Cebu Pacific ramps up flights to Bacolod
Cebu Pacific is ramping its Bacolod flights from twice to 9x weekly beginning Nov. 15.
CEB will be operating a daily Manila-Bacolod flight via 5J 485, which is scheduled to depart the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 9:20AM. Its return flight, 5J 486 is set to leave the Bacolod Silay Airport at 11:15AM.
To help the inoculation initiatives of the Negros Occidental region, all fully-vaccinated passengers to and from Bacolod with pre-purchased baggage will be given a waiver for fees for 5kg excess baggage from Nov. 15 to Jan. 15.
***
Airspeed founder wins APEC award
Airspeed founder and chairwoman Rosemarie Rafael, who also spearheads Airspeed’s digital arm—the Amazing Philippines Digital Economy Corp. (APDEC), was awarded at the APEC BEST Award 2021 for the category Best in Business Sustainability in Tackling the Pandemic.
In an online ceremony convened in Moscow, Russia, APEC cited APDEC as the paramount example of a female business driving Asia-Pacific economic and social recovery by assisting MSMEs, particularly women-led entities, navigate the new normal.
As the digital arm of Airspeed, the APDEC Team handles the brand building, business development and expansion of SpeedGifts, and the Kahanga-hangang Pilipinas advocacy program development and partnerships.
SpeedGifts is the online gifting platform of the Airspeed Group and will be the main platform to be used for selling. The SpeedGifts’ platform features brands and products of MSMEs from different municipalities across the country.
***
Cashalo goes to Visayas
Cashalo, a leading financial technology platform in the Philippines, is expanding its presence in the Visayas with the introduction of its pioneering Shop Now, Pay Later service in Cebu, supporting the growing demand for fintech services in the region.
Cashalo has partnered with Robinsons Department Store-Fuente Cebu, Robinsons Department Store-Galleria Cebu, Gear Up-Jakosalem Cebu, Spyder-SM Cebu, Moto Inspira-SM Cebu, SM Department Store-Seaside City Cebu, and SM Department Store-Consolacion to initially rollout Shop Now, Pay Later in Cebu.
Shop Now, Pay Later is Cashalo’s pioneering offline to online (O2O) consumer financing product which enables consumers to access digital credit for their specific shopping needs at retail stores, allowing them to purchase multiple products — such as appliances, household items, apparel, electronics, and school supplies, among many others — across its network of partner retail stores.
Credit lines range between P2,500 up to a maximum of P15,999. Consumers may start processing for their loans via the Cashalo app and have their approval in the store in a matter of minutes, making it faster and more convenient for consumers
***
11M items sold
Shopee recorded 11 million items sold in just the first five minutes of November 11 that kicked off the 11.11 Big Christmas Sale.
The midnight shopping rush saw visits spiking 5.5 times in the first two hours.
Health and personal care, home and living, and women’s apparel were the hottest product categories among Filipino shoppers.
Filipinos stocked up on supplies such as face masks, skin care products, and mobile accessories. Clothing tops were also in high demand, with almost 2,000orders placed early into 11.11.
***
Toyota toughens up PNP fleet with Hilux
Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) released a total of 90 units of Hilux 4×4 G A/T personnel carrier, and dispatched an initial 127 of 411 units of Hilux 4×2 police patrol jeep to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in a ceremony for blessing of the units held last November 8, 2021 at the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame.
These vehicles will be dispatched to different regions in the country and help serve PNP’s day to day operations.
Guaranteed with the Toyota Sure Advantage of Quality, Durability, and Reliability, the Hilux units have been converted to meet the requirements of PNP.
***
Bears of Joy Campaign
SM Cares, SM Supermalls and Toy Kingdom are holding their long-running charity project, the SM Bears of Joy.
Mall shoppers can purchase a pair of specially designed bear plushies, one for their keeping and the other to be donated to children in various communities across the country.
The plushies, priced at P250 per pair, will be available in select SM Malls nationwide and through the online stores of Toy Kingdom and The SM Store from November 12 to Dec. 25.
***
Facebook page promotes Japanese food
The Japan External Trade Organization Manila launched a Facebook page on to promote and expand the sales of Japanese foods and restaurants in the Philippines.
Through this, high quality Japanese food products will be made available for people to buy online.
The Japanese apples and pears displayed and offered through this project will have a logo sticker to identify it as genuinely produced and originated from Japan.
The launch of the Facebook page is an initiative to expand Japanese food’s export potential through e-commerce.
***
Vaccination program
HELLA has partnered with Grab to encourage their driving community to get inoculated through initiatives like Kwentong Vacc to Normal, Vacc to Normal Livestreams, and Vacc to the Beat.
Kwentong Vacc to Normal features weekly testimonials which highlight the vaccination stories and experiences of these frontliners.
Health and safety-related topics are featured in Vacc to Normal Livestreams where
HELLA is giving away a total of 50 dash cams worth over P 250,000 to lucky viewers.
Also in partnership with Grab, HELLA hosted a Rainy Day Livestream as part of this engagement where it shared top 10 tips to help keep vehicles in check during the rainy season.
Vacc to the Beat is a dance challenge and competition. With a total worth of about P150,000 GrabPay credits at stake, HELLA sponsored the Grand Prize worth Ph50,000, which was taken home by the driver who showcased the best #HellaBakUNAMoves, all alongside other prizes.
***
2GO Travel offer
2GO Travel is offering a P99 seat sale as well as a 10 percent off on regular tickets purchased at any 2GO outlet upon presentation of vaccination cards and certificates. Qualified domestic tourists can also avail of free RT-PCR tests.
The P99 offer is inclusive of accommodation, 50kg baggage allowance, and free unlimited rebooking.
Fully vaccinated travelers with vaccination cards and certificates can enter Batangas, Caticlan, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Dumaguete, Iloilo City, Manila, Negros Occidental province, Ozamis, and Roxas without the swab test requirement.
Qualified domestic tourists traveling to destinations requiring COVID-19 test requirements can enjoy free RT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests through the financial subsidy program of the Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotions Board Philippines from November 1 to Dec. 31.
***
Airbus donates medical equipment
Airbus is donating medical equipment to the Department of Health (DOH) to support the fight against COVID-19.
The donations include mobile respiratory units sourced from local suppliers. This equipment will support local hospitals currently in urgent need of such medical resources.
The equipment was presented to DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III by Charlie Simpson, Managing Director of Airbus’ helicopters division in the Philippines.
***
GrabMart scales up grocery delivery
Grab announced an expansion of its grocery delivery service across Southeast Asia, welcoming major supermarket and convenience store chains onto GrabMart.
The company also unveiled a new “Shopper” solution to support its growing retail partnerships in the region.
New partners joining GrabMart include Indomaret in Indonesia, a convenience store chain with over 15,000 stores; Big C in Thailand, a hypermarket chain with over 1,000 outlets; Lotus’s Malaysia (formerly known as Tesco Malaysia) with over 62 locations; S&R supermarket in the Philippines best known for their attractive members-only discounts; and Mega Market in Vietnam, a leading wholesaler and distributor of grocery products.
Grab plans to trial “Shopper”, a shopping assistant solution, in selected supermarkets this year. Built into the Grab Driver superapp, “Shopper” is a digital shopping list that enables retail staff to easily pick and pack consumers’ grocery orders as they move through shopping aisles.
***
CEU, Smart tie up
Smart Communications Inc. has teamed up with Centro Escolar University (CEU) to launch the university’s exclusive Smart Online Store for students, faculty, and other personnel.
Smart, together with PLDT’s B2B arm PLDT Enterprise, has set up an exclusive online platform for Escolarians across campuses in Manila, Makati, and Malolos in Bulacan to conveniently avail of connectivity tools powering up e-learning.
Escolarians can enjoy discounts on Smart Prepaid load cards and electronic loads at their very own Smart Online Store. Smart has also slashed prices on select phones while connectivity devices like the Smart Bro Prepaid and PLDT Home WiFi are also available on the customized portal.