The PR & Events Circuit

Admission to the National Museum is now permanently free of charge for all visitors, Filipino or foreign, to its museums nationwide.  A policy of free general admission has been established, effective July 1, 2016, by the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, in order to build upon significant spikes in viewership, especially among younger Filipinos, that have been observed in 2013-2015 and to date in 2016, when general admission has been made free of charge for various traditional reasons such as National Arts Month in February, National Heritage Month in May, and National Museums and Galleries Month in October.

Tourism and leisure township developer Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), a subsidiary brand of property giant Megaworld, is expected to complete five hotels in its townships in Boracay and Alfonso, Batangas near Tagaytay in the next three years. Four of these hotels are within BoracayNewcoast, a 150-hectare integrated tourism and leisure township in Boracay Island, while the other one will be in Twin Lakes, a 1,200-hectare development near Tagaytay. The company is spending around P10-billion to build the five hotels, which will offer a total of 1,850 rooms including multi-level retail spaces. In BoracayNewcoast, these hotels include Fairways and Bluewater, which has been completed and now fully-operational; Savoy Hotel Boracay, which will be completed by the end of this year; Belmont Hotel Boracay, to be completed in 2018; and Chancellor Hotel Boracay, to be completed in 2019. The Twin Lakes Hotel in Tagaytay, on the other hand, will be completed next year, offering unpa

As part of the shelter recovery efforts in areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda and Typhoon Ruby, Monsanto Philippines, Inc. and Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc. (GK) officially turned over 24 more permanent shelter units in Barangay Aldeguer, Sara, Iloilo.     Monsanto Philippines and Gawad Kalinga officially turned over the remaining housing units to identified family-beneficiaries in Sara, Iloilo. Present during the turn-over were (from left to right) GK Executive Director Jose Luis Oquinena, Vice Mayor of Sara Neptali Salcedo Jr.,Vice Mayor-elect Jesus Salcedo,Monsanto-GK Village President Hadjie Balome,housing beneficiary Liza Lacival,housing beneficiary Josie Grapa,land owner Ruth Tirol Jarantilla,Monsanto Philippines Country Commercial Lead Rachel Lomibao, and Monsanto Philippine Corporate Engagement Lead Charina Garrido-Ocampo Monsanto Philippines Country Lead Rachel Lomibao, together with GK Executive Director Jose Luis Oquiñena and key representatives

Beside the Iloilo River Plains Subdivision in Brgy. Lanit, Jaro stands the Mary the Queen Chapel built to serve the spiritual needs of the residents of the village and nearby places. On a 1,500 sqm lot, the chapel occupies around fifth of the area (326 sqm to be exact) with a perimeter fence to secure the place of worship. As a new structure, the places exudes an aura of an immaculate house of prayer with gleaming tiled floors and shiny pews.

  ABS-CBN TVplus , dubbed as the ‘ mahiwagang black box , by broadcaster Ted Failon, has officially arrived in Iloilo! This ushers in the digital era of digital terrestrial television, yet another innovation introduced by the Philippines’ largest multimedia conglomerate.  Through ADTEL, technology provider for telecommunications and broadcaster and IONTECH, distributor of information technology products, ILOILO is among the first areas in the Visayas to get access to digital TV  through ABS CBN TV Plus. which was launched last June 23 in a ceremonial switch on during a press conference in Iloilo City,  ABS CBN TV Plus Switch-On Ceremony From L-R: GLEN ENGINCO (Sales Cluster head Vis-Min), MARK AWITEN (CineMo Channel Porgramming Head), TWEENY DIVINO (Brand Communications Manager) and REGINA NAPILE (Product Marketing Head)

“Owning a home is a milestone for many Filipinos and we hope BellaVita can provide the opportunity for them to achieve this basic need,” opened up BellaVita president Lyle Abadia during a media conference for the real estate developer. An Italian phrase meaning “ beautiful life or good life ” BellaVita is one of the five residential brands of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) - others being Amaia, Avida, Alveo and Ayala Land Premiere.  BellaVita is a socialized housing project that provides a convenient life with its affordable house units and complete amenities.  Located in Brgy. San Jose in the town San Miguel, Iloilo, BellaVita will have a total of 1,772 housing units when fully completed in its 11.7-hectare site.

More than one year after its 1st appearance on tarps at The Shops Atria , Singapore-based Breadtalk will have its opening for its 1st branch in Panay at SM City Iloilo by the end of the month with a grand opening scheduled in July 2016. Its best seller is the PORK FLOSS (below) which is a bun topped with rousong , dried meat which is light and fluffy in texture. Famous of its soft and fluffy breads that comes in so many variants, Breadtalk will surely complement Iloilo's thriving breads and bakeshops scene as it provides a new take on breads and other baked goods. Here's a shot of its upcoming store with all the on-going construction works at the new wing of SM City Iloilo. From its website www.breadtalk.com Founded in 2000, the BreadTalk Group has rapidly expanded to become a distinctive household brand owner that has established its mark on the world stage with its bakery, restaurant and food atrium footprints. Today, with close to 1000 outlets in 17 locale

Employees of SM City Iloilo allotted a portion of their time, effort and money to donate a bookshelf and books to the students of Bolilao Elementary School. The project dubbed Dream. Read. Achieve Project is part of the Employee Volunteerism Project spearhead by the HR Department of the mall.  The project is on top of the many community undertakings of the company and what makes it unique is the resources for this activity came straight from the employees—they even painted the bookshelf themselves in their free time. The SM Employees also previously donated chairs and table and painted the Bolilao Day Care Center.

There is an urgent call for financial inclusion among a significant portion of the population as the country builds a healthy cash flow in the communities, prompting Mynt, a wholly-owned financial services company of Globe Telecom, to step in and provide the unbanked and underserved sectors a chance to take part of the shared growth for consumers and businesses.  “Mynt sees an opportunity to create a financially inclusive environment that will cater to every person who does not have access to formal financial facilities and services.  We already started with the Philippines and will eventually move into the ASEAN region.  Right now, there are about 1.5 billion people in the region who are unbanked and underserved and who can benefit from financial technology,” said John Rubio, Mynt President and CEO. At present, three out of four Filipinos aged 15 years old and above do not have accounts with banks or financial entities, 95% of Filipinos do not have credit cards and 40 % of Ph

SM City Iloilo celebrated the 2016 Independence Day with a paper toy installation by creatively designed and handcrafted by the PIOD Paper Crew. With 79,200 folds, 3,600 pieces, 100 kilos of recycled paper, it featured Ilonggo heroes - Gen. Martin Delgado, Teresa Magbanua, Adriano Hernandez and Graciano Lopez Jaena.  These paper toys were made to remind us of our roots and refuel the fervor of our nationalistic spirit. The paper toys aims to take us back to a time of visionaries and brave men and women. We may not fight in wars as they did, but in today's world and in today's wars, we can be leaders, patriots, revolutionaries. Rise with pride in knowing that the blood of our heroic ancestors still run through our veins, be humbled with the greatness that we have to live up to and be inspired that like them, we too can be heroes. 

With the promise for a connected life for the home, Globe in collaboration with Google now offers the new generation Chromecast. Broadband subscribers can now avail the new and improved Chromecast for an affordable add-on of only Php99 per month.  Customers today are no longer just tied in using their smartphones and PC’s at home for personal consumption, they also demand better content to share and experience on a bigger screen. The new Chromecast offers the solution to “cast” content from their personal device such as movies, shows, music, games to a bigger screen TV using their HDMI connection. 

SM Foundation Inc.(SMFI) recently held medical and dental missions in Brgy. Santo Tomas Passi City and at the covered gym of Concepcion, Iloilo. Recipients were indigent families of the said areas who were also given free medicines. The Provincial Government of Iloilo through the respective local government units and the Department of Health Region 6 are the partners of the activity.  The Efraim Santibañes National High School in Brgy. Santo Tomas in Passi City is also the area where a two-storey building was donated by SMFI while Brgy. Bacjawan Sur in Concepcion is where the 200 houses SM Cares Village is located courtesy of the SM Cares Housing Project

A seminar-forum with farm tour was recently organized by the the Panay Organic Producers Association (POPA) in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture. Held at Orchard Valley Farm in Tigum Pavia, experts briefed journalists, broadcasters and bloggers about organic agriculture and its impact to the community and environment. POPA President, Dawn Jamandre gave an overview about organic farming and about POPA. “ Our organization is actively promoting organic products from Panay Island to the Ilonggos here and abroad  ” she said.

Having a bridal shower has been a tradition for a bride and her dearest female friends and relatives before she says “I do” to the man she loves. Spa Riviera recognizes the importance of this event in a woman’s life and wants to provide an alternative bridal shower that focus on wellness, relaxation and pampering. So, Spa Riviera is launching its Bridal Shower Package which includes their best-selling services that aim to provide the bride and her favourite ladies an unforgettable bonding and pampering moment.

MANILA, Philippines, June 17, 2016 – Property giant Megaworld is looking into further expanding its development portfolio in the provinces in the next ten years as opportunities for economic growth look brighter and bigger outside of Metro Manila.  In the next 10 years, the Philippines’s largest developer of integrated urban townships and the biggest lessor of office spaces, will spend around P180-billion to develop its provincial townships alone, particularly those that have been already launched this year. These townships include Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City; The Mactan Newtown, in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu; Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City; Northill Gateway in Talisay City, Negros Occidental; The Upper East in Bacolod City; The Capital in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga; Twin Lakes in Alfonso, Batangas near Tagaytay; Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna; Suntrust Ecotown in Tanza, Cavite; Sta. Barbara Heights in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo;

Globe Broadband brings wonderful surprises to customers in line with the much-awaited movie premiere, Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory. As the official broadband service partner of Disney in the Philippines, Globe Broadband customers are in for a whole lot of fun with its latest events, ticket giveaways, and special prizes.  Globe Head of Video Creation Gene Tamesis, Disney/ Pixar Sketch Artist Paul Abadilla, Globe Head for Video Entertainment, Chesca Ambrosio and Globe Expert for Content ntegration Jaz Castillo Directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus McLane, Finding Dory is the highly anticipated sequel of the successful 2003 movie Finding Nemo. Now the main protagonist, Dory the forgetful blue tang fish explores her childhood through flashbacks. This eventually leads her to embark on a life-changing quest to go back home and be reunited with her parents.  

BellaVita Land Corporation, Ayala Land Inc.’s (ALI) residential subsidiary focused on socialized housing, recently launched its first project in the Visayas, aligned with its parent company’s continuous expansion in the region. BellaVita Iloilo, located in Bgy. San Jose in the municipality of San Miguel, is an 11.7- hectare community featuring around 1,800 house and lot units. It will offer amenities such as a guarded entrance/exit, a common parking area, and pocket open spaces. It will also have a clubhouse, basketball court, parks and a playground.  About 42 percent of the total land area will be dedicated to open space. Ayala Land’s very own construction company, Makati Development Corporation-Build Plus, will manage the construction of this new project. “We provide quality homes for as low as P450,000 per unit, in a community where one can enjoy a complete and comfortable life. Owning a home is a milestone for many Filipinos and we hope to provide opportunities for t

Three days before its scheduled opening, UNIQLO offered a first look of its store at SM City Iloilo to media and bloggers.  It was followed by a VIP Shopping Experience o a select group of Ilonggos who will be among the first to shop at Uniqlo's 31st branch.

Are you ready ILOILO? UNIQLO, the world famous retail brand from Japan, now expands its horizon in the Visayas region to make good lives of Ilonggos better with the opening of its 31st store in the Philippines at SM City Iloilo. Photo for announcement purposes only. Famous for its comfortable, functional and stylish clothing, UNIQLO embodies the LifeWear concept that aims to enhance lifestyles by delivering everyday pieces at a reasonable price. UNIQLO LifeWear pieces are constantly being innovated and made with high-quality materials to suit the needs of consumers.  “We at UNIQLO are thrilled to launch our first branch in Iloilo this season,” says Geraldine Sia, General Manager of UNIQLO Philippines. “Our goal is to bring our high-quality and innovating pieces closer to Ilonggos.”

Need a pick me up to get you through the week?  Passengers of app-based transportation service Grab don’t need to look far to get a cup of joe or a fancy frappuccino. Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform, recently announced that from June 6 to 10, it will be giving some of its GrabTaxi passengers with free GrabCoffee. “Grab always believes that everyone should be able to go anywhere with the safest transportation option. But we go the extra mile for our local patrons by offering them with free caffeine fix this week. A free coffee and a comfortable ride indeed go hand in hand in giving passengers the best transport experience,” said Grab Philippines Country Marketing Head, Khriz Lim. 

Need a new backpack? You could find the one you're looking for at Herschel Supply Co. at SM City Iloilo. The Vancouver,Canada-based store just opened its 13th branch at the Upper Ground Floor of the mall's Northwing expansion. Lyndon (left) and Jamie Cormack, founders of Herschel Photo from Business Vancouver   Herschel was founded in 2009 by brothers Jamie and Lyndon Cormack which adopted the name of the Canadian prairie town where three generations of their family grew up.  It was back in the early 1900s, when their great grandfather Peter Alexander Cormack, a barrel maker by trade, and his wife Annie made the journey from Scotland, to Canada. The couple settled in the small town of Herschel, whose current is counted at 30 residents. Today, this little town shares its name to a design driven global accessories brand that produces quality products with a fine regard for detail. Which is which? Back here in Iloilo, one can find more than just backpacks at

Globe and NBA launch streamlined registration process for users to access NBA LEAGUE PASS on mobile devices  As the NBA Finals tips off, Globe Telecom, the official wireless and broadband services partner of the NBA in the Philippines, introduces a streamlined registration process that enables sports fans to watch and experience the NBA on their mobile devices.  Globe Customers subscribing to any NBA service offerings (NBA499 for a 30-day premium access, NBA299 for 7 days, and NBA50 for a 24-hour access) will experience the new and improved registration method to access NBA content on their mobile phones without the need to input PIN codes. 

Healthcare hotline KonsultaMD has partnered with MedGrocer online pharmacy for door-to-door delivery of medicine and health supplements to ensure that its customers can have easy access to trusted drugs anytime they need it and wherever they may be. “We continue to look for ways to provide the best services to our members that is why we partnered with MedGrocer.  We want KonsultaMD to be a one-stop shop for their health needs.  This way, they will be able to save on time, effort, and money – three pain points in the Philippine healthcare industry,” said Maridol Ylanan, CEO of Konsulta MD. MedGrocer, the ordering and delivery service of FDA-licensed pharmacy WellBridge Health, provides medicines for allergies and asthma, cardiovascular ailments, cough and colds, diabetes, hypertension, infection, pain and fever, as well as vitamins and supplements.