PAGCOR delivers over P17 million worth of aid to typhoon-ravaged areas in Northern Luzon
More than 30,000 food and non-food packs worth over P17 million have been delivered by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra and Baguio City, which were among the areas battered by Super Typhoon Egay in Northern Luzon.
On August 01, 2023, the agency handed out a total of 1,969 food packs and 2,000 non-food packs worth P2.5 million to the province of Abra which was placed under a state of calamity.
The City of Baguio also received 2,000 food and 2,500 non-food packs from the state-run gaming and regulatory firm. Baguio City was among the hardest hit in the region which suffered the brunt of the cyclone’s fury after strong winds and intense rains toppled power lines and damaged several trees and structures.
PAGCOR also distributed a combined total of 5,000 food and non-food packs to the local government of Vigan in Ilocos Sur on July 28, 2023, which were distributed among displaced typhoon victims from the city’s 20 barangays.
Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew J. Marcos Manotoc personally thanked PAGCOR for its immediate response to the needs of the typhoon victims, and for bringing 4,000 food packs, 4,000 non-food packs, and 26 boxes of medicines on July 29, despite the heavy rain and strong winds.
Enchanted Kingdom celebrates Eldar the Wizard’s birthday
Marking Enchanted Kingdom’s 28th soft opening year, the first and only world class theme park in the Philippines celebrated its character’s birthday, July 31. Eldar the Wizard, a home-grown, jolly character of Enchanted Kingdom (EK), is known to teach children to uphold virtues of kindness, humility, patience, honesty, diligence, generosity, and love of God and family.
Eldar’s Birthday Bash captivated more than 400 guests with performances by EK characters and talented musicians, magicians, and dancers. Both kids and adults enjoyed the fun activities prepared by EK and its sponsors.
The magical celebration was made possible by EK’s sponsors: Australian Own Milk, Dayzinc, Reyes BBQ, Mondelez International, Avea, The Big Chill, Vitamilk, Tiny Buds, Evian Facial Spray, Ovomaltine, Clever Mama, Farlin, Zim, Nurture, Oishi, Royal Crown, Rite N Lite, Jele Beautie Philippines, Ceres, Nissin, Dutchmill, Lucky Me, Spectrum, Jollibee Foods Corporation, SD13 Advertising Corporation, Lock N Lock Philippines, Poten — Cee, URC – Universal Robina, Goya, Tender Juicy, Cherifer, Expressions, and View True Express Digital Imaging.
Additionally, the event was supported by the following tenant partners: Dairy Queen, Alcatraz, Potato Corner, Shakes Station/Zenzu Milk Tea,Karate Kid, TEHO Apparel, Fortune Bakeshop, DVK Enterprise,Taters, Turks, Famous Belgian Waffle, Subarashi Manju, Po Jang, Lil Orbits, Sweetie Yors, Sigue Trading, Chino Latino, Auntie Anne’s, La Churrera, Angels Corn, Dash Ice Scramble, and Shakey’s.
BPI launches BizTalk sessions about taxation
BPI BizTalk session in Metro Manila featuring a resource speaker on Taxation 101 to provide capacity building and support to SMEs in their business operations.
To help Filipino small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grow their businesses, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has partnered with Taxumo, the country’s leading end-to-end online tax assistance platform, to host a series of free BizTalk learning sessions about taxation across its different branches in the Philippines.
BPI started BizTalk on August 1 in Davao before heading to Alabang, Pasig, Las Pinas, Iloilo and Baguio within the month.
These BizTalk sessions are part of BPI’s nationwide Ka-Negosyo Festival celebrations happening until August 31, 2023, which enable SMEs to enjoy promos making the bank’s various Ka-Negosyo loans even more madali, magaan, mabilis. By applying for and booking either the Ka-Negosyo Credit Line (KCL) for flexible financing of recurring expenses, the Ka-Negosyo Ready Loan (KRL) for seasonal working capital requirements or purchases, the Ka-Negosyo SME Loan (KSL) for big purchases, or the Property Acquisition Loan (PAL) for the acquisition, construction, or renovation of commercial or residential property for business use, SMEs can earn raffle entries to win Php 500 or Php 5,000 worth of vouchers, or an Apple MacBook or iPad for their business. SMEs can also visit any BPI Branch or use the recently- launched Ka-Negosyo On The Go digital platform to apply for these Ka-Negosyo Loans.
BizTalk started as a capacity building and learning series during the pandemic, which shares the experiences and best practices of successful Filipino entrepreneurs.
Mega Prime Foods launches Senses of the Sea: The Mega Sardines Museum
Upholding its permanent commitment in helping improve the quality of life of Filipinos through sustainable food production, Mega Prime Foods, Incorporated (MPFI) inaugurated the Senses of the Sea: The Mega Sardines Museum. This is the first state-of-the-art visual experience tour in a canned seafood manufacturing company showcasing Mega Sardines’ unique “Catching-to-Canning” process.
MPFI and its leaders formally opened The Mega Sardines Museum’s doors for viewing and touring, with stakeholders from the government, business, tourism, food, technology, and nutrition sectors as the first batch of visitors to experience the interactive tour.
Offering a glimpse of MPFI’s support to the government in its pursuit for a food-secure and -sufficient Philippines, Tiu Lim-Chan said the company hopes to demonstrate how important it is for them to be able to produce affordable, nutritious, and safely packaged seafood products that are suitable for every member of the Filipino household.
During the grand opening of the facility, MPFI signed a partnership agreement with the Department of Tourism Region IV-A (DOT-4A). The museum will be included in the DOT-4A’s list of must-visit locations in the CALABARZON region and in the recommended itinerary in educational tours for elementary, high school, and college students.
MPFI also formalized its partnership with the Philippine Amusement & Entertainment Corporation (PAEC), the biggest creator and operator of indoor interactive tourism and educational attractions in the country to help curate and manage the Senses of Sea.
The facility will officially open to interested groups, organizations, and the public starting September 2023.
Enstack helps SMEs conquer roadblocks in digitalization
The journey to digitize Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) remains challenging. Recognizing the obstacles faced by Filipino small business owners, SME store builder Enstack leverages its extensive knowledge of the difficulties experienced by over 100,000 merchants on its platform to provide an effective solution that businesses can implement today.
Super app Enstack, painting a realistic picture of why digital payment acceptance remains low among SMEs, cites the problems, and offers solutions.
Enstack removes payment barriers and offers lower and more manageable transaction fees, empowering all businesses to seamlessly receive digital payments.
It works closely with payment partners to simplify the onboarding process, requiring only an ID and Proof of Billing to start accepting debit and card payments, while online bank transfers and wallet payments can be facilitated with just an ID from the merchant.
Enstack not only provides quick store setup, but also a seamless checkout process, capturing payments for each order made on any of its online or offline sales channels and automatically tagging them to the respective orders for streamlined tracking and management.
Designed to accelerate the adoption of digital sales strategies among SMEs, Build-a-Biz competition offers a cash prize of ₱1 million pesos to the SME with the highest grossing sales completed through the Enstack app by the end of the year.
Tech One Global Philippines as Microsoft country partner of the ear
Tech One Global Philippines has won the 2023 Microsoft Philippines Country Partner of the Year Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementing customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.
The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognizes Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered outstanding Microsoft-based applications, services, and devices during the past year. Awards were classified into various categories, with honorees chosen from a set of more than 4,200 submitted nominations from more than 100 countries worldwide. Tech One Global Philippines was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in the Philippines.
Qatar Airways, British Airways Iberia join forces
British Airways and Qatar Airways have welcomed Iberia — the national carrier of Spain – to the world’s largest joint airline business.
The move will enhance connectivity across the Iberian Peninsula, including Madrid (MAD), Malaga (AGP), Alicante (ALC), Lisbon (LIS), and Porto (OPO).
To mark the launch of the expansion, the partnership launched Iberia’s non-stop daily service from Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) to Doha (DOH), starting 11th December 2023.
Through the three hubs of Doha, London, and Madrid, passengers will be able to access exciting destinations across Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Oceania. Iberia and Qatar Airways will jointly provide three daily Madrid-Doha flights, complementing up to ten daily London-Doha flights by British Airways and Qatar Airways.
By expanding their partnership, the business partnership aims to elevate the travel experience for passengers around the globe, increasing connectivity and choice.
Pandora celebrates Disney 100 Years of Wonder with two new charms
Disney’s beloved characters Simba and Dumbo join other fan favourites in a series of eight limited edition charms to be released one-by-one during 2023.
Simba from Disney’s The Lion King will be joining Pandora’s line-up to celebrate 100 Years of Wonder
this August. The new charm is crafted from sterling silver with solid 14k gold accents and shows the
brave and mischievous lion cub in a playful pose, resting his front paw on a lab-created diamond.
In September, another iconic character will join the celebration: Dumbo, the little elephant with big ears and even bigger dreams. The limited-edition charm in sterling silver features solid 14k gold details and
depicts the baby elephant soaring through the sky. He holds a lab-created diamond in his trunk, symbolizing the “magic” feather that gives him the confidence to fly.
Pandora will introduce eight charms in total in 2023 to celebrate Disney’s 100th anniversary.
