The PR & Events Circuit

Wireless services leader and the country’s biggest network Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) today announced it will offer iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, beginning on Friday, November 14, 2014. Customers can pre-order iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus beginning on Friday, November 7, 2014 at www.smart.com.ph/iPhone . For more information on Smart Communications, please visit: www.smart.com.ph . For more information on iPhone, please visit: www.apple.com/iphone.

Halloween is just a few days away but at Days Hotel Iloilo, it is starting to feel like All Hallows’ Eve. A month-long Halloween celebration, The Promenade brings out popular cocktails, mixed drinks and brews with a twist. Witch's Potion With 14 various drinks to choose from, half non-alcoholic and the other half concocted to make you tipsy a bit, there's one that will surely capture your taste. The Witch's Potion, Gremlin's Brew, Goblin Mimosa and Dracula’s Booze will create quite a stir as they headline the alcoholic offering line up. These concoctions have rhum, vodka, brandy, tequila and kahlua mixed with different juices and coffee, spiced up with cinnamon and a lot more. Completing this dizzying list are Muddy Cappuccino, Citrus Champagne Tonic and Bloody Morgue-ritas. Goblin Mimosa But if you're no fan of alcohol or find it too early to booze up, check out the non-alcoholic line which is as exciting as well. How about some Vampire's Kiss, B...

More than 300 high school students from the Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu underwent a personal leadership training facilitated by Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc - Kool Adventure Camp (RAFI-KAC), with the last batch finishing theirs last October 21 to 23.  The program aimed to develop the participants’ leadership and decision-making skills.  KAC Youth Instructor Gabriel Lamparas (background, sixth from left) facilitates the introduction of camp names to participants of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu personal leadership training. The first two batches of students underwent the program last August and September, respectively, while the third and final batch did so this October. 

STARTEK , a leading provider of business process outsourcing services opened a new center located in Iloilo City in the Philippines with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local area business leaders and STARTEK management and employees on Friday, October 24, 2014.  Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog (in light polo) with STARTEK big wigs during the openign ceremony STARTEK has been operating in temporary space since earlier this year as they waited for the new state-of-the-art building to be completed. The company will be located on three floors in the new building. "The addition of the Iloilo location is the fourth site for us in the Philippines," said Chad Carlson, STARTEK's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Iloilo City's provincial location is ideal for our expansion in the Philippines."   "We place a high value on providing a great environment for our employees and look forward to becoming involved in the c...

There is so much excitement coming up in the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park (IBP) as it becomes the official home of the annual Bike Festival until 2024.  This, after Megaworld and the Iloilo government signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to formalize the partnership. The partnership between Megaworld and Iloilo, signed by senior vice president Jericho P. Go and Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, will promote a healthy lifestyle, road-sharing as bike lanes emerge and public safety practices in Iloilo.   The 1st Iloilo Bike Festival held last March at the Iloilo Business Park "The partnership solidifies the very purpose of this festival, which is to gather the Ilonggo community and show its commitment to healthy and sustainable living. We fully support Iloilo's bid to become the bike capital of the Philippines as we also build our own bike lanes in Iloilo Business Park," says Go. Environment-friendly township Future residents, BPO workers, mall-go...

As part of its commitment in developing sustainable townships, Megaworld, the country’s leading real estate developer, partnered with the Iloilo city government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Iloilo City Agriculture Office, McDonald’s, and PGA Green Global company, to lead an environmental initiative dubbed “My Mangroves, My Life,” where around 100 volunteers from Megaworld, local residents, students from University of San Agustin, planted nursed mangrove seedlings at a 2,500 sq. m. coastal area of Brgy. Sooc, Villa de Arevalo, Iloilo City.  (L-R) Harold Geronimo, head of public relations and communications, Megaworld; Romulo Pangantihon, agricultural technologist, Iloilo City Agriculture Office; Janica Ella Hondrade, Ms. Philippines-Earth finalist and Ms. Paraw Regatta Queen 2014; Ninfa Adolfo, DENR-Environmental Management Bureau; Norlito Bautista, administrator, Iloilo City; Ricardo Tugado, barangay captain, Brgy. Sooc; Geraldine Hautea, department ...

GUIMARAS—Eight years have passed since the M/T Solar 1 sank off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands causing, what is considered, the worst oil spill in the country. The oil tanker, carrying more than 2 million liters of bunker fuel, sank during a violent storm in August 2006, and adversely affected marine sanctuaries and mangrove reserves in three out of five municipalities in the island of Guimaras.  The area was once a rich fishing ground. Since then, the local government has stepped up efforts to conserve and protect the marine environment. Environment advocate Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) was among the private institutions that immediately responded to the call for assistance in the long-term rehabilitation of the area, particularly in sustaining the mangrove plantation of the Taklong Island National Marine Reserve in barangays La Paz and San Roque in Nueva Valencia.   Smart joins hands with community stakeholders in sustaining the mangrove plan...

World-renowned Emperador Brandy will soon be produced on the most modern vineyard in Spain, also considered the largest vineyard in Europe dedicated to brandy production. According to Universidad Politécnica de Madrid professor José Ramón Lissarrague, who has over three decades of agricultural engineering expertise, the vineyard employs the most advanced technology in Spain. “With its modern and technologically advanced design, Emperador’s vineyard in Toledo is expected to yield approximately 30,000 kilos of grapes per hectare.  This is equivalent to five times the average yield of a typical Spanish vineyard,” said Lissarrague.  The professor is part of a team tapped to develop the best implementation strategies for the vineyard.  He has worked for many years with González Byass, one of the largest sherry, wine and brandy producers in Spain. Unlike traditional Spanish vineyards, Emperador’s Toledo vineyard features state-of-the-art technology called Precision ...

ILOILO CITY, Philippines, September 30, 2014— Megaworld, the country’s leading real estate developer and pioneer of townships, introduces another modern luxury residential condominium that is poised to be the tallest building in the region. Standing 80 meters high at 22 storeys, The Palladium will also be Western Visayas’ first residential tower with its own skygardens in various floors overlooking the spectacular views of the booming city.   The Palladium will feature skygardens, infinity pool and loft units “Since last year, we have been experiencing consistent growth in the demand for residential towers in Iloilo Business Park. Everyday, we get inquiries about new projects and everyone wants the best views and amenities from the condominiums that they look for. That is why selling the four towers of our first two residential projects, One Madison Place and Lafayette Park Square, was very easy. And now, we are on our fifth tower which will be offering another set of unique...

This October 5 (Sunday), the search for the Performing Artist Extraordinaire begins via GMA Network’s newest reality talent search Bet ng Bayan. Hosted by no less than the Asia’s Songbird Ms. Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Kapuso Prime leading man Alden Richards, Bet ng Bayan showcases exceptional Filipino talents—dancing, singing, and extraordinary performances. BNB is a nationwide musical festival fostering the Filipino’s faith in the Filipino talent as the performer that is broad in orientation and scope. Since July, BNB has welcomed all hopefuls from all over the Philippines who are to show off the best of what they’ve got. The show encourages viewers to personally and passionately root for a specific local Filipino talent into becoming the nation’s best.  “ It’s the first talent show that I’ll be hosting na hindi lang singing. This one is different kasi may kakaibang talento at sayawan. And what we’re doing in Bet ng Bayan is that each category will have a winner—Bet ...

It is October so let us color the town pink!   Join the 11th Moonwalk: A Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness on October 11, Saturday, from Fuente Osmeña Rotunda to Plaza Independencia in Cebu City. Assembly time at Fuente Osmeña is 5 p.m., with a pre-walk program at 5:30 p.m.  The program at Plaza Independencia, which would immediately follow after the walk, would feature testimonies of various cancer survivors. Among other guests, Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale would grace the occasion. Moonwalk: A Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness is a unique collective advocacy campaign focused on early screening and detection of breast cancer through monthly breast self-examination and mammography. With records of 657 deaths out of the 1,349 cases in 2003-2007, the Cebu population-based Cancer Registry of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.-Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (RAFI-EJACC) identifies breast cancer as the leading cause of death among Cebuano women. For t...