LCC, Globe present Metro readiness for the rainy season
The Liveable Cities Challenge (LCC), in partnership with the League of Cities of the Philippines and Globe Telecom, is set to host another timely discussion to empower cities with knowledge and insights for designing better solutions, through the sharing of best practices.
For its fourth webinar in the series this year, LCC and Globe will present the Liveable Cities Labs: Rainy Season Readiness today Wednesday June 30 at 3-5pm. Speakers and panelists include Ben Hur Abalos, chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority; Mayor Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina City; Dr. Andreas Klippe, president and CEO of Flood Control Asia; Missaka Hettiarachchi, senior fellow of WWF-US; and Emmanuel Estrada, Globe SVP for Technology Strategy&Service Integration. Veronica Gabaldon, executive director of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, will moderate the session.
The discussion is very important as PAGASA declared last June 4 the beginning of the rainy season.
The Philippines is ranked 9th in the world as one of the countries most affected by extreme weather events based on the 2020 World Risk Index.
“Despite these weather disruptions, cities must keep public services running, especially the ongoing national vaccination program. Planning and preparing for the rainy season will help residents stay safe, and strengthen their ability to avoid, adapt and overcome challenges to their way of living, said Bill Luz, chief resilience officer of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation and moderator of the LCC, Globe Lab Webinar Series.
CEB airlifts another 1M vaccine doses
Cebu Pacific (CEB)safely”¯transported another one million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Beijing to Manila,”¯via flight 5J 671, yesterday June 28.
The shipment was the second in less than a week, after CEB successfully brought home two million doses from China on June 24. These consecutive vaccine arrivals indicate progress in the”¯rollout of the country’s inoculation program.
All these vaccines were preserved in temperature-specific refrigerated containers to maintain potency and efficacy up until arrival at the”¯designated”¯stations.
Over the week, more than 87,000 doses were airlifted to different provinces namely, Dipolog, Legazpi, Masbate, Puerto Princesa, Tuguegarao, and Virac. Dipolog is the newest addition to CEB’s roster of now 16 Philippine provinces.
To date, CEB has flown 9 million COVID-19 doses from China, while close to 1.8 million doses have been distributed across the Philippines.
RCBC named Best Cash Management Bank
The Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has been cited as Best Cash Management Bank Philippines 2021 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards (GBAF) for executing a digital pivot in corporate servicing amid the pandemic.
Upon imposition of the lockdown in 2020, the Global Transaction Banking Group of RCBC led the initiative to migrate its corporate clients to digitized cash management services to enable them to continue their financial business transactions given the quarantine restrictions.
The group initially switched clients to electronic funds transfer platforms that utilize PESONet and InstaPay, which effectively eliminated difficulties in their disbursement activities.
Later in the year, the bank introduced CheckScan, a first-in-market check collections solution that allows corporate clients to deposit checks remotely. A mobile version of the CheckScan was launched in May 2021 for small to medium enterprises.
In March 2021, RCBC launched PayPortal, an add-on facility which enables corporate clients to receive payments from their customers electronically.
New cleaning solution
Downy has launched in the market an Antibac Fabric Spray, a quick and easy solution for the germumus (a term coined by Downy for germs) in hard-to-wash fabrics.
Downy Antibac Fabric spray penetrates deep into fabrics to remove 99.9 percent of germs and eliminate odors, making our homes germ-free and smelling fresh instantly.
The product is ideal for cleaning beds and mattresses, sofas, curtains, and even shoes and bags, considered the five dirtiest spots in homes.
Downy cited expert findings that show bacteria and viruses grow exponentially in these hard-to-wash fabrics such as ordinary vacuuming and wiping are not enough to remove them.
Ninja Van partners with Ministop
Ninja Van Philippines is expanding its retail footprint, through a recent partnership with Ministop.
The deal between the two companies will allow Ninja Van Philippines to offer its industry-leading shipping services in over 50 Ministop branches in Metro Manila.
Through this partnership, customers can now visit any partner Ministop branch to send items anywhere in the Philippines.
Partner Ministop branches will be offering three types of cushioned, all-you-can fit pouches, which customers can use to pack their items. The Ninja Pack, comes in Metro Manila and Provincial options, priced at P80 and P150 respectively. The Ministop Pack, priced at p 65, allows customers to send items between partner Ministop branches.
URC launches platform for sari-sari stores
Universal Robina Corp. (URC) has been tapping Facebook’s vast social network to allow a million neighborhood retailers in the Philippines to replenish their stocks with just a few taps, swipes and clicks
The company launched in October a program that uses Facebook to make it seamless for sari-sari store owners to order online from distributors of URC products.
A central feature of the new URC sales platform is Ate Chat, an avatar that serves as a digital concierge that receives and answers queries.
The Facebook social commerce site has provided a unique solution that drives sales growth for URC’s distributors and their sari-sari store customers.
When it was launched, the platform received several thousand messages within the first two weeks. Sales, meanwhile, surpassed the target six times by November.
URC will soon automate community management and its ordering system.
ARISE Philippines GMM
The Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE) Philippines recently held its annual general membership meeting and discussed all accomplishments to date, updates on the status of its current initiatives, and its goals moving forward.
A highlight of the meeting was the organization’s 2021-2023 Road Map, which has three themes: “Re-energizing the Network”; “Institutionalizing Partnerships”; and “Pushing the Framework.”
Disaster Risk Management Strategies, Education and Training, Urban Risk Reduction and Resilience, and Small and Medium Businesses, Investors and Investments, Insurance and Reinsurance, and Resilient Infrastructure under are “Priority Areas.”
In his keynote message, ARISE-PH co-chair and SM Prime Executive Committee chairman Hans Sy called on the members of the network to continue working together toward a more disaster-resilient Philippines.
GrabKitchen, Kraver’s Canteen unite
Grab’s cloud kitchen concept GrabKitchen has partnered with cloud-kitchen operator Kraver’s Canteen to help restaurants and brands reach new consumers.
Together, Grab and Kraver’s will set up GrabKitchen facilities to help restaurants and brands reach new consumers and maximize operations while lowering overhead expenses.
The start of the partnership was inaugurated with the recently-launched GrabKitchen branch in Paranaque, and has since been able to provide ample support for businesses. GrabKitchen’s other branches, such as those located in Malate and Sampaloc, have also been able to set many well-beloved restaurants to success, such as Frankie’s New York Buffalo Wings, Dapo at Tisa, and HappiLee Korean Kitchen.
SB Finance, Lazada tie up
SB Finance Corp. has partnered with e-commerce giant Lazada to provide Filipino Lazada marketplace sellers with multi-purpose loans of up to P500,000 to help grow their businesses and encourage continued economic growth amid the pandemic.
Under the partnership, Lazada micro and official sellers can avail of SB Finance’s multi-purpose loans through a hassle-free application and with a low introductory interest rate of 1.89 percent.
Sellers may avail of up to 12-month payment schemes and can expect funds to be credited to their accounts within three banking days.
P&A Grant Thornton new partner
Mary Grace Punay has been named partner at P&A Grant Thornton.
Punay will be joining the partnership under the Audit and Assurance division of the firm, effective July 1, 2021.
She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from Ateneo de Davao University. She has more than 15 years of experience as a certified public accountant.
Teleperformance countryside talent pool
Teleperformance Philippines has around 1,300 career opportunities available in TP provincial sites.
TP was able to provide employment to over 11,000 talent from the countryside despite the pandemic This is made possible through the company’s virtual recruitment process using TP’s social media and online channels, such as TP-in-3.
Innovations such as the TP Cloud Campus also make remote working easier for employees. This innovation allows home-based interaction experts to work from anywhere, while remaining connected virtually with their Teleperformance team through the Cloud Campus hubs located at TP Aura in Taguig City and at TP Fairview in Quezon City.
In a recent virtual event, Teleperformance Philippines senior director Marilyn Ventenilla the company partners with the academe and other organizations as it sees the need to spread awareness about the thriving careers in the outsourcing industry
Aside from its Metro Manila sites, TP has sites in Cavite, Antipolo, Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro.
