Guys Market in other SMDC properties.
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SKY treats
SKY is giving new subscribers a treat as it partners with GrabFood–discount codes for their next food delivery when their application gets approved from October 1 to 31.
The offer entitles subscribers to at least two discount codes or more depending on the plan that they have subscribed to.
For every P500 monthly fee of subscribed plan, new subscribers will receive two P69 worth of discounts. For instance, a SKY Fiber Unli Broadband 25Mbps + All in Box plan worth P1,499 will get six GrabFood discount codes with a total value of P414.
Each discount voucher is valid for single use and may be availed of upon checkout for a minimum food order amounting to P690 on GrabFood.
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Tan-Batoto heads Nestlé PH public affairs, corporate comm
Nestlé Philippines announced the appointment of Arlene Tan-Bantoto as the company’s head of Corporate Affairs and Communications effective September 2020. In this capacity, Bantoto spearheads public affairs including government and industry relations, corporate communications, and leads the sustainability and Creating Shared Value initiatives of Nestlé Philippines.
Prior to this appointment, she was the business unit head of Nestlé Infant Nutrition in the country.
Bantoto started her career in Nestlé as a management trainee in 1993. She graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics.
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GBP cited for exceptional compliance practices
Global Business Power (GBP) subsidiary, Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC), topped the list of coal-fired generators with the highest compliance rating by the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).
PEDC, which has a combined gross capacity of 314 MW, garnered a rating of 98.72 percent and was hailed as the best among its peers for exemplary compliance to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) rules and manuals covering the period from June 2019 to June 2020.
Another GBP subsidiary, Cebu Energy Development Corp.(CEDC), also ranked high on the list of most compliant generators under the coal-fired category. CEDC, with a capacity of 246 MW, placed sixth and garnered an overall compliance rating of 93.92 percent.
The conferment of the said citation was held during the annual WESM Compliance Officers Summit Awards held virtually last September 25.
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Credit line for Lazada sellers
UBX, the fintech spinoff of Unionbank, has partnered with Lazada to integrate its SeekCap lending platform into the Lazada merchant experience.
SeekCap offers Lazada sellers legitimate sources of credit, as high as P1 million with instant approvals and without the inconveniences of a traditional loan application.
To date, UBX has processed over P500 million worth of loan applications for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
With e-commerce, MSMEs have instant access to sell their products and services to virtual shoppers via online shopping platforms such as Lazada. This initiative of UBX will help MSMEs address their financial challenges.
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Microsoft digital skills initiative
In the three months since the launch of a joint digital skills initiative, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and GitHub have reached 10 million learners in 231 countries and territories through opportunity.linkedin.com.
The Philippines ranked 27th globally in its skilling progress, having reached close to 53,000 learners. Globally, the most popular in-demand learning paths are Software Developer, Customer Service Specialist, and Data Analyst.
Microsoft’s nation-building agenda for the country, the Para sa Bayan program, aims to positively impact 25 million Filipinos over the next three years by stimulating digital transformation, building coalitions for responsible innovation, closing the skills gap and enhancing employability, and creating sustainable societal impact.
In partnership with the Department of Education, Microsoft will give 365 accounts to over 20 million public-school students from K-12, junior high and senior high to enable their online learning experience. As of October 2, 18.5 million accounts had been successfully rolled out in time for the opening of the new school year.
