Amdocs provides Globe Prepaid WiFi kits, aid to Odette victims
Globe technology partner, Amdocs, is donating Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi kits to schools and communities hit by Super Typhoon Odette last December, along with shelter kits, which contain materials beneficiaries can use in rebuilding their homes and funds that will continue to enhance their livelihoods.
The collaboration between Amdocs and Globe is a testament to the strong multi-sectoral partnership that provided urgent aid to families affected by the storm, which left heavy devastation in parts of the country just before Christmas.
Each kit came with a prepaid modem and free HomeSurf199 with 30GB of data valid for seven days. Beneficiary schools also received the subscription once a month for three months.
Amdocs also engaged its employees in a global fund drive to support Globe’s Odette relief and recovery efforts. The company also matched the total employee donations raised from offices based in Europe.
Funds will be coursed through the Globe of Good Program, which will then carry out relief efforts with Ayala Foundation in the provision of shelter kits and livelihood capacity-building sessions in Siargao Island, along with other areas severely affected by the typhoon.
LWUA ramps up sanitation infra of water districts nationwide
Aside from doubling down on water expansion projects, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) is also ramping up its sanitation development in the countryside as part of its commitment to promote safe and clean water — and a healthy environment — for Filipinos.
LWUA Administrator Guiling “Gene” A. Mamondiong said LWUA has been looking for fresh funding to finance such sanitation development to go hand in hand with water supply development.
“Water may be crucial to life, but so is sanitation which is vital to good health,” the LWUA chief explained, citing water-borne diseases like diarrhea and typhoid fever which pose a threat especially to children.
Sanitation development includes having septage and/or sewerage system for each of the more than five hundred active water districts in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. This is in line with LWUA’s goal of having a water district in all of the country’s cities and municipalities outside of Metro Manila by 2030.
PD 198, which created LWUA, stipulates that water districts (WD) “may require, construct, operate and furnish facilities and services, within or without the district, for the collection, treatment and disposal of sewerage, waste and storm water.”
He also mentioned that the 52 water districts surrounding Manila Bay — as mandated by the Supreme Court 2008 mandamus — would also speed up its sanitation projects to see to it that wastewater would not seep into the bay waters anymore.
Mamondiong said by tapping both public and private institutions, LWUA hopes for more sanitation projects to be built nationwide.
LRMC vaccine drive
After a successful partnership with Pasay City Health Office in opening LRT-1 Baclaran Station as a vaccination site for second dose and booster shots serving almost 400 individuals to date, private operator of LRT-1 Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) opens another vaccination site at LRT-1 Central Station.
In partnership with Manila Health Office, LRMC is offering equitable access to vaccines as it caters to individuals aged 18 years old and above who want to receive their first dose and booster jab. The booster jabs are available to all, even those who received their primary and secondary vaccines from other local government units or facilities.
Starting February 21, the LRT-1 Central Station vaccination site is open from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Available brands are AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Sinovac.
Those who are planning to receive their first dose and booster jab at LRT-1 Central Station are required to register first at www.manilacovidvaccine.ph.
Greenfield District supports emergency response
Two units of 54-meter aerial ladder were recently turned over to Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Mandaluyong by Greenfield Development Corp. (GDC)
The five ambulance units worth P2.4 million each from the Department of Health were given to Barangay Addition Hills, Barangay Hulo, Barangay Vergara, Command and Control Center (C3), and the National Center for Mental Health.
The fire trucks, procured through the BFP are capable of responding to fires occurring in buildings as high as 18-storeys while the ambulances are fully equipped with state-of-the art emergency medical instruments. These will bolster the crisis response capability of Mandaluyong City and contributes to the protection of various communities, including Greenfield District.
FedEx, BigCommerce join forces
FedEx Express (FedEx) has announced a new alliance with BigCommerce, an open SaaS e-commerce platform.
BigCommerce merchants signing up for the FedEx-BigCommerce alliance program can enjoy enhanced shipping capabilities, with access to a premium delivery experience for their customers at reasonable prices.
The benefits include highly competitive rates; nhanced shipping capabilities; BigCommerce merchants can leverage a vast portfolio of FedEx e-commerce solutions, including FedEx Electronic Trade Documents; a portfolio of flexible, simple return solutions; and the FedEx Hold-at-Location services, which gives BigCommerce merchants the choice to have their packages delivered conveniently and safely to various grocery stores, pharmacies, and FedEx office locations.
Kawal Preet, president of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) at FedEx Express, said, “(A)lliances such as these are so critical for SMEs to strengthen their delivery capabilities and meet their customers’ heightened expectations while expanding their footprint overseas.”
BigCommerce is also offering new merchants free services for their first two months.
Easier filing of policy claims
Insular Life (InLife) paid P1.276 billion in death and disability benefits in 2021. This represents the amount InLife paid for 4,238 individual policy claims and excludes the claims made by its group clients.
The company has launched its new Claims Portal which is integrated in its website to ensure its policyholders are able to file policy claims and receive policy benefits more easily.
Diane Tagra, InLife first vice president said with InLife’s Claims portal, policyholders may file a claim via our website in three easy steps: Notify InLife about the claim; submit all requirements; and get a reference number. InLife policyholders, beneficiaries, or authorized persons may file claims of the following kind: death, disability, hospitalization, and dread disease or critical illness.
Jollibee vaccination sites
A total of 1,701 primary doses and booster shots were administered by LGUs at several Jollibee stores that served as vaccination sites.
The Jollibee Group has once more provided its stores as vaccination sites for local government units (LGUs) during the third National Vaccination Day held on February 10 and 11. In partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), seven Jollibee stores in Metro Manila administered a total of 1,701 primary doses and booster shots to eligible adult Filipinos.
Among the participating stores were Jollibee Commonwealth Mindanao and Jollibee Katipunan in Quezon City; Jollibee Sucat Road in Parañaque City; Jollibee Bonifacio Global City Triangle in Taguig City; Jollibee Valenzuela in Valenzuela City; and Jollibee Legarda and Jollibee North Harbour in the city of Manila.
Originally slated as a two-day mass vaccination drive, some Jollibee stores extended their participation until February 13 to allow for the inoculation of more people. These stores included Jollibee branches in Valenzuela, Commonwealth Mindanao, Katipunan, Legarda, and North Harbor branches.
BillEase on Shopify
BillEase, the flexible and transparent alternative to credit cards and e-wallets, today announced its partnership with Shopify, the leading global commerce company, introducing its first-ever Shopify payment app which allows merchants to easily add BillEase at checkout with just one click.
Through BillEase’s payment app, online retailers can now seamlessly offer BillEase’s suite of buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions such as Pay Later in 10 to 30 days, Pay in four installments, and Pay Monthly, interest-free or interest-bearing.
Shopify merchants can accept BillEase payments and enable a calculator widget that shows shoppers the actual price of purchase if paid in installments on the merchant’s storefront which is now part of the payment app.
Microsoft appointment
Microsoft announced the appointment of Peter Maquera as the new chief executive officer of its operations in the Philippines.
Maquera will be responsible for accelerating the cloud and digital transformation journey of every business in the Philippines, helping the community build resilience through digital skills and empowering digital-first companies and start-ups with the tools to scale their innovation.
He brings extensive experience in building and transforming companies, from early-stage development to market leadership across various industries including business process outsourcing, IT, real estate, and finance.
He joins Microsoft from Globe where he was the senior vice president managing their enterprise business.
Cleft care center
Operation Smile Philippines Foundation (OSP) is setting up a new cleft care center at the Rosario Memorial Hospital (RMH) in Guagua, Pampanga after securing the latter’s agreement to allow the use of the hospital’s premises and facilities for the comprehensive treatment of children born with oral cleft by its medical and allied medical volunteers.
OSP has been providing free reconstructive surgery, dental treatment, medical examination and speech therapy to children afflicted with cleft lip and cleft palate since 1982. To date, OSP has treated over 30,000 patients with cleft condition all over the country through medical missions in partner hospitals or in OSP cleft care centers.
The cleft care center in RMH, a level 1 hospital, will be OSP’s third after the ones in Manila and Davao City.