SM = Safe Mall
Beginning with the local government of Mandaluyong’s awarding of its first Safety Seal to SM Megamall last May 12, local governments around the Metro soon followed suit in citing the SM Supermalls’ implementation of minimum health standards and safety protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SM North EDSA in Quezon City and SM City Sucat in Paranaque were the first to receive the Safety Seals in their cities; followed by SM Aura Premier, SM City BF Paranaque, SM City Bicutan, SM City Manila, and SM City San Lazaro. More SM malls in the metro are lined up for Safety Seals.
The Safety Seal Certification is granted to buildings and establishments that are compliant with the Minimum Public Health Standards such as proper wearing of face shield and face mask, disinfection, and use of accredited contact tracing app such as Mandatrack for Mandaluyong City and StaySafe.ph application.
It is an inter-agency safety program by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Tourism (DOT), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
SM Supermalls continues to prioritize the health and safety of its mallgoers with its compliance with the government’s policies to help stop the spread of the virus.
CEB offers most affordable RT-PCR swab
Cebu Pacific is ramping up its Test Before Boarding (TBB) process as it now offers the cheapest RT-PCR test at only P2,500 versus other local carriers, exclusively for its passengers.
CEB offers the RT-PCR test through its two accredited partners —Health Metrics, Inc. (HMI) and Safeguard DNA Diagnostics Inc. (SDDI). This special rate is solely for passengers booked on Cebu Pacific and Cebgo.
As a number of local and international destinations still require negative RT-PCR test results prior to entry, CEB has ensured this requirement is made more accessible and affordable through these reduced rates. Results are guaranteed to be released within 48 hours, while a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround period is priced at P3,200 for both laboratories.
HMI has clinics in Pasay and Makati while SDDI has facilities in Mandaluyong, Bacolod, and Davao.
The Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory (PADL) also offers both RT-PCR and antigen tests exclusively for CEB passengers for only P3,300 and P700, respectively. The TBB testing facility at the NAIA Terminal 3 is also open for walk-ins daily, with fees to be directly paid to PADL.
STI provides financial aid, scholarship
STI is helping senior high school and college students to continue their studies unhindered amid the present circumstances.
The STI Open Scholarship program provides partial and full scholarships which involves a two-hour browser-based standardized assessment tool that is composed of Science, Math, English, and Abstract Reasoning.
Incoming senior high school and college students and transferees this school year 2021-2022 are eligible for the GSIS and Pag-IBIG Educational Assistance Programs in STI.
GSIS and PAG-IBIG members and their qualified dependents will get 20 percent scholarship grant on tuition fees in any STI campus nationwide by only presenting the GSIS UMID or PAG-IBIG Loyalty or Loyalty Plus card.
STI accepts the following grants and voucher holders from the Department of Education (DepEd), Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), and Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education in all campuses nationwide: DepEd Senior High School Voucher Program, PEAC Educational Service Contracting (Grants and Tertiary Education Subsidy.
Honda Cars Fairview breaks ground
Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) broke ground on the new location of Honda Cars Fairview (HCFR) last May 27.
Set to officially open by the second quarter of 2022, the upcoming new site will have a total lot size of 3,660 square meters, and will be strategically located in Mindanao avenue corner Regalado street.
HCFR will offer Honda’s latest product lineup and complete vehicle service facilities for general repair, preventive maintenance, and body-and-paint.
Toyota aid to Santa Rosa residents
Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation (TMPF) recently donated sacks of rice and grocery packages to indigent families whose livelihood has been hampered by the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic in Santa Rosa City, Laguna.
Among the beneficiaries are the 225 resident families in Barangay Pulong Santa Cruz, 108 faculty members and personnel of Pulong Santa Cruz Elementary School (PSCES), 158 families in the Toyota-City of Santa Rosa-Gawad Kalinga Village, and frontliners of the PNP Santa Rosa Sub-station.
TMPF has turned over 69 sacks of rice and 158 grocery bags to families and individuals. Being located within the ‘NCR Plus’ bubble, residents of Santa Rosa City, Laguna continue to endure maintained community restrictions and limited economic activities.
TMPF, the humanitarian arm of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP), supports the local government of Santa Rosa in its COVID-19 response through various corporate social responsibility initiatives to address basic needs in terms of health, safety, education and mobility.
Asia Pacific Property awardees
LIXIL, maker of pioneering water and housing products, announced the winners of the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2021-22 through its sponsor brands GROHE and American Standard.
The Asia Pacific Property Awards celebrate the highest levels of achievement in the architecture, interior design, real estate, and property development sectors in the region. These prestigious awards attract entries from the best professionals and top industry brands annually.
In this year’s edition, there are 681 winners from across the Asia Pacific in the Architecture, Interior Design, Real Estate, and Property Development categories. China swept the maximum number of awards (279) followed by Thailand (86). This was closely followed by Vietnam (45). Other important markets including Singapore (44), Malaysia (43), India (31), and Australia (29), also made a mark at this year’s awards.
Teleperformance supports Davao frontliners
Teleperformance Philippines, through its corporate social responsibility arm Citizen of the World, is making a P300,000 donation to the Southern Philippines Medical Center.
The donation aims to support the health frontliners of Davao City. This amount is a collective offering of Teleperformance Philippines employees, who raised their donations through Citizen of the World program, and the amount was matched by Teleperformance.
Citizen of the World, which provides a channel for employees across the Teleperformance organization to work together for the benefit of others, has been proactively supporting collective efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citizen of the World has supported private organizations and public institutions based in Metro Manila and Rizal province to aid in their fight against the effects of the virus. This came in various forms of donation like medical equipment, grocery packages, and monetary aid among others.
Teleperformance Philippines will also be offering free Covid-19 vaccinations for their more than 47,000 employees in the country.
Teleperformance Philippines is currently collaborating with government agencies and employers in the country to quickly secure the supply of safe and effective FDA-approved vaccines for their employees.
World Vision, ComCo join forces to support MSMEs
World Vision in the Philippines and ComCo Southeast Asia have tied up
for Cause Marketing for Good — a campaign to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Cause Marketing for Good aims to support and teach MSMEs how to make their businesses relevant through effective and sustainable cause-related marketing campaigns that can rally support from the public.
Small businesses are hit the hardest as they struggle to survive in the current climate. Consumers are looking for brands that care about social issues, but with most business enterprises in the country made up of MSMEs)l, these businesses might not have social issues at the top of their priority list as they try to cope with the pandemic.
Bringing joy to teachers and students in Cabanatuan
SM partnered once again with Bakod Bayan Integrated School (BBIS) in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija to support the local faculty and provide them with school essentials for the ongoing modular learning of their students. In 2016 SM Foundation generously donated a new 2-storey, 4-classroom building to serve the school along with its Sama-Bajau enrollees.
Employee volunteers from The SM Store and SM Supermarket Cabanatuan distributed backpacks, school supplies, shirts, and shoes for the students.
The teachers also received grocery packs and a special gift from The Body Shop.
