The PR & Events Circuit

Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), a subsidiary of property giant Megaworld, is gearing up for another integrated urban township development in Western Visayas. The 173-hectare Sta. Barbara Heights in the historic municipality of Sta. Barbara in Iloilo is set to become the 18th township of Megaworld, which will lend its expertise to GERI to develop the vast property into a mixed-use urban community. GERI to spend P10-B to build the township near Iloilo International Airport integrating residential and commercial components “We are allocating P10-billion to develop Sta. Barbara Heights for 10 years. Part of which has already been spent for land development and construction of the village, which started four years ago. We have seen the potential of Sta. Barbara Heights of becoming a full-blown township because of its strategic location near the Iloilo International Airport. 

Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), a subsidiary of property giant Megaworld, is gearing up for another integrated urban township development in Western Visayas. The 173-hectare Sta. Barbara Heights in the historic municipality of Sta. Barbara in Iloilo is set to become the 18th township of Megaworld, which will lend its expertise to GERI to develop the vast property into a mixed-use urban community. “We are allocating P10-billion to develop Sta. Barbara Heights for 10 years. Part of which has already been spent for land development and construction of the village, which started four years ago. We have seen the potential of Sta. Barbara Heights of becoming a full-blown township because of its strategic location near the Iloilo International Airport. In the next five to 10 years, this master-planned community will help spur economic activities in this town, and we will be able to provide transient passengers and tourists with facilities that are truly welcoming and world-clas...

Manila, Philippines (June 23, 2015)—The country’s leading mobile brand Globe Telecom brings the Formula One rush to the Philippines once again as it presents Slipstream 2.0, an event celebrating the journey of Marlon Stockinger as the first and only Filipino to make his way into the competitive world of Formula One racing.  Slipstream 2.0 opens the world of the Prince of Speed, Marlon Stockinger, to Filipinos, and how he lives his life in the fast lane.  “This sport may not be as common as boxing and basketball in the country, but with Slipstream 2.0, we can bring Marlon’s journey and the F1 experience closer to the Filipinos,”said Dan Horan, Senior Advisor for Consumer Business.  

Being a recipient of several scholarship grants from grade school to post-graduate degree, 25-year old computer engineer Kerwin Jorbina also wanted to make it easier for other underprivileged but deserving young Filipinos to get an education.  Scholar’s Field Team Leader Kerwin Jorbina holds the certificate for 15,000 API credits from Globe Labs as teammates and judges celebrate their win.  Together with the group are Pia Angeli Bernal, Kickstart Ventures Manager for Social Impact Investments (left); Anne Michelle Santos, Globe Labs Project Manager for Digital Media (2nd to the left); and Alex Alabiso, Kickstart Ventures Head of Portfolio Development (2nd to the right). Thus, Jorbina came out with the idea of an online portal called “Scholar’s Field” that will provide students with the necessary information on scholarship grants from schools and different private and government organizations, and allow them to submit multiple applications minus the tedious task of going...

PARIS, 17 JUNE 2015 - AirAsia has become the launch customer for the latest Airbus “Smarter Fleet” electronic Flight Folder (eFF), following the signature of an agreement at the Paris Air Show today. The signature was witnessed by Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia.  Photo 1 (L-R): Didier Lux, Head of Customer Services, Airbus together with Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia and Aireen Omar, CEO of AirAsia Berhad. eFF is a comprehensive software application that allows pilots to access their briefing package on-board the aircraft, or from home, the hotel, or the crew briefing room. The software also offers enhanced capabilities to manage electronic forms such as the post flight journey log and air safety reports. It is interconnected with the airline environment delivering briefing packages and automatically archiving data. 

Customers on Windows OS smartphones can now purchase apps from the Windows Mobile Store without the need for credit card Philippines’ number one mobile brand Globe Telecom continues to lead the country’s digital revolution as it recently expanded its Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) service to include customers on Microsoft Lumia smartphones running on the Windows operating system (OS). With Globe being the first telco to bring the service to the Philippines, the new Windows Mobile Store direct carrier billing service gives Microsoft Lumia and Windows phone users an easy, convenient, and secure channel to download and purchase their choice of mobile applications and in-app content without the need for a credit card. 

The Formula 1 aspirations of Filipino-Swiss​ Jr. F1​ racing driver Marlon Stockinger shifts to a higher gear today with the staging of the 2015 Status Grand Prix (GP2) season in Austria. Filipino Jr. F1 driver, Stockinger to represent PH in 2015 Status Grand Prix Twenty-six drivers representing 13 teams that will race over 10 rounds are participating in the said event. Entering the Austria event, GP 2 has already completed three rounds, which started last April in Bahrain. Stockinger, 24, is joined by New Zealand’s 23-year-old driver Richie Stanaway for Status Grand Prix this year.

Globe Telecom remains the preferred partner of the world’s biggest content brands with its partnership with Zalora Philippines, further growing the e-commerce industry in the country. With the collaboration, customers get easy and hassle-free access to the online shopping portal across mobile devices to fully empower the Filipino digital lifestyle experience with the Shopping Bundle, available to mobile and Tattoo postpaid customers for only P299 a month. 

PARIS, 16 JUNE 2015 - AirAsia has been named the World’s Best Low Cost Airline and Asia's Best Low Cost Airline for the seventh consecutive year at the Skytrax World’s Airline Awards held at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget. Skytrax is the global benchmark of airline excellence and one of the most prestigious accolades for the airline industry with 19 million customer surveys completed worldwide by over 160 nationalities, measuring standards across 41 key performance indicators of an airline’s front-line products and services. Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia was present to receive the awards at the Paris Air Show 2015 along with CEOs from the AirAsia Group.

The Arcanys Early Learning Foundation and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI)-Dolores Aboitiz Children's Fund conducted a Math Olympics for beneficiaries of their "District Transformation Through Parent Coaching" project last May 13 and 15, benefitting children and parents of Barangay Pasil, Cebu City. Under the program, Arcanys teachers went house-to-house to teach children Math skills, specifically rote counting, number recognition, object identification, numerical magnitude, missing number and simple addition. 

Social enterprise BagoSphere is expanding its intensive and affordable job training program to key cities in the Philippines to give more high school and college graduates better opportunities to jumpstart their career in the outsourcing industry. “When we first started BagoSphere, we wanted to create an affordable solution to tackle youth unemployment. In the last two years testing and implementing our training model in Bago City, we learned a lot about helping young people find meaningful jobs. We saw life-transforming results and measurable social impact. Now, we have started our expansion plans with Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental, and we hope to help more high school and college graduates gain relevant communication and IT skills in an authentic work setting and get them hired,” said Zhihan Lee, co-founder and CEO of BagoSphere.

MANILA, Philippines, June 19, 2015 – Property giant Megaworld, the country’s leading developer of integrated urban townships, is optimistic that its rental income will grow to P9-billion this year as it continues to aggressively expand its leasing portfolio driven by office, malls and commercial centers, and hotels. Megaworld’s rental income reached P2.7-billion in 2010. In 2011, this soared to P3.8-billion, a remarkable 41-percent year-on-year growth. A year after, rental income grew by 32% to P5-billion, and in 2013, it again grew by 20-percent to P6-billion. Last year, the company’s rental income reached P7.1-billion, still maintaining a double digit growth of 18-percent. 

For earning high regard among investors and analysts across the region in terms of its financial performance, industry leadership and corporate management, Globe Telecom was formally recognized as one of the best companies in the country and in the region by Finance Asia, a leading publisher of financial news in the Asia-Pacific region. As one of the best-managed companies in the country, Globe was bestowed with four major company awards and an individual category citation. The telco also received high rankings for best corporate governance, the “most committed to paying good dividends,” and in investor relations. The company’s President & CEO Ernest Cu was also adjudged as one of the best chief executive officers. “It is an honour to be recognised as among the best companies in the Philippines. Globe remains committed to its stakeholders by marking exemplary results and exceeding performance metrics through the collective efforts of its people who are passionate to serve ...

It’s a little-known fact that business was always a favorite conversation topic for renowned international model and Asia’s Next Top Model Season 3 host Georgina Wilson. With a multitude of successful fashion campaigns and hosting stints under her belt, it is impressive to note that Georgina is beauty and brains with a double major degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Sydney.  Her strong business acumen is furthered fueled by conversations with fellow entrepreneurs and friends Bea Soriano, Eric Dee and Martine Cajucom, as well as her love for all things fashion. With a fascination on how start-up brands grow to achieve success, together they put up Sunnies Studios, Inc., now one of the country’s biggest eyewear brands.

In order to cater more to customers’ on-the-go lifestyle and enhance the customer retail experience, Globe Telecom relaunched its online shop available at shop.globe.com.ph. The new Globe Online Shop gives customers access to exclusive promos, the newest device offers, and exciting freebies on a single platform. With shop.globe.com.ph, customers get access to exclusive promos, newest devices, and exciting freebies and an enhanced user experience With the Globe Online Shop, customers can shop for the newest phones and postpaid plans and get savings from exclusive offers and best deals for a convenient shopping experience, anywhere and anytime. It also boasts of an enhanced user experience with the site automatically adjusting to the user’s device screen, including mobile phones. The Globe Online Shop is home to special offers not available in Globe Shops. Dubbed as online-exclusives, these offers are meant to rewards customers purchasing postpaid plans and devices online....

Atria Park District, Ayala Land’s first integrated masterplanned, mixed-use community and largest investment in Iloilo continues to redefine the bustling metropolis with the latest developments for its residential and community components.  Avida, the mid-market brand of Ayala Land, offers the second tower of Avida Towers Atria, the company’s residential condominium development in Atria Park District at Avida showroom along Donato Pison Avenue, Mandurriao, Iloilo City

Globe Business, through its IT Enabled Services Group, once again enables 2GO Group Inc, the largest, premier logistics provider in the Philippines, with another cloud-based solution -- Microsoft Office 365.   (L to R) Lauro Lucas, Globe Enteprise Group Senior Account Manager; Rey Lugtu, Vice President, Globe IT Enabled Services Group; Gil Genio, Globe EVP & COO for International and Business Markets , Jerry Cruzabra – CFO, 2GO Group, Gabriel David, CIO, 2GO Group and  Patricia Sadorra, Globe Enterprise Group Sales Cluster Head To date, 2GO is Globe Business' biggest Microsoft Office 365 client with almost 3,000 licenses. As the world’s leading productivity application, Microsoft Office 365 provides enterprise-grade tools that brings together familiar Microsoft Office desktop applications that lets its users get things done easier and faster.

Globe Telecom has once again raised the bar in the practice of public relations (PR) in Asia after being one of the only two companies in the country and the only Philippine telco shortlisted in this year’s PRWeek Awards Asia. “We are honored to join the ranks of companies and PR agencies across Asia and be recognized for our communication programs and practitioners that have catapulted Globe to be the preferred brand of choice for consumers today,” said Yoly Crisanto, Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications at Globe. Globe has received four (4) finalist citations from the highly-prestigious award-giving body that recognizes cutting-edge PR programs and practitioners across Asia. Now on its 14th year, the PRWeek Awards Asia 2015 is once again setting out to celebrate the most inspired and successful campaigns, companies and individuals in the region’s communications industry that have been transforming businesses and brands.

For exhibiting excellence in advocacy programs and internal communications initiatives, Globe Telecom earned citations from local marketing luminaries as it captured multiple accolades across various platforms at the recently-held 2015 PANAta Marketing Effectiveness Awards.   Receiving the four PANAta Awards trophies on behalf of Globe are (left and right) Corporate Social Responsibility Experts Abelyn Evangelista and Carmela David, as well as (center) Corporate Brand Management Director Roland Jonas Ferrer. Among 59 awardees and top Philippine companies with multiple wins, the No. 1 mobile brand in the country captured distinctions in all of the categories it entered into. These include advocacy marketing as well as brand and internal communications.

All roads will lead to Iloilo Provincial Capitol Grounds on June 12, as hundreds of cyclists and advocates raise the flag of freedom on Independence Day to stop human trafficking and promote road sharing. The Independence Day Freedom Ride is a bike ride event organized by advocate group Dakila, in partnership with Centralian Cruisers Cycling Club (C4) which aims to raise awareness on human trafficking and to promote road sharing in Iloilo with the tour of the six district plazas.

After a hectic day at work, or a busy time at home taking care of your family, you deserve to escape from the routine, and the best way to do it is to get a rejuvenating massage in the quiet and calming environment of a spa. Slip out of the real world, and lose yourself for an hour or two at Spa Riviera.   But, there are cases that a simple or traditional massage may not be enough to work out the stress from your body. It is for this reason that Spa Riviera offers a special package aptly called Gayuma. Just like what its name connotes, it is like a love potion that once you experience it you can’t help but fall in love with it. Gayuma will not only give much relief to your tired muscles, but will also revitalize your senses and energize you. 

For Sun Postpaid subscribers, going for the convenience of the new and exclusive Swipe and Save offer has its rewards. Cherry Mobile One handsets are up for grabs for new and existing Sun Postpaid subscribers under Sun Plan 399 who enroll their account to an auto-charge arrangement using their credit card.  Powered by the latest Android Lollipop operating system, the Cherry Mobile Android One allows its users to enjoy the best and purest Android experience. The 4.5” touchscreen and 5MP camera-loaded smartphone runs on the highly-reliable Quad-core processor, which ensures fast, responsive and better smartphone performance. On top of this, the new Cherry Mobile Android One boasts of notification improvements, longer battery life, multiple-user capabilities, and a scratch-resistant surface.

In support and commemoration of the 117th Philippine Independence Day, SM City Iloilo will hold a flag raising ceremony on June 12, 2015, 9am at the front covered walk of the mall. Photo by Christy Love Custodio This undertaking is being held annually by SM City Iloilo, along with the other SM Supermalls in the Philippines.

As the demand for internet connectivity increases, more customers are looking for establishments that offer WiFi access as today’s lifestyle has become more on-the-go and digital. Same is true for establishments such restaurants, cafes and bed and breakfast inns which are looking into growing their businesses with WiFi availability. From a customer’s point of view, an establishment with WiFi internet is more advantageous so he or she can stay connected for work or personal reasons. This opportunity led Globe myBusiness, Globe Telecom’s small and medium business arm, to introduce the myBusiness WiFi Hub, a new package that allows businesses to earn more by offering customers access to a WiFi connection. Establishments will be able to offer WiFi for free or for a fee, opening up opportunities to attract more customers and at the same time, earn from this additional revenue stream.

Good news for lovers of classic Mexican telenovelas who are looking for an alternative to local and Korean standard drama fare.  Tagalog-dubbed hits La Madrasta (The Stepmother), Palabra de Mujer (A Woman’s Word), and Big Love (Llena de Amor) now air daily over BEAM UHF Free-to-Air Channel 31 in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Baguio, Naga, Iloilo, and Zamboanga.  The programs are also available on cable in NCR via SkyCable Channel 72, Destiny Cable Channel 80, Cable Link Channel 82, and CableStar Channel 4, and Skycable Channel 20 in Cebu, Davao, and Baguio.  Airing starts daily from 5am -7 am and 7 pm to 11 pm with catch-up marathon on weekends in the same time slots.   Hit Mexican telenovela classic La Madrasta returns to the small screen with Victoria Ruffo and Cesar Evora

BDO Credit Card users are in for an amazing treat! Sun Postpaid is offering a free subscription of Sun Plan 399 for one year, to those who purchase the Samsung Galaxy V using their BDO credit cards.  This exclusive BDO Credit Card offer lets subscribers purchase Samsung Galaxy V at a 0% instalment plan for up to 12 months, and automatically lets them enjoy the connectivity offers that come bundled with a Sun Plan 399.

The Manila Observatory has forged an agreement with Shell companies in the Philippines, together with Smart Communications, in boosting climate resilience and disaster preparedness of local government units (LGUs) across the country. This will be achieved with the expansion of Manila Observatory’s network of Automated Weather Stations (AWS), an established system of stand-alone devices that can accurately record temperature and humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, as well as rainfall. Photo Credits Kathy Villalon The Manila Observatory is the Philippines’ oldest earth system science research institute. On its 150th year, the non-profit institution is advocating a new model of evidence-based, public-private partnership to advance resilience in exposed and vulnerable coastal cites.