Taliptip residents start new life
Residents of 9 sitios comprising the coastal village of Barangay Taliptip in Bulacan have availed of financial assistance from San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to help them move to safer ground and pave the way for an airport development plan
SMC will also provide skills training to coastal settlers through the Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Barangay Taliptip has often been inundated by flood waters damaging houses and affecting families.
The owners of non-concrete houses or shanties were given P250,000 each while concrete houses were given the appraised value of their houses multiplied twice plus P100,000.
Both owners of non-concrete and concrete houses will also get the appraised value share for the chapels in their areas .
Apart from the financial assistance, the residents will also avail of support from TESDA, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Bulakan LGU.
A total of 277 houseowners from the area were qualified for cash assistance .
A number of the residents opted to remain in Bulacan province while others went back to their home provinces
Parañaque taps PayMaya for digital payment solutions
The city government of Parañaque has tapped PayMaya Philippines Inc. to provide digital payment solutions to clients transacting with the city as part of its e-governance initiatives under the new normal.
The city government and PayMaya signed over the weekend a memorandum of agreement (MOA) covering a wide range of local government transactions and services.
One of the salient features of the agreement is enabling clients to use a digitally-enabled payment platform to avail of local government services. This includes digital payment of traffic violation fees, real property and business taxes, health, and other miscellaneous accounts. Using a web browser or mobile- based application, transacting party can now easily pay for their personal or business transactions in a more convenient way without physically going to city hall.
PayMaya has been intensifying its efforts in enabling LGU partners to further boost and accelerate digital transformation through its newly launched LGUs Embracing and Accelerating Digitalization (LEAD) Program, which aims to fully equip LGUs with end-to-end cashless payment solutions for better public service.
Allianz Kaagapay promotes inclusivity in Insurance
Allianz PNB Life has partnered with social enterprise Reach52 to promote the importance of inclusivity in insurance in the country, especially in the underserved rural communities, through a new corporate social responsibility project, Allianz Kaagapay.
“Through our partnership with Reach52, we aim to provide these communities the protection they need during these challenging times,” Allianz PNB Life president and chief executive officer Alexander Grenz said.
Reach52 provides screening, health worker training, affordable medicines, insurance, diagnostics and consumer health products in rural regions that existing services don’t reach. Through Allianz Kaagapay, Reach52 will be providing P25,000 worth of life insurance that includes COVID-19 coverage to its members for every purchase an Allianz Well! insurance product from August 1 to Dec. 20, 2020. Members from Pototan and Cuartero, Iloilo will be the first beneficiaries of the insurance package.
Malayan Insurance offers micro-insurance products through DiskarTech
Malayan Insurance Co. Inc. and the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) have partnered to offer affordable micro-insurance products through the RCBC DiskarTech “Taglish” mobile app which can be downloaded through Google Play Store and App Store.
The four micro-insurance products with premium prices ranging from P20 to P300 are Dengue Cash, Commuters Personal Accident (PA), Ridesafe, and the accident protection tucked-in to various banking products and services (TuckIn PA) variants in the mobile banking app. Coverage periods vary from six months to one year.
Depending on the product, policyholders are covered for accidental death, permanent disability, dismemberment, and unprovoked assault, with benefits ranging from medical reimbursement, burial expense and protection while on public conveyance.
Micro-insurance meets the needs of the low-income sector for risk protection and relief against distress, misfortune and other contingent events.
App users can open basic deposit accounts through DiskarTech in less than three minutes with no required maintaining balance, and users can also earn interest of 3.25 percent in terms of their savings when using the #BuhayGinhawa feature.
The #BuhayGinhawa feature enables accountholders to create a concrete savings plan for each of their life goals, making saving a fun habit for users.
Keeping the lights on
Meralco personnel are seen upgrading its distribution transformers and installing new metering facilities to serve the Angono-Binangonan Center of Dialysis Inc. on J. Sumulong avenue in Teresa, Rizal. With its mandate to always keep the lights on, Meralco ensures that hospitals including COVID-19 treatment and testing centers are given the utmost priority when it comes to providing safe, reliable and adequate supply of electricity during the pandemic.
eBay Global 24/7 program empowers SMEs
eBay is launching “Global 24/7”, an e-Commerce accelerator program specifically designed to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) leverage eBay’s platform for global export as the economy gradually enters a recovery phase.
This e-commerce accelerator program provides startup incentives, necessary tools, training, and assistance for business owners to tap into eBay’s global marketplace of over 174 million active buyers. The program is extended to markets across the Southeast Asia region which includes Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam.
“Global e-commerce has experienced exponential growth due to a shift in consumer behavior, following the Covid-19 pandemic. Philippine SME exporters on our platform have seen a corresponding increase, especially in health and beauty; jewelry, gems, and watches; computers; business and industrial; and auto-parts categories, where volumes have more than doubled from the same period last year,” said Tam Yong Sheng, head of Business Development eBay Southeast Asia.
The program will run until Dec. 31, 2020 and offers the following benefits to new sellers: new business seller incentive of as high as $1,000; educational webinars; free access to product listing tools worth up to $700; preferential shipping rates and US storage fee subsidy; dedicated account manager and; market intelligence.
The application period for this program will be accepted up to Sept. 30, 2020.
The United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Canada are the top five export destination markets for Philippine SMEs on eBay with health and beauty being the leading category of sales globally, followed closely by jewelry, gems, and watches; computers; business and industrial; and auto-parts.
Smart expands digital channels
Smart Communications Inc (Smart) is expanding its suite of digital and non-contact distribution channels to address customer needs and requests more efficiently and safely amid the pandemic.
Customers can simply go to the Smart Online Store to order phones and internet devices, apply or renew postpaid plans, buy Smart and TNT prepaid e-load and mobile data bundles as well as postpaid data boosters. The more tech-savvy users can also log on to their smartphones and buy load or pay bills via the PayMaya app.
Online shoppers can also visit e-commerce platforms like Lazada to top up their prepaid phones.
For each purchase of P500 load through Lazada, Smart will donate P50 to support the Philippine Red Cross through the Give Back with Giga campaign. The same campaign was also done for Shopee users back in May.
Aside from online stores, subscribers may also purchase their Smart Bro Prepaid LTE Pocket WiFi through the Grab App via GrabMart. They can also purchase and have their Smart Prepaid SIMs delivered to their homes via Grab Assistant or Lalamove purchase service from partner retailers, supermarkets, and convenience stores that remain open to serve the public during this time of crisis.
Beginning August, customers may also buy Smart, TNT, and Sun e-load and call cards, Smart Bro LTE Pocket Wi-Fi, and SIM cards via LalaFood and FoodPanda.
In addition, Smart and TNT subscribers may also use The SM Store’s Call to Deliver and MemoXpress Door2Door delivery service to purchase communication and connectivity essentials such as mobile data cards and pocket Wi-Fis.
Customers can also conveniently purchase e-load at the ATM facilities of partner banks or through their online banking services.
UnionBank, Philguarantee help MSMEs
Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), in a recently-inked partnership with state-owned Philippine Guarantee Corp. (Philguarantee), became the first bank to onboard the Guarantee Program that will provide cushion to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the agreement, Philguarantee will cover 50 percent of new and/or incremental micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) loan exposure for UnionBank, allowing the bank to continue lending to a wider base of MSMEs particularly those who have been greatly affected by the pandemic, while at the same time mitigating risks.
A virtual signing ceremony was held last August 5, attended by UnionBank officers namely chief finance officer and treasurer Jose Emmanuel Hilado, Transaction Banking Center head Ramon Duarte, and SME business group head Jujut Enriquez, as well as Philguatantee officials led by president and chief executive officer Alberto Pascual, and national treasurer and Philguarantee board alternate chairperson Rosalia De Leon.
DOH teams up with P&G, USAID
The Department of Health (DOH) has teamed up with P&G Philippines and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on a nationwide education campaign while enabling healthier and safer homes.
BIDA, which stands for Bawal walang mask, Isanitize ang kamay, Iwas hawak sa mga bagay, Dumistansya ng isang metro, and Alamin ang totoong impormasyon, is an easy to remember acronym of key preventive measures each Filipino can do to be part of the solution to fighting COVID-19.
P&G is also providing DOH and USAID with its best hygiene products for BIDA home kits which will be given to 70,000 Filipinos in 36 provinces across the country to help them practice the prescribed behaviors for COVID-19 prevention. Each kit will contain a two-week supply of trusted P&G products such as Safeguard bath soap, Head and Shoulders shampoo, Joy dishwashing liquid, and Ariel laundry detergent, Oral B toothbrushes, fabric masks and other health and hygiene products.
USAID selected local government units with COVID hotspots and quarantine centers, locally stranded individuals, and temporary shelters. They also prioritized regions and cities with high case fatality rate, highest population density, those that have lower level of available resources and are at high risk for sustained community transmission.
Johnson & Johnson Operation Quit
Johnson & Johnson (Philippines) Inc. (J&J Philippines) is extending support to their employees who wish to quit smoking for good, as part of their Operation Quit global campaign, the latest of many wellness programs made available by the company to ensure the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Over a 12-week period, interested participants will be supplied with packs of Nicotine Polacrilex (Nicorette) 2mg Medicated Chewing Gum, J&J’s Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) product, along with a Quitting Booklet and motivational materials to assist them in their quitting journey.
Nicotine Polacrilex (Nicorette) comes in a 2mg medicated chewing gum format and is designed to help willing smokers manage their cravings and withdrawal symptoms while on the road to quitting smoking for good.
The initiative was extended to all 1,500 employees of J&J Philippines as well as their friends and families via a sign up form on the Nicorette Philippines website.
Nicotine Polacrilex (Nicorette) is a product under J&J Philippines’ consumer health portfolio and will be made available for purchase to Filipino consumers in select retail stores by September 2020.
TELUS education program expanded
TELUS International Philippines’ (TIP) flagship education program, TELUS International University (TIU) is expanding college degree courses to the family and friends of TIP employees.
Currently, these degree courses include: Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, Bachelor of Science in Accounting Information System, Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Bachelor of Library and Information Science, and Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management.
Within TIU’s pipeline is the expansion of their partner schools and learning institutions to be able to increase course options and capability. As of July 2020, TIU has a total of 14 college degree courses and 87 workshops and certificate courses in its program.
Tuition fees are subsidized by TIP where team members can pay via flexible arrangements through salary deduction. Short courses, meanwhile, are also offered through partner schools.
The newest OPPO Reno4 out
Smart device brand OPPO over the weekend launched Reno4 in the Philippines via Facebook livestream.
The latest handset retails at P18,990 and is up for pre-order until August 21, and will be officially available in all OPPO concept stores, dealer partners, and e-commerce partners Shopee and Lazada on August 22.
Reno4 features OPPO’s innovative imaging technology and has touch-free interactions, powered by an AI-enhanced Smart Sensor and AI algorithm.
Packed with innovative features, Reno4 has a slim and sleek design and comes in two colors. Its rear camera features a 3 + 1 four-shot matrix include a 48MP Main Camera, 8MP Ultra Wide-angle Camera, a 2MP Macro Camera and a 2MP Mono Camera, among others.
Huawei ICT certification program launched
Huawei Technologies recently hosted its Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Talent Forum 2020 to explore ICT talent trends and talent development strategies in the Asia Pacific region.
At the online event joined by over 2,000 participants, the company announced a new certification program to develop a comprehensive ICT talent ecosystem to pave the way to sustainable digital transformation.
The Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Certification Program is open to students and ICT practitioners who have joined or plan to join in the Huawei Asia Pacific ICT Academy.
The program runs from August 4 to Nov. 30, 2020. Participants who pass the exams in the shortest time will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.
The Huawei Certification, a talent system standard covering 100 certification exams and 22 technical fields, has certified more than 260,000 ICT students and employees, including 19,000 in Asia Pacific. Huawei Philippines has launched the ICT Academy and partnered with 21 major universities and colleges.
