DBP inks pact with DHSUD for housing of informal settlers
DBP President and CEO Emmanuel G. Herbosa (second from left) at the signing of the MOU with the DSHUD, with Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar, Quezon City Mayor Ma. Josefina G. Belmonte, Vice Mayor Gian Carlo G. Sotto, and Quezon City District Two Representative Ralph Wendell P. Tulfo.
State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has signed an agreement with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) for the crafting of a financing scheme that would provide affordable and decent homes for informal settlers, a top official said.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said the Bank will provide the necessary financial and technical assistance to the state housing agency to help address the country’s mass housing requirements through the construction of one million units annually until 2028.
“DBP is honored to take part in the DHSUD’s thrust for the housing sector by tackling its two main challenges – affordability and access to funds for housing projects,” Herbosa said.
DHSUD is the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing, human settlement, and urban development in the country. The agency is spearheading the National Government’s flagship initiative, “PambansangPabahay Para Sa Pilipino: Zero ISF Program for 2028” which aims to build six million housing units in six years.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies, DHSUD will identify qualified real estate developers and contractors that will develop the project sites and assist in the preparation of project funding requirements. DBP will formulate a loan program focused on providing developmental loans for DHSUD’s housing projects.
DBP Executive Vice President for Development Lending Paul D. Lazaro said the Bank, through its “Building Affordable Homes Accessible to Every Filipino” or BAHAY Program, has already approved over P9.37-billion loans to eligible borrowers for various housing projects, as of end July 2022.
He said the BAHAY Program serves as DBP’s main credit facility for the housing sector.
Globe exec wins recognition
Sanjay Deshmukh, senior regional VP for Snowflake ASEAN and India; Geoff Soon, managing director for Snowflake South Asia; Dan Noel Natindim, Globe VP for Enterprise Data Office; and Elliot Jones, Snowflake account manager at the Snowflake 2022 Data Drivers Awards
A Globe executive recently won twin recognitions at the recent Snowflake 2022 Data Drivers Awards, a global awards program that recognizes innovative individuals and organizations transforming their businesses through the Data Cloud.
Dan Noel Natindim, Vice President at Globe Enterprise Data Office, won the Data Executive of the Year Award for ASEAN and Executive of the Year for Asia Pacific and Japan.
The Data Executive of the Year Award recognizes key individuals who serve as strategic leaders by pioneering cloud data analytics within their respective organizations and breaking new ground in their industries. The annual winner sets a new bar for using data to create business value for customers, partners, and employees.
“Dan has taken on big challenges brought about by the organization’s data and analytics demands. We congratulate Dan and his team for this recognition,” said Issa Guevarra-Cabreira, Globe Chief Commercial Officer.
Snowflake recognizes Globe as a well-known pioneer and early adopter of data analytics, establishing an independent data and analytics organization closely aligned to Business teams.
NHA releases p1.1 million housing assistance to Caloocan fire victims
EHAP Beneficiaries awaiting the distribution of financial assistance.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) has distributed a total of P1.1 million in financial assistance to 39 families whose houses were damaged and destroyed by a recent fire in Caloocan City in a ceremony held on September 27, 2022, at Bulwagan Katipunan, Caloocan City Hall.
The NCR North Sector-Caloocan District Office spearheaded the distribution of the cash grants, under the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP), to the firevictim families from Barangays 22 and 49. Each family received P10,000 to P30,000, depending on the damage incurred by their respective households.
EHAP is one of NHA’s programs that provide quick response cash assistance to qualified low and marginal-income families affected by natural or man-made calamities to augment their funds for repairing their house structures. The financial aid awarded to families depends on the extent of repair or rebuilding of damaged houses as assessed and certified.
Investing in Iloilo real estate
The 40-hectare Lumina Iloilo in Barangay Abilay Norte recently celebrated itseighth anniversary highlighted by “OTW Home,” a mass turnover ceremony thatwelcomed over 70 homeowners and investors.
The program was led by Ms. Krystle Marie Reyes, Team Leader of the CustomerCare Department; Ms. Faith Caigoy, Officer-in-Charge for Operations; and Engr.Harold Quilang of the Production Department, who is in-charge of the sitedevelopment and house construction."This brand-new house and lotthat you have now is the result of your hard workand we're as happy as you are as you finally get your money's worth. To ourdearest homeowners, on behalf of the Lumina management, congratulations andwelcome to your new home and our community. Together, let us make LuminaIloilo an ideal place to live in and to grow a family!" said Glenn Guacena, DivisionHead of Lumina Visayas.
PLDT, Smart leaders explore metaverse
Joining the panel after Ball’s presentation were Gendrano, SVP and Head of PLDT Enterprise and International Business; Shailesh Baidwan, president, Voyager Innovations Inc. and PayMaya Philippines, Inc.; and Rocky Bacani, FVP and head, Information, Communication, Technology and Transformation, Meralco. The panel was moderated by Cathy Yap-Yang, FVP and head of Group Corporate Communications at PLDT.
PLDT Inc. and its wireless subsidiary, Smart Communications Inc. are gearing up for the future and exploring the potential of the inevitable Metaverse.
For its Annual Corporate Governance Enhancement Session (ACGES), PLDT had as keynote speaker Matthew Ball, author of “The Metaverse and How it will Revolutionize Everything.” Ball is managing partner of EpyllionCo.
Also speaking at the session was Sheila Lirio Marcelo, a multi-awarded technology entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Proof of Learn, a Web3 education platform with a mission to unlock accessible, high-quality education across the world.
“The telco role should not only be providing connectivity. How do we collaborate with the Metaverse workers so that we can perform a better role?” said PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan during the ACGES.
According to Ball, the Metaverse is best understood as the next generation of the Internet. Citing estimates from various think-tanks, Ball said the economy of the Metaverse will be between 2.5 and 16 trillion dollars by 2030. Ball also cautioned against conflating the Metaverse with immersive virtual reality, games like Roblox or Minecraft, or Web3 or crypto, which are either only ways to access the Metaverse, simply part of the Metaverse, or principles and/or technologies, rather than the Metaverse itself.
Converge backs Pagsasarili Program
Uy, together with CDC president Agnes Devenadera and Mabalacat Mayor Crisostomo Garbo hand out learning tablets to children in the Aeta community, beneficiaries of the Pagsasarili Program.
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and the city government of Mabalacat for the extension of free connectivity and provisioning of learning tablets to select schools in Pampanga.
Converge founder and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said in the last two years, Converge has partnered with several local government units and educational institutions to bridge this gap.
In support of CDC’s Pagsasarili program, Converge has provided 100 units of learning tablets and a minimum of 100 Mbps of free fiber connectivity for the use of students at Pagsasarili Centers in Marcos Village and Sitio Calapi in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
The Pagsasarili Family Care Center is a program of CDC, in partnership with OB Montessori, launched in 2019 as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative to provide access to education to nearby IP communities.
“This program has both immediate and long term objectives. Immediately, we want to diminish the drop-out rate of children in school. The long term objective is to develop a community within the Aeta (indigenous people) that will be self-sustaining and will be connected to the larger economy,” said past CDC chairman and project founder Ping de Jesus, now Converge chairman.
Piso Sales
The MetroMart fam brings even more Piso Sales until today October 3, with lots of snacks and supplies from Robinsons Easymart and No Brand.
All participating stores of Robinsons Easymart and No Brand in MetroMart’sPiso Sales will have products available for only P1 within schedules of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 to 8 p.m.
Offers include a full-size loaf of Gardenia Classic white bread,1.5-liter and other sizes of Coca-Cola, potato chips and cleaning supplies like Zonrox bleach, popular Korean snacks and drinks like Jjajang Ramen, Injeolmi snacks, dried seaweed snacks, banana milk, flavored tea stick packs, and potato chips from No Brand.
Enstack rolls out latest feature
SME SuperappEnstack recently released its Send Invoice feature which has made it easier for merchants to forward order summaries and payment links to customers.
Any entrepreneur managing their business on Enstack can get paid instantly with e-wallets including Gcash, PayMaya, and GrabPay, bank transfers, even debit and credit cards. To offer customers these non-cash payment options that were previously inaccessible to them, merchants just need to upload one ID, a selfie, and proof of address on the app, bypassing large amounts of paperwork required by banks and payment providers.
The Send Invoice feature also addresses business credibility and security concerns stemming from paying through informal channels like personal wallets or bank accounts.
