The PR & Events Circuit

Now is the best time to try Globe At Home broadband with a ‘no commitment’ trial plan for customers to enjoy fast and reliable internet connection without the standard 24-month lock-up period.  The new trial plans have refundable modem fees and no documents other than one (1) valid ID for processing.  New customers can choose from Globe At Home’s Go Big Plans 1299, 1599, or 1899 to enjoy speeds of up to 50 Mbps and up to 600 GB of data allocation for just P499 per month for the first three (3) months.  “We are opening up this opportunity for more Filipinos to try our Globe At Home plans and experience how fast internet can change the way families stay connected as well as enjoy the best in entertainment. This offer empowers them to test the service and experience the value-for-money bundle without the risk of a long-term commitment,” shares Globe At Home Senior Vice President, Martha Sazon. The plans come with free subscriptions to Netflix for award-winnin...

Property giant Megaworld has a new home in the bustling Uptown Bonifacio, the 30-storey Alliance Global Tower. Located along 36th Street corner 11th Avenue in the company’s 15.4-hectare Uptown Bonifacio township in the northern district of Fort Bonifacio, the Alliance Global Tower is a 30-storey glass-clad ‘green office development’ that has a direct connection to the award-winning Uptown Mall. “On our 28th year as a company, we have transferred to our brand-new corporate headquarters. This is a product of the more than two decades of hardwork, dedication and excellence of the 5,000+ employees of the Megaworld Group,” says Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, chief operating officer, Megaworld.

SM started out with shoes in 1958.  And today, it continues to expand its footwear legacy by reaching out to communities with Simply Shoes. An affiliate of SM Retail, Simply Shoes is a one-stop shoe store offering a wide assortment of shoes selections for women, men and children.  And today, Sept. 26, it opened another branch at City Mall Passi in Central Iloilo.  The store carries an assortment of brands, both for everyday and special occasions including SM’s iconic Parisian brand, which offers trendy yet affordable footwear for the ladies. Solemate has a wide array of fab flats.  It also carries Milanos trendy designs for men; as well as Vans, World Balance, Kicks, Sprint, Treads, Easy Soft, Duralite, Summit, Sling Beachwalk, Toeberries and Islander for the active and casual lifestyle. 

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Friday, September 22, commended Globe Telecom for their invaluable contributions to the telecommunications industry and for improving the internet connectivity. In his speech during the launching of SEA-US Cable Commercial System delivered by Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, President Duterte also thanked Globe Telecom for choosing Davao City to be host of the first cable submarine system connected through the South of the Philippines. "The SEA-US Cable System will definitely reinforce capacity and resiliency of our information capacities, better access to basic services, increased competitiveness, and smarter cities," the President said.

Homegrown taxi-hailing app Micab got a boost when it launched its partnership with the Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association (MCTOA) in a launching ceremony at the Casino Español in Cebu City last September 19. Developed in 2012 by founder Eddie Ybañez to help address the worsening traffic situation, Micab is an app solution operational in Cebu and Iloilo that lets users to hail a cab at their convenience thru their mobile gadgets. Cebu and Iloilo are two highly-urbanized centers in the Visayas in central Philippines. From Top Left to Right (Glenn Batiancila of Saregen Taxi, Paul Corominas of CTC Taxi, Richielda Cabucos of Richielda Tax, Danny Tariman of DT Taxi, Chiquito Obeso of Spider, Airland & Scorpion Taxi, Terence Blanco of World Wide tax and Peter Corominas of RP Corominas Taxi); Seated (Leny Gok-Ong of SD Taxi, Stella Erasco of E Tax, Joy Mangubat of Angel JM and Marites White of Marmic Taxi) ​ “We are pleased to have one of the country’s largest taxi associ...

Mynt, the financial technology (fintech) subsidiary of Globe Telecom, said ordinary Filipinos can now avail of affordable financial products and services like mobile banking, remittance, insurance, loans, and credit as the use of technology and innovation continues to be more pervasive in the Philippines.  "There is really a dire need for financial inclusion in the country since many Filipinos still do not have bank accounts as well as access to formal lending and credit.  But due to fintech innovations, even those in remote areas can already take advantage of a wide range of financial services available in the market today,” said Albert Tinio, President of GCash, the micro-payment service company of Mynt. According to Tinio, about 70% of Filipinos do not have bank accounts or any formal means to save money while 90% of Filipinos do not have a credit score, making it difficult for them to secure a loan.  It also forces some individuals to turn to informal lenders...

LISTED Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) is set to roll out at least P10.61 billion worth of projects in the remaining months in the Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) where demand for housing continues to expand. This amount is in addition to the P7.09-billion programmed projects, which have already been unveiled in the first half of the year, bringing the total amount of developments launched to reach P17.7 billion for this year alone. The company strengthens its foothold in the Visayas and Mindanao by rolling out 14 projects in 2017 in Sibulan (Negros Oriental), Bacolod (Negros Occidental), Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. ASTRA CENTRE in Mandaue, Cebu is a mixed-use development launching in 2017 with a hotel, condominium, offices and retail mall. CLI chief operating officer Franco B. Soberano said: “The real estate market in the Visayas and Mindanao continues to thrive. Our vertical and horizontal project launches are proudly spread out across the most progressive markets...

Globe Telecom and Facebook have joined hands to promote digital literacy and online responsibility among students, teachers, and the general public through the Digital Thumbprint Program which advocates cyber wellness and judicious use of the Internet. This was announced by Globe and Facebook at the Globe Media Excellence Awards – Visayas, an annual event which upholds press freedom and media excellence by recognizing outstanding traditional and digital media practitioners. Inspired by Optus' Digital Thumbprint in-school program in Australia, DTP was introduced by Globe in the Philippines early last year to educate as many Filipino youth on the importance of responsible digital citizenship through a series of workshops. So far, the DTP has reached 17,510 public and private high school students while 1,842 public high school teachers have been empowered to teach the program to their students. Based on the latest impact assessment conducted by Karrikins Group,  94.4% of ...

Broadcast journalist Atom Araullo returns to GMA-7 to be part of the Network’s News and Public Affairs group, which is widely regarded as the most credible and most internationally-awarded broadcast news organization in the country. Broadcast journalist Atom Araullo returns to GMA-7 to be part of the Network’s News and Public Affairs group Atom, who used to be part of the Kapuso Network’s primetime newscast 24 Oras via the segment ‘ATOMic Sports’, expressed his eagerness to be a Kapuso once again. “I’m very excited. Ang dami kong gustong gawin, particularly in the realm of documentary production. I think this is a great place to do all of that,” he says. GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon welcomed Atom on his homecoming. “Dahil kilala ang GMA-7 sa paggawa ng world class at award-winning documentary and public affairs programs, kami ay nalulugod sa paglipat ni Atom Araullo para lalo s’yang mahasa sa pagiging magaling na broadcast journalist at documentarist am...

AirAsia introduces a brand new in-flight meal, Lil’ Star Combo , specially created to suit the taste buds of young flyers. To celebrate the launch, all kids aged 2 to 12 flying with AirAsia on 28 September 2017 will receive a complimentary Lil’ Star Combo meal, while stocks last. Guests travelling with their little ones on other dates are able to pre-book the meal for only PHP 180 on airasia.com.  The combo meal includes a wholesome mini chicken pizza smothered in rich tomato sauce and chicken slices, topped with creamy mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The delicious meal comes with a pack of mini Oreo cookies and chocolate drink in a special snack box guaranteed to delight little travellers. The Lil’ Star Combo meal is also available in vegetarian version on AirAsia India flights.

The Department of Tourism is implementing a Survey on the Accommodation Capacity on the different Tourism Development Areas identified in the National Tourism Development Plan. The survey includes all existing and under construction accommodation establishments in the area.  ILOILO CONVENTION CENTER and the soon-to-open Marriott Courtyard Hotel Iloilo  The said capacity survey aims to help policy makers, businesses and investors decide on putting up investments through supplying statistical data on room capacity, available facilities, employment and future investments in the accommodation sector. 

GCash, in partnership with Facebook, is excited to announce an easy new way for people in the Philippines to pay bills and buy prepaid load using Messenger, with the ability to send money to friends and family coming soon. GCash is a leader in transforming the mobile phone into a virtual wallet and is continually looking for ways to expand its services. GCash recognizes that Messenger's community offers a unique opportunity to connect GCash with people who might not otherwise have access to its services.  “This integration with Messenger represents an exciting new way to reach the unbanked in the Philippines.” said Albert Tinio, President and CEO of GCash. “We want everyone to enjoy cashless convenience on their mobile phones, and we think that these new tools will improve the financial lives of our customers.” GCash President and CEO Albert Tinio and Facebook Product Lead for Mobile Financial Services Ginger Baker doing a thumbs-up on the GCash and Messenger  part...

The Philippine Cacao Industry Council, in cooperation with the Region VI Cacao Industry Council and in partnership with the regional offices of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture, will gather all cacao industry stakeholders to establish stronger linkages for sustainable and inclusive growth in the Visayas Region. The CacaoLink Visayas will bring together key players across the value chain from the Regions 6, 7 and 8 at the Royal Garden Hall and Convention Center along Gen. Luna St., Iloilo City on October 5 and 6, 2017. Some 400 participants that are expected to join include input providers, nursery operators, cacao traders, exporters, processors or financing institutions for a Business-To-Business (B2B) encounter for those interested to explore the opportunities that the cacao industry offers.

 AirAsia, the world’s best low-cost airline, today unveiled the world’s first Freedom Flyer Programme aimed at making it easier, faster and better for loyal guests to earn AirAsia BIG Points. The overhauled loyalty programme, powered by AirAsia BIG Loyalty, is based on a unique membership status system determined by how often guests fly - the more guests fly with AirAsia, the faster they will earn BIG Points, regardless of how much they spend on fares. The four-status system starts with Red status for guests who fly 13 or fewer one-way short-haul flights in the preceding 12 months, through to Gold and Platinum, and all the way up to Black for those who fly 50 or more times with AirAsia. 

The Korean Film Festival is one of the largest celebrations of Korean cinema in the country, with screenings of the popular Korean films across the country. Spearheaded by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, in cooperation with SM Cinemas, the annual film fest will tour 6 key cities in the country showcasing  5 Korean films of different genres. SM City Iloilo will host the Korean Film Festival from Sept. 21-24, 2017, to be screened for FREE  at Cinema 8. There will be three screenings per day - 12nn, 3pm and 6pm starting Sept. 22 until Sept. 24, with the following schedule: Sept. 22   1200NN King of Jokgu 0300PM Very Ordinary Couple 0600PM My Brilliant Life Sept. 23   1200NN Twenty 0300PM King of Jokgu 0600PM How to Steal a Dog Sept. 24 1200NN Very Ordinary Couple 0300PM My Brilliant Life 0600PM Twenty Here are the synopsis of the featured films.

Both consumers and merchants of highly-popular night food market Mercato Centrale do not have to worry anymore about paying smaller bills and giving out exact change as GCash, the leading mobile money service provider in the Philippines, rolls out the first QR mobile payments service at the country’s largest foodpark chain. Mercato Centrale co-founder RJ Ledesma (left) and Mynt Chief Operating Officer Anthony Thomas (right) demonstrate the ease and convenience of using the new scan-to-pay feature of the GCash app. With this newest feature within the GCash App, customers can already use their GCash account to pay for their food and drinks by simply scanning QR codes displayed at Mercato Centrale merchants. For consumers, this eliminates the hassle of bringing money, waiting for change, or getting into a dispute with the cashier over payments. Merchants, on the other hand, no longer need expensive machines to process mobile money transactions but only a QR with a unique code that ...

AirAsia is introducing direct flights from Manila to one of the most vibrant and biggest cities of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, further strengthening the airline’s commitment as an Asean carrier. AirAsia Philippines CEO Captain Dexter Comendador said, “We are thrilled to announce that we will start servicing direct flights from Manila to Ho Chi Minh in November as part of our commitment to continue bringing the Philippines closer to neighbouring cities within the Asean region.” To celebrate the announcement, all-in fares from as low as P990 for Manila - Ho Chi Minh route are now available for booking today until 8 October 2017 on airasia.com and the airline’s mobile app.  The introductory promo fares are available for travel period from 17 November 2017 to 21 November 2018. “AirAsia is the only airline that directly services all ten Asean countries with established operations in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Last year, the AirAsia Group carried 13...

Globe customers get to enjoy Samsung’s much-anticipated phablet, the all new Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Packed with powerful and innovative features, here are top 5 reasons why the all new #GlobeNote8 is a must-have device!  Unleash your creativity with the all new S Pen  Write inspiring notes, doodle your dreams, make animated GIFs and express your creativity with the enhanced S Pen. Whether at work or play, the S-Pen is your go-to tool to design your world as your dreamed it. Enjoy bigger entertainment and faster multitasking  with its 6.3-inch endless display Packing the largest ever screen on a Note device, the Samsung Note 8 has infinity display for immersive enjoyment of entertainment. With a bigger screen size and its new App Pairing feature, multitasking is better than ever. With a single tap, you can launch two apps at the same time, enabling you to do bigger things much simpler and faster!  

Take time to unwind this month, with the exclusive perks from Globe Rewards as it celebrates 917 day! As a way of saying “thank you” to all its valued customers, Globe Rewards offers exciting deals and discounts for their preferred type of entertainment.    Last September 17, Globe customers watching at the Ayala Cinemas were treated to free popcorn to go with their favorite blockbuster movies. Those who booked tickets at SM Cinemas using Globe Rewards can double their points, plus the first 20 customers at each branch also received a surprise gift from Globe.

Aggressively growing banking and financial services company Producers Savings Banking Corporation (PSBC) is the first Philippine bank to sign up with Globe Business, the corporate information and communications technology arm of Globe Telecom, for the use of G Suite office collaboration tool.  The partnership enables PSBC  to work better through the use of secure and reliable workplace tools for email, calendar, text and video chat, document creation, project websites, and online storage and sync. Globe Business Senior Vice President Peter Maquera (center, left) and PSBC Chairman and CEO Andres Cornejo (center, right) officially seal the G Suite partnership.  Together with them are Globe Business Cluster Sales Head Tisha Sadorra (left) and PSBC Vice Chairman Sandra Mendoza (right).  “We are an aggressively growing company, thus making it essential for us to procure a simple yet powerful office tool that would allow better communication and collaboration am...

Globe myBusiness, in partnership with Mercato Centrale, launches Restaurant Business Network, the first restaurant- and café- specific business ecosystem devised to provide relevant services to companies in the food industry.  Globe myBusiness, in partnership with Mercato Centrale, launches Restaurant Business Network together with food industry experts. From left to right: Audrey Tanco Uy, CEO and Founder, ServeHappy; Jill Ang, Managing Director for MAFBEX and CEBFEX; Anton Ojeda, Country Manager, Zomato; Pat Mallari, Country Marketing Manager, Unilever Food Solutions; Jerry Clavesillas, Director, DTI Negosyo Center; RJ Ledesma, CEO and Founder, Mercato Centrale; Debbie Obias, VP for Segment Marketing, Globe myBusiness; Josie See, Executive Vice President, AFFI; Carlo Calimon, Mentor, GoNegosyo; Ben Wintle, CEO and Founder, Booky; Patch Dulay, CEO, The Spark Project Business ecosystems are a network of interrelated businesses offering products and services relevant to membe...

As one of the highlights of its year-long 10th anniversary celebration, Property Company of Friends, Inc. (PRO-FRIENDS) Iloilo held its first ever Family Fun Run on September 9.  Ilonggo runners gather at the PRO-FRIENDS Family Fun Run's starting point at SM Southpoint. Over 2,000 Ilonggos converged at SM Southpoint for the early morning run which also aimed at generating funds for the programs and projects of the company’s chosen beneficiaries.  Over 2,000 Ilonggos join the PRO-FRIENDS Family Fun Run. Proceeds of PRO-FRIENDS Family Fun Run will go to SOS Children’s Village Iloilo, Friends of Cancer Kids Iloilo Foundation, Inc. (FCKIFI) and Asilo de Molo. These charitable organizations were chosen by PRO-FRIENDS Iloilo in order to reach every sector of the society.

917 Day is held each year on September 17, and is one of the most special celebrations of Globe. 0917 after all is its first and most iconic mobile prefix. This year’s celebration gets even bigger since September 2017 only happens once in this millennium! For this whole 917 month, Globe Rewards launches its biggest line-up of partners for all customers to enjoy perks and freebies from some of the best names in dining, shopping, travel, and entertainment. Globe thanks customers with exciting surprises on 09.17 “We are grateful for all the support of our customers throughout the years. We strive to make our services better, treat our customers right and ultimately deliver a wonderful connected experience. Through a bigger roster of partners, we look forward to give everyone the simple joys just by being a part of the Globe family,” says Albert de Larrazabal, Chief Commercial Officer of Globe.

The Embassy of Switzerland in the Philippines, in cooperation with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and TechTalks.ph, has embarked on this initiative to commemorate the 60-year anniversary of Switzerland-Philippine government relations.     As a global leader in providing Universal Health Coverage to its citizens, Switzerland supports all initiatives to make UHC happen in the Philippines. It may be a long road to UHC but the HealthTech Challenge (HTC) is an opportunity to showcase existing solutions that we can use to improve healthcare today. As defined by the World Health Organization here, “Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people and communities can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.” Solutions will include tech-based products including...

Number 1 local housing developer Cebu Landmasters brings the Casa Mira-cle to Sibulan, Negros Oriental as an upshot of the success of the different Casa Mira projects in Cebu. Living true to its promise of giving more for the Filipino family, Cebu Landmasters (CLI) presents its 4th Casa Mira development, the Casa Mira Coast. Located 5 minutes from the Dumaguete Airport and walking distance to the shoreline, Casa Mira Coast is a 5.3-hectare residential subdivision with 550 townhouse units. “More for the Filipino Family" is our thrust for Casa Mira, and we are very happy to have it in Sibulan with Casa Mira Coast, said CLI Chairman and CEO Mr. Jose Soberano III. CLI’s first project in Negros Oriental boasts of generous amenities. Families will enjoy Casa Mira Coast’s clubhouse with an adult and kiddie pool, landscaped areas, multi-purpose court, and playground.

SM Prime Holding’s 64th mall is set to open on September 15, 2017 and will serve shoppers in Puerto Princesa and Palawan, as well as residents of the nearby provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, and Romblon in the MIMAROPA region. Envisioned as Palawan’s premier mall, SM City Puerto Princesa is a resort style complex that reflects the province’s tropical feel while integrating SM’s innovative design approach.  Strategically located in a 47,000-square meter site along Malvar corner Lacao Streets in Puerto Princesa, the three-level 54,000 square meter mall will create a unique identity along the island’s most popular thoroughfare and within a short walk to the well-known Baywalk Park and nearby pier. Striking glass walls at the main entrances and a dramatic linear overhang stretching along Malvar Street create an impressive and inviting appearance for the mall as approached in every direction. But what makes SM City Puerto Princesa an exciting new lifestyle destination?

Globe substantially improved the internet experience of its customers, in fulfillment of its commitment made to the government last year.  Using the latest benchmarking results as of the second quarter 2017 released by the National Telecommunications Commission, Globe mobile download throughput was at 9.3 Mbps compared with 1.65 Mbps in the first quarter of 2016, with webpage browsing success rate at 98.5%.  “The NTC’s benchmarking report reflects the company’s sustained efforts to improve internet connectivity in the country as the company has committed to the government. We expect to further enhance customer experience as continue with the aggressive deployment of LTE sites, utilizing the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequencies,” Globe Chief Information and Technology officer Gil Genio said. Globe has so far deployed close to 5,000 LTE sites nationwide, using the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequencies for wider coverage and increased capacities.  Maj...

Up to 5 million promotional seats are up for grabs in AirAsia Group’s red hot seat sale campaign. Book seats via airasia.com or the AirAsia mobile app from 11 to 17 September 2017 for travel between 1 March to 21 November 2018 to enjoy fares from as low as P17.00* for flights from/to Manila, Clark, Cebu, Davao, Palawan, Bohol, Kalibo, Caticlan/Boracay, Tacloban and Iloilo.    Also up for grabs from as low as P1,290* are promotional flights to international destinations from the Philippines to Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Incheon/Seoul, Canton/Guangzhou, Shanghai, Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong. 

Aspiring retail and personal services entrepreneurs now get free access to business and training tools through the enhanced Globe myBusiness Academy Program. Business owners of retail brands, spas, salons, and the like will get to engage with industry experts to gain more insights that will help them stay competitive in the market. Globe myBusiness VP for Segment Marketing Debbie Obias reveals the enhanced Globe myBusiness Academy, a free learning program for aspiring retail and personal services entrepreneurs in partnership with Manila Workshops. Globe myBusiness Academy is a program for existing or new business owners to learn from more experienced colleagues and experts important tips and business advice. In partnership with Manila Workshops, they will develop and provide free training in the arts, entrepreneurship, health and fitness, personal development, and finance, among others to independent business owners. 

TM Forum CEO Nik Willetts challenged communication service providers (CSPs) to capitalize on the value of digitalization and shared how companies can effectively transform digitally during his keynote speech at the recently concluded Globe Innovation Forum held in The Globe Tower, Taguig City. Willetts, as head of the leading association driving digital business transformation in the communications industry, noted that CSPs today are failing to leverage the value of digitalization to their own advantage, most evident in the decrease of wireless and wireline revenues despite the upsurge of total industry earnings. For instance, although the total industry revenue increased from $3.3 trillion in 2010 to $3.8 trillion in 2015, wireless and wireline revenues declined from 58% to 47%. While total industry earnings is projected to climb to $4.4 trillion by 2018, wireless and wireline operations would only account for 45%. TM Forum CEO Nik Willetts talks about digitalization at the ...

For the second straight year, the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF) with support from Globe Telecom, is holding the Hope in 40 Seconds animated digital video competition to raise mental health awareness and help those suffering from it realize that they are not alone in the struggle. It also encourages everyone who needs guidance to call HOPELINE, NGF’s free 24/7 hotline. The competition, which is being conducted in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and the School of Design and Arts of De La Salle - College of St. Benilde, will run until end of September 2017. “HOPELINE has been around for five years.  And every day we receive numerous calls from people undergoing emotional crisis. Sometimes, it is their friends or family who reach out to us.  But we know that there are many more who are silently suffering from depression and other related mental illnesses. Through this animated video competition, we hope to encourage them to seek help and proper inte...

AirAsia has won this year's Asean Business Award for Priority Integration Sector - Tourism. The award recognises outstanding performance in the Asean priority integration sector of tourism. AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes accepted the award on behalf of the company at the Asean Business Awards (ABA) 2017 ceremony held in Solaire Resort and Casino here last night. The award was presented by Asean Business Advisory Council (BAC) Chairman Joey Concepcion, witnessed by Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez. AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “Asean integration is about people as much as it is about policies. It's not just about having a community on paper. It’s about experiencing first-hand how others live, it’s about creating new jobs in travel and tourism, it’s about forming new supply chains by connecting places that have never been connected. Air travel does this and more - AirAsia carried 13.4 million people with...

GCash customers can now easily buy their movie tickets using the GCash mobile app which already includes the GMovies booking feature for an easier and hassle-free experience. The feature enables users to select cinema locations, movie showing dates, and seat numbers as well as pay on the spot with GCash, thereby, cutting down the time falling in line to buy physical movie tickets. This can be done by just tapping on the “Buy Tickets” tab inside the GCash App. “Combining payments with entertainment means making finance fun and convenient for everyone. Being able to purchase digital tickets is in line with our goal of building a cashless ecosystem, and this is just one of many solutions we’re planning to implement using GCash,” said John Rubio, CEO and President of Mynt, a subsidiary of Globe Telecom dedicated to developing payments solutions using GCash.

The subsidiary of DoubleDragon Properties Corp. today signs a joint venture agreement with Davao- based W2JP2 Corp. to build Hotel 101 – Davao City in a 5,300 sqm. prime commercial lot located at Eco West Drive at the side of SM City – Davao.  Hotel 101 – Davao will be the largest hotel in Mindanao with 519 hotel rooms, a commercial and retail strip, and facilities to cater convention. The project is scheduled to start construction on the last quarter of this year with target completion by 2020.  Hotel 101 – Davao is an addition to Hotel 101 – Manila near Mall of Asia, and Hotel 101 – Fort which is already under construction. The company aims to have a total of 5,000 hotel room portfolio by 2020. 

EMQ and Globe Telecom's mobile commerce subsidiary G-Xchange Inc.(GCash), today announced a partnership that would further expand EMQ’s reach in the Philippines as well as offer greater flexibility and convenience to overseas workers  “Remittances provide a lifeline for millions of households and drive financial inclusion in the developing countries such as the Philippines, currently the third largest recipient of remittances according to the World Bank,” said Max Liu, Co-founder and CEO of EMQ. “Our expansion with GCash complements our existing capabilities in the Philippines, while offering the best possible choices and flexibility for the overseas workers to send money home effortlessly within minutes.” With the partnership, EMQ users can now send funds to GCash account holders who in turn can use their mobile money to pay bills and make online purchases, buy load or cash out at over 12,000 GCash Partner Outlets across the Philippines. 

SM Supermalls continues to expand its green initiatives with the completion of new solar panel project at SM City Iloilo. The fifth SM mall to utilize renewable energy, the Iloilo project consists of 2,904 panels capable of generating 285 watts each with a total power output of around 827 kilowatts. The switching-on ceremony was led by Iloilo City Vice Mayor Jose Espinosa III together with Ms. Ma. Majella P. Liboon -  SM Regional Operations Manager, Visayas 3,  Mr. Darrel John Defensor -  Asst. Mall Manager–SM City Iloilo ,   Councilor RLeone Geroche - Committee on Environment Chairman,  Mr. Rabbie Chris Carvajal – Chief, DENR-EMB 6 Environmental Eductation and Communication Section,  Dir. Rosario Cabrera - Office of Civil Defense 6,  Engr. Robert Escuto - Senior Environmental Mgt. Specialist and Chief of Pollution Control, CENRO Iloilo City, and  Mr. Nerio Lujan - Chief-Provincial Information and Community Affairs Office.

A cloud-based platform that lets users outsource everyday tasks to interested providers, developed by a three-man team of software developers, won the top prize at the annual Globe Telecom’s Hack-for-a-Nation competition. Team OhMyGenie, composed of Jomar Luguit, Christopher Fernandez and Rodrigo Aquino, Jr., won the top prize of P75, 000 plus mentorship from Globe to boost their startup. “We were inspired to develop OhMyGenie to generate employment opportunities for Filipinos and also assist them in getting jobs in the outsourcing industry,” team leader Luguit said.   Team OhMyGenie Through its database, OhMyGenie can provide a skilled worker an avenue to address a job requirement.  For instance, Luguit said a user could tap from OhMyGenie’s pool of electricians for an electrical-type of work in his home.  OhMyGenie can also provide manpower for office work requirements.  “The purpose of the platform is to connect the blue collar workers and the users who...

In celebration of its 10th Anniversary, Property Company of Friends, Inc. (PRO-FRIENDS) Iloilo will be holding its first ever Family Fun Run  on September 9, 2017, 5am at SM City Iloilo grounds. Everyone is invited to join the said fun run which is also for a good cause as proceeds of the event will go to the chosen beneficiaries of PRO-FRIENDS Iloilo namely, Friends of Cancer Kids Iloilo Foundation, Inc., SOS Children’s Village Iloilo, and Asilo de Molo. PRO-FRIENDS Family Fun Run will have three distance categories which are 3K, 5K and 10K. There will be separate winners in each category for men and women divisions. Cash prizes of up to P5,000 await the top 3 winners. “More than a celebration of our 10 years of creating communities and transforming lives in Iloilo, we would also like to highlight through the upcoming Family Fun Run the sense of family that we espouse at PRO-FRIENDS as we aim to continuously deliver quality homes and convenient communities,” said PR...