The PR & Events Circuit

Cebu-based maker of soaps and skin care products GT Cosmetics Manufacturing, Inc. is now offering GT Papaya Lotion to Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon. The GT Cosmetics Papaya Lotion is now also available for the international markets.  Engr.  Leonora B. Salvane, GTCosmetics Founder and Chief Operating Officer, said that the GT Papaya Lotion can now be bought at Watsons, SM Supermalls, Robinsons Malls, Gaisano Malls, Metro Malls, Mercury Drug, and Prince Hypermart chains, among others. Salvane said the GT Papaya Lotion is distributed nationwide along with other GTCosmetics products. It is also available abroad in the US and Canada.

Outstanding media professionals and social media practitioners were honored at the 4th Globe Media Excellence Awards for their exemplary work in bringing most relevant social issues to the fore through the different channels of print, broadcast and digital media. The most anticipated premier award-giving body that gives recognition to excellence in journalism in central Philippines, the Globe Media Excellence Awards event was held at the Grand Convention Center of Cebu, coinciding with celebrations of the Cebu Press Freedom Week. Globe Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto (extreme left) poses with the winners of the 2015 Globe Media Excellence Awards. They are from left, Eileen Mangubat, Editor-in-Chief Cebu Daily News; Isolde Amante, Editor-in-Chief of Sunstar Cebu; Cherry Ann Lim, Managing Editor of SunStar Cebu; Patricia Andrea Patena of TV 5; Ador Vincent Mayol of Cebu Daily News; Rowena Capistrano of DYRF; Glady Reyes, a blogger from Bacolod; Ja

MANILA, Philippines, September 22, 2015 – Just barely nine months after its launch, Holland Park, the first residential condominium cluster in Southwoods City, has sold out its first three towers due to a remarkably high demand for condominium units in the vast 561-hectare township community south of Manila. With this, Megaworld’s Global-Estate Resorts, Inc., the developer of Southwoods City, is launching its 4th tower this month. Three residential towers of Holland Park sold out; company launches 4th tower “Holland Park has been selling fast because clients and investors have seen the huge potential of Southwoods City as the south’s next central business district that is so close to Manila. On top of this, they have seen the growing community surrounded by its own golf course, which is distinct to Southwoods City,” says Rachelle Peñaflorida, vice president for sales and marketing, Megaworld Global-Estate, Inc.

Globe Telecom recently held a forum for graduating journalism students in Cebu, coinciding with celebrations of the Cebu Press Freedom Week, amid growing impact of technology and internet on journalism practice. Entitled “Role of Technology and Social Media in Journalism”, the forum sought to provide relevant insights from journalism and social media practitioners based on their respective professional experiences.  Panelists were past winners of the Globe Media Excellence Awards, which is now on its fourth year. More than 200 journalism students from University of the Philippines (Visayas); University of San Jose – Recoletos; Southwestern UniversityCebu; Institute of Technology University; University of the Visayas (Cebu); Cebu Normal University; St. Theresa's College; Benedicto College, joined the forum.  Above photo shows from left Globe Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto; Wilson Ng,President of Ng Khai Development Corp. and tech columnist of

Bridestory, Southeast Asia’s leading wedding marketplace that helps couples with their weddings and provides a platform for wedding professionals, is expanding to the Philippines. Several weeks ago, Bridestory launched a local website for the Philippine market ( www.bridestory.com.ph ). The company will also launch a mobile app for wedding vendors across the globe later this month. The Indonesia-based online wedding platform seeks to establish more presence in the country to administer their on-ground operations more efficiently.

Globe Telecom's 2014 Annual Sustainability Report, entitled “Let’s create a wonderful world” bagged the Gold Award at the 29th International ARC Awards, a highly-esteemed global competition honoring outstanding achievement in annual reports.  Globe won in the Combined Annual and Sustainability Report category. “Globe strives for excellence in all areas of operations. Proof of our success is our leadership in mobile and continued strong business performance brought about by our passion for innovation and pursuit of superior customer experience,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications. However, aside from financial gains, Globe has also embraced its responsibility to do social good across various sectors and adopt efficiency measures to reduce our impact to the environment.

And then there was one.  From the four office workers chosen to participate in AirAsia Travel Photographer 2015, including a car salesman and a barista, the online votes have been tallied and 36-year old Velvet Lagman takes home the grand prize!  AirAsia Travel Photographer winner Velvet Lagman (3rd from left) with fellow contenders (L-R) TJ Nepomuceno III, Paul Delfin, and Sarah Garcia at the awarding ceremony held recently in Mandaluyong City, Philippines Mentored by Malaysian photojournalist Adam Lee, Velvet has received the coveted title of AirAsia’s Best Travel Photographer of 2015 along with 100,00 AirAsia BIG Points and a Nikon D5500 with a 18mm-55mm lens kit. 

The Department of Tourism (DOT) office along Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue and Jupiter Street in Makati City opens its doors again to the public as a must-experience venue for its “Countdown to Christmas: Celebrating the Regions” beginning September 21 until December 18. This Yuletide countdown will showcase the best tourism products and services of the Philippines’ 16 regions for a period of two weeks each. It will be the tourism regions’ yearly showcase during the Christmas season by promoting their diverse cultures through vignette fiesta performances, native arts and crafts, locally processed and packed food products as well as travel packages featuring both popular and emerging tourist destinations. The kick-off is also in time for the tourism month.

To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chan Lim Family of Artists and Students has prepared 217 of their artworks done in Chinese Scroll Painting, Lantern Painting & Oil Painting. The exhibit is joined by 34 artists. Exhibit will run from Sept. 26 to Oct.11, SM City Iloilo Event Center. The Chan Lim Family of Artists has been actively involved in the arts for more than four decades now.  The family patriarch, Chan Lim, has dabbled in Western art, specializing in Oil and Watercolor. The Chan Lim siblings Alex, Felix, Rolex and Jolex are all engineers by profession and are actively engaged with multinational companies. Bound by their passion with the arts, the Chan Lim family of Artists has conducted numerous art classes, workshops, seminars, and on-the-spot painting demonstrations. They have joined several art exhibits locally and internationally.  The 3rd generation Chan Lims follows in the footsteps of both the family patriarch and their fathers in nurturing their

A total of 53 entries were shortlisted for various categories of the Globe Media Excellence Awards (GMEA), the most anticipated premier award-giving body that gives recognition to excellence in journalism in central Philippines Nominees and guests from Iloilo and Bacolod during the GMEA Appreciation Lunch in Iloilo City The premier award-giving body which recognizes excellence in journalism from the best breed of scribes in Visayas and Mindanao, the awards pay tribute and gives recognition to print, broadcast, and digital media practitioners who have excelled in their respective fields. Awards night for the GMEA Visayas leg will be held on September 24, 2015 at the Grand Convention Center of Cebu, to coincide with celebrations for the Cebu Press Freedom Week.

Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI), through its majority-owned subsidiaries, is paving the way for continued business growth in the long run. “Underpinned by Megaworld Corp., Emperador Inc., Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. and Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), AGI’s vision is to increase shareholder value via higher stock returns and consistent dividend payouts,” AGI’s president, Kingston U. Sian, said in a statement.  “Our steadfast focus, being one of our greatest strengths, coupled with having dominance in township real estate, liquor, gaming, and quick service restaurant (QSR) makes us a compellingly strategic investment,” Mr. Sian added. 

The country’s leading mobile Point-of-Sale (POS) provider Globe Charge has partnered with Kalibo Cable, the most renowned cable provider in Aklan and Antique, to further boost its presence and distribution in Western Visayas. The tie-up allows Globe Charge to reach out to more Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and help them reach their potential by being able to accept credit card payments for their business. Kalibo Cable started selling Globe Charge together with its other innovative digital and technological products and services last month. “We are glad to have Kalibo Cable as part of our extensive distribution network for Globe Charge since we want more MSMEs to enjoy easy, affordable, and convenient way to offer different payment options, accept more customers, and grow their business,” said Xavier Marzan, President and CEO of G-Xchange, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom which operates Globe Charge.

A buy-bust operation conducted by a joint police and Globe Telecom security team resulted in the arrest of a fraudster in Cabanatuan City engaged in illegal sale of Globe Tattoo LTE modems. Arrested was Paul John Edison Ramirez, 21 years old, a resident of No. 219 Ilang-ilang St. Barangay DS Garcia, Cabanatuan City.  Ramirez is believed to be engaged in a modus operandi that involves retrieval of LTE or WiMAX modems from legitimate customers on pretext of an upgrade or repair. The modems are then reconfigured and sold at a one-time cost payment in popular social networking sites such as Facebook. 

Leading Philippine Telecommunications Company Globe Telecom, in its push for wonderful service and providing services that enrich the Filipino digital lifestyle, powered the gathering of business and youth leaders to collaborate and exchange best practices as primary sponsor of the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Asia Conference.  HPAIR and De La Salle University (DLSU) partnered with Globe in gathering international students and young professionals throughout Asia. The confab focused on economic, political, social and cultural issues which were discussed through plenary sessions, panels, keynotes, workshops, and case studies. HPAIR Delegates waiting their turn to use the Virtual Reality device Globe Telecom hosted “The Globe Dinner” which served as an avenue to experience a rich, wonderful, immersive socials and networking night for the delegates, the Globe leadership team and employees to discuss and exchange best practices on digital innova

Organizers of the National Digital Arts Awards (NDAA) 2015 are calling for entries from the Visayas. Globaltronics, a company specializing in digital advertising in the Philippines, is encouraging students who aspire to be part of the country’s digital arts community to join the contest. “We are calling on Bisaya youth to be part of the NDAA 2015 Visayas leg. This is your chance to highlight your talents in creating artistic works using new tools in the digital media,” said Nato Agbayani, Globaltronics Vice President for External Affairs and Partnerships. Agbayani added that this year’s theme #DigitalPinoyAko aims to highlight the works of Filipino youth and their interpretation of the Philippines as a country of daring and innovative people that continues to rise with the help of digital technology.

His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Honorable Secretary Greg Domingo, Honorable Secretary Rogelio Singson, Honorable Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Honorable Secretary Proceso Alcala, Honorable Secretary Janet Garin, Honorable Congressman Jerry Trenas and other honorable congressmen of the region, Honorable Governor Arthur Defensor and other honorable governors of the region, Honorable Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and other city officials, friends, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. First of all, I would like to officially welcome you all here at Iloilo Business Park, Megaworld’s 72-hectare integrated urban township development and the official home of this world-class Iloilo Convention Center. Years ago when we were still conceptualizing the development of Iloilo Business Park, our original plan was just to build a community that will mostly cater to the growing BPO industry. Back then, we planned to build several BPO office buildings, re

Globe Telecom is continuing to invest aggressively in building on its capacities in a bid to future-proof its network amid continuing adoption of smartphone use among its customers. “As more and more of our customers shift to a digital lifestyle, Globe is continuing to make data-driven capital investments to provide increased network capacities and enhance customer satisfaction. This will build capacities of our network to handle the explosive growth of data traffic of our customers,” Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu, noting robust customer uptake in the first half of the year as Globe continues to be the network of choice for smartphone users.  Globe capital expenditure in the first half of the year stood at P11.4 billion, bulk of which were allocated for data-related projects that include investments for the company’s broadband network, capacities for wireless data, LTE, domestic and international transmission facilities. A significant portion of the company’s capex for t

When it’s time to eat, Filipinos are known to drop what they are doing to savor a nice sit-down meal with good food and good company. Meal times become everyday special occasions that people look forward to so they can refuel or reward themselves for the day’s work.Filipinos would like to eat well all the time; if only great-tasting food was always easy on the budget. Fortunately, a new rice meal from McDonald’s answers this call for a delicious, complete, and filling meal at an affordable price. Introducing McDonald’s new Chicken Fillet ala King meal for only P59!

Attention, Ilonggos! In the next few days, all eyes will be on Iloilo City as we inaugurate the country’s next central business district, the Iloilo Business Park.  We want you to join us to celebrate this new milestone of Iloilo City by participating in Megaworld’s “ What’s Big About #IloiloBusinessPark ?” online photo contest. Joining is easy. Simply take a photo of Iloilo Business Park and share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with a caption that answers the question “What’s Big About #IloiloBusinessPark?” from September 11 to 18, 2015 . Include the hashtag #IloiloBusinessPark in your caption for a chance to win gift certificates from Richmonde Hotel Iloilo and experience great food and spectacular ambiance at the world-class hotel!

The country’s number 1 mobile brand and purveyor of the Filipino digital lifestyle Globe Telecom continues to make its presence felt in the music industry to reach out to music-loving Pinoys with its participation in the country’s biggest concerts, festivals, and music events.  Globe has successfully penetrated the music industry and took the music experience to a whole new level. With its partnership with top music streaming service Spotify, Globe conquered the online music space by giving customers access to over 30 million songs anytime, anywhere using an innovative and interactive platform.

Show your favorite teacher how much you care!  Celebrate NATIONAL TEACHER'S MONTH with Marco Polo Plaza Cebu's Cafe Marco Buffet Promo . For every four (4) paying diners, teacher gets to dine for FREE. 

MANILA, Philippines, September 7, 2015 – Megaworld, the country’s first and largest developer of integrated urban townships, is developing a 35.6-hectare prime property beside the provincial capitol of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. The company is allocating P30-billion to develop the property in the next 10 years. “As part of our aggressive township expansion across the country, we are happy to announce our entry into Pampanga. This is the perfect time and opportunity to be present in this progressive province, where else but right at the heart of the provincial capital which is a prime location for an urban township development,” says Jericho Go, senior vice president, Megaworld.

Globe Telecom remains the dominant player in the country’s mobile postpaid segment after posting postpaid revenues of P15.8 billion during the first half of the year on the back of its innovative myLifestyle Plan which set a global standard in postpaid plan offerings. The phenomenal growth in revenues gave Globe the upper-hand in terms of revenue market share, a global metric used in determining market leadership across telcos worldwide.   Postpaid customer base likewise grew by 12% to 2.3 million in the same period from 2.1 million in the previous year. These positive gains are derived from the success of the myLifestyle Plan that helped boost gross acquisitions to reach a new record-high of 477,608 for the first six months of the year, up 23% from last year. Year-to-date net incremental postpaid subscribers stood at 60,776, 14% higher than 2014 level.    

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Tout Chocolat (tu shoh/koh/lah) is French for All Chocolate, and this is exactly what you will get with Blu Bar & Grill’s latest gourmet offering.  Chocolate is deliciously incorporated into every dish of this six-course dinner, specially crafted for the meticulous gourmand. Each dish is also served with a chocolate cocktail or wine particularly chosen to compliment the flavors of the dish. It is a unique gastronomic experience for the lovers of chocolate and those with epicurean taste.

Get ready for the biggest music experience of your life as the country’s number 1 mobile brand Globe Telecom presents Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour in Manila at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on February 24 and 25, 2016. Concert presenter Globe Telecom gives Filipinos the biggest music experience of their lives with Madonna's REBEL HEART TOUR in PH The Pop Queen and everybody’s “Material Girl”, who is visiting the country for the very first time, is expected to captivate her Filipino fans with her heart-pumping performance and signature hits that span across many generations. Her constant reinvention of herself has endeared her to millions of fans worldwide regardless of age, gender, and geographic location.

Philam Life, the country’s premier life insurance company, recently renewed its partnership with Globe Business—the information and communication technology (ICT) arm of Globe Telecom. With the partnership, Philam Life gets access to a number of ICT solutions offered by Globe Business, including Data Services, which enables data access on demand to users regardless of their geographic location; Data Center Colocation, which provides managed space for lease for servers and IT-equipment that run mission-critical systems; and Mobility solutions that power Philam Life agents’ mobile applications.  Philam Life renews its partnership with Globe Business, Globe Telecom’s ICT arm, to address its growing connectivity requirements for more efficient operations. Leading the contract signing are Globe SVP for Enterprise Group Nikko Acosta (2nd from left) and Philam Life CEO J. Axel Bromley (2nd from right), together with Globe Business VP for Sales Dion Asencio (left) and Philam Life Head

MiCab, the Cebu-based tech startup celebrated for its locally-developed and low cost taxi-hailing app for the riding public, welcomes the new guidelines on ride-sharing apps crafted by the Land Transport and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB). “As more and more Filipinos use app-based services for commuting, the new LTFRB rules can help level the playing field in the industry and ultimately benefit commuters with better and safer app-based car hire services,” said miCab founder Eddie Ybañez.

The Western Visayas Association of Museums hosted a four-day workshop on Establishing Community Museums was held at Negros Women For Tomorrow in Bacolod City from August 25-28, 2015. The workshop, a project of Zero in Consortium of Museums in partnership with UNESCO Philippines, was designed for institutions that are interested in setting up their community museums or wish to revitalize existing ones. One of the many sessions during the workshop The workshop had almost 60 participants from LGUs, cultural institutions, universities, and NGOs . It  had insightful lectures on the best museum management practices, interactive hands-on exercises, and an exposure trip to various museums. 

Celebrate a gastronomic September at Hometown Buffet by Freska with not only one but four "Eat all You Can Buffet" blow-out for only Php 269 per person. Iloilo City's only buffet restaurant, Freska offers lunch and dinner buffets every day of the week featuring Ilonggo specialties and other Pinoy favorites specially prepared by Chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing.

The country’s number 1 mobile brand Globe Telecom continues its drive to position the Philippines as the Digital Lifestyle Capital of the World by giving customers free access to Facebook and Viber with their favorite Globe call, text, and surf promos.  Starting September 1, 2015, all Globe Postpaid, Prepaid, TM and Tattoo customers can enjoy free access to Facebook and Viber when subscribed to promos including GoSURF variants and other existing call and text promos such as GOUNLI, ALLNETCOMBO and TMSULITXT, among others without the need for a Wi-Fi connection.