PhilHealth coverage of patients in tents
PhilHealth EVP/COO Nerissa Santiago, in a recent Congressional hearing, clarified that if the services given to patients in tents were part of in-patient care then these should be covered by the current inpatient Covid-19 packages of the program, as opposed to stays in non-accredited Community Isolation Unit tents which are not compensable under existing rules.
According to the PhilHealth statement on the matter, the national health insurance institution fully acknowledges the current situation where patients are temporarily placed in tents because hospitals can no longer admit them in regular hospital beds.
As such, PhilHealth guarantees that Covid-19 patients are entitled to health insurance coverage for RT-PCR tests, isolation in accredited community isolation units, and hospitalization for mild to critical cases of Covid-19.
PhilHealth president and CEO Atty. Dante A. Gierran said “Be it Covid-19 or not, patients should be afforded with all the financial help as guaranteed by the Universal Health Care Law. Pursuant to this, PhilHealth has been reviewing existing policies to better respond to the extraordinary demands brought about by this pandemic, with the best interest of the patients in mind. Enhanced guidelines will be issued the soonest to ensure that adequate financial protection is duly provided to the patients without compromising quality of care.”
PhilHealth said that the reported charges of P1,000/hour will be investigated for possible violation of pertinent laws and rules .
Ayala Land wins Awards of Excellence
Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) received top communications honors at the 18th Philippine Quill Awards of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) including Awards of Excellence for its ‘Ayala Land Pays it Forward’ COVID-19 Response program, its redesigned Corporate Website, and its 2019 Integrated Report.
The company’s redesigned Corporate Website and its Integrated Report also received Awards of Excellence from the IABC under the Communication for the Web and Publications categories. With the theme “A commitment to enrich lives for a more progressive future”, the Ayala Land 2019 Integrated Report communicated the company’s dedication to sustainability.
ALI received a total of 10 Philippine Quill Awards, including several Awards of Merit for Ayala Malls under the brand communications, customer and media relations and events categories. Among them were the ‘Ayala Malls Awaken Amazing’, ‘Stylescapes at Ayala Malls’, ‘The Witcher Premiere with Netflix’, ‘Market! Market! 15 on 15 Anniversary’, and the ‘Ayala Malls Pasyal’ campaigns.
ALI subsidiary Avida Land also won an Award of Merit for its HOMEPOSSIBLE: Ready to Restart Campaign.
Coca-Cola PH free vaccination for employees
Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI)–the local bottling arm of Coca-Cola and one of the major employers in the country–announced its free comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination program for its 10,000 associates. This plan extends to employees’ immediate family members.
Coca-Cola is currently working with partners to ensure that the program will be rolled out immediately and efficiently. This also seeks to support collective efforts to revive the national economy.
“Our People-First commitment means that we are responsible for our employees and their families especially during these most challenging times,” said Gareth McGeown, president and chief executive officer of CCBPI.
Other than overall helping the country’s economic reboot the move is also seen to contribute to a virtuous cycle of job generation, as for every direct job at the Company, seven more indirect jobs across its value chain are produced.
The company has allocated P2 billion for its employee assistance fund to ensure that all its employees receive their salaries, their jobs secured during the pandemic.
Aboitiz releases 13th or 14th month pay of team members
The Aboitiz Group announced it will release the 13th- or 14th-month pay of regular team members in the first week of April, ahead of the December and April scheduled payouts.
“We understand that financial security is critical for all, especially during these challenging times. And our A-People who are at the center of our organizational resilience, whose hard work, agility, and commitment are unparalleled, remains our top priority. They are the lifeblood of our organization. Their welfare will always be our utmost concern,” said Sabin Aboitiz, Aboitiz Group president and chief executive officer.
The Group’s holding company Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) rolled out #LetsStayConnected, a series of total wellness initiatives focusing on three pillars of mental, physical, and financial wellness.
Under mental wellness, AEV offers online counseling to help manage stress and anxiety, 24/7 teleconsultations (with partner Maxicare) for more convenient and safer check-ups, Check-IN+ pulse checks for team members, and #ForYouFriday email blasts that remind team members how to stay healthy. There are also A-Community chatrooms connecting team members within communities.
The company also introduced ‘C-Focused Fridays’, an initiative that provides team members a specific and uniform time block to encourage team members to allot time for themselves and focus solely on personal as well as professional development.
STI wins awards for student programs
STI College was recognized at the 18th Philippine Quill Awards for its programs geared towards guiding and enriching the Filipino youth.
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has announced the winners for each division in February with STI winning two awards under the Communication Management – Marketing, Advertising and Brand Communication category for STI SCOPE and STI Career Camp.
The STI SCOPE or Student’s Career Opportunity and Personality Evaluator is a program that equips students with the proper tools and knowledge to make informed decisions regarding their educational and professional paths. The STI Career Camp is a series of immersive and career-based workshops that aims to address the communication gaps to better prepare today’s youth for senior high school, college, and employment.
Globe At Home #LearningNeverStops
Through the WiFi2TEACH program with Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI), Globe At Home (GAH) continues to address the education sector’s needs — especially that of the country’s public school students — by donating Prepaid WiFi modems to beneficiaries nominated by the Department of Education (DepEd).
In support of the government’s distance learning program, the donation of GAH Prepaid WiFi modems will help public school students stay in stride with the current educational set-up.
Globe At Home customers are also contributing in this endeavor. Every time a customer buys a GAH Prepaid WiFi modem from either the Globe Online Shop or its official stores in Lazada and Shopee, P100 will be donated to a fund used to purchase even more prepaid WiFi modems to support the internet requirements of public school students. Likewise, a P1 donation will be added to the fund for every HomeSURF and HomeWATCH promo availed of.
Quality meat at your doorstep
Pilmico, the integrated agribusiness and food company of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., has launched last year The Good Meat online shops, thegoodmeat.ph and Lazada flagship store and has provided customers in the National Capital Region a safe and convenient online shopping experience in ordering quality meats and baking essentials.
Customers can expect next-day delivery and options for cash-on-delivery or cashless payment. The Good Meat looks to expand its services to more Filipinos as it plans to open an online store in Shopee and other online marketplaces within the next few months.
In provinces under Modified General Community Quarantine such as Tarlac and Pangasinan, customers can visit supermarkets. The Good Meat will also be available in select Robinsons Supermarket branches in Pangasinan by April.
Nestlé PH accelerates gender balance in the workplace
Celebrating International Women’s Month, Nestlé Philippines recently held a series of online fora for its employees and external stakeholders tackling issues, challenges, and approaches in fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
This year’s theme for the celebration is #ChoosetoChallenge, a call to action for all people to step up and challenge gender bias and inequality.
Kais Marzouki, Nestle Philippines chairman and chief executive officer, shared a number of the company’s milestones towards achieving gender balance. Balance in Leadership Roles – Nestlé Philippines has attained a 50-50 gender balance for management positions, strengthening the representation of women in leadership roles.
As for senior positions, 47 percent (vice presidents and upwards) are held by women. Equal Pay is another measure of gender balance as in the last two years there have been no significant gender pay gaps at all levels in the workforce. Parental Support Policy, launched in February 2020, provides fully paid leave for the primary caregiver extended from 15 weeks to 18 weeks, while fully paid leave for the secondary caregiver is extended from 9 days to 4 weeks.
Balance in Candidate Sourcing ensures that, in sourcing talents, balanced representation is maintained regardless of role, by ensuring there is at least one female candidate in the pipeline.
