Marikina goes cashless with PayMaya for resident, citizen payments

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The City Government of Marikina has tapped digital financial services leader PayMaya to roll out contactless payments for real property and other business taxes within the city.

Using PayMaya's payment platform, residents and businesses can now pay for their city government fees online from the safety of their own homes. All they have to do is log-in to Marikina's online portal powered by PayMaya Checkout and pay using any credit, debit, or prepaid card as well as their PayMaya wallet. This initiative is in collaboration with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Marikina residents and businesses can now pay online for real property and other business taxes using their PayMaya account or credit, debit, or prepaid cards as PayMaya powers the online portal of the city through PayMaya Checkout.
Present during the signing of the memorandum of agreement were Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro (3rd from left), Vice Mayor Marion Andres (rightmost), PayMaya Enterprise Senior Manager Tisha Quinitio (3rd from right), DBP Marikina Branch Head Julie Se (2nd from left), and Marikina business owners Lito Lopez (leftmost) and Tony Andres (2nd from right).

“Through this cashless initiative with PayMaya and DBP, we are empowering our constituents with a safer way to pay for taxes and other fees online so that they don’t have to physically go to the city hall, especially at this time. This will contribute towards safer and more efficient government transactions during this pandemic. At the same time, this will allow us to continue delivering critical services to the public,” said Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro.

“We thank Marikina City for being our partner in enabling the public sector with safer cashless payment solutions. Digital payment is a key component of the transformation of our local governments and we are excited to bring this forward with other digital financial services ecosystem initiatives,” added PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando Vea.

Marikina City is the latest in over 60 national agencies and local units that have already embraced cashless solutions powered by PayMaya, which includes cashless payments acceptance as well as disbursement solutions.

Other national government agencies and local government units that have embraced cashless technologies powered by PayMaya's platforms include the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Social Security System (SSS), Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Bureau of Customs (BoC), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), as well as the cities of Manila, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Pasig, Caloocan, and Valenzuela, among many others.

PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, communities, and government. Through its enterprise business, it is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country including "everyday" merchants such as the largest retail, food, gas, and eCommerce merchants as well as government agencies and units.

Through its app and wallet, PayMaya provides over 28 million Filipinos with access to financial services. Customers can conveniently pay, add money, cash out or remit through its over 200,000 digital touchpoints nationwide.

Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 37,000 partner agent touchpoints nationwide serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved with access to digital services. 

To know more about PayMaya's products and services, visit www.PayMaya.com or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

L’Oréal Philippines’ Beauty For a Better Life Celebrates One Year of Changing Lives

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(Metro Manila, 2018) -  Empowering Women to Transform Communities - L’Oréal Philippines’ Beauty For a Better Life celebrates one year of changing lives held the grand awarding ceremony this Tuesday afternoon (April 3) at the Renaissance Conventional Center, Marikina City, with the  beneficiaries after they undergo classroom sessions and salon internships.

L’Oréal’s Beauty For a Better Life completed one full year of training for three batches of beneficiaries. Placing beauty at the heart of re-building identities and lives, and created to ignite long-term social impact, many of those who benefit from L’Oréal’s Beauty For a Better Life are women in vulnerable social or economic situations. Since its launch last April 2017, 62 beneficiaries from the Philippines has been given an opportunity to go into jobs and even own businesses in the field of hairdressing.

Carmel Valencia, L’Oréal Philippines Corporate Communication Manager

"We believe in the power of beauty to change lives, and Beauty For a Better Life expands the definition of beauty by using it a way to provide skills and livelihood opportunities to those most in need. A renewed sense of self-confidence, dignity and motivation are fundamental changes that we see in our graduates and it is our hope and vision that Beauty For a Better Life empowers these women to gain a better quality of life through increased access to livelihood opportunities, and thereby becoming socially and economically empowered to also serve as beacons of hope for their own families and communities”, shares Carmel Valencia, L’Oréal Philippines Corporate Communication Manager.

Reynaldo Laguda,  Executive Director, Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP)

Led by the L’Oréal Foundation, Beauty For a Better Life is deployed in 27 countries globally and is one of the Foundation’s key programs to empower women in situations of social and economic instability by training them for careers in the beauty sector. For its first run, L’Oréal Philippines, along with its partner organization Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), decided to focus on training women within one barangay to allow for growth within the community and co-empowerment among themselves.

The program was first brought to Brgy. Sto. Niño in Marikina as one of the priority areas for unemployment.

To date, 62 individuals have completed the program, 22 of which come from the third batch graduating this April 2018. Each batch of beneficiaries underwent daily classroom sessions in the Barangay Hall for three months wherein they were taught different hairdressing skills such as blowdrying, hair coloring, hair cutting, and application of hair treatments – under the tutelage of L’Oréal Philippines trainers. They were also exposed to a one-week internship in L’Oréal’s partner salons across Metro Manila to expose them to actual hairdressing jobs and potentially further their career options.

Beauty For a Better Life beneficiaries as they undergo classroom sessions and salon internships

April 3 signals a new chapter for the program as it celebrates all the beneficiaries from Brgy. Sto. Niño including the latest set of graduates and also gives way for the turning over of the program to a new barangay in Marikina.

“It is truly heartwarming to see the hope that the program has brought about to the lives of the women (and men) of Brgy. Sto. Niño. For the next cycle of Beauty For a Better Life, we are hoping that we will also open opportunities to individuals from Brgy. Dela Peña and continue our advocacy of changing lives through beauty,” concludes Ms. Valencia. 

The first batch of beneficiaries from Brgy. Dela Peña will begin training under the program on April 

4.

PH kicks off first ASEAN schools games in the country

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The Philippines, through the Department of Education (DepEd) and the local government of Marikina City, officially opened the 6th ASEAN Schools Games (ASG) at the Marikina Sports Complex, November 30.

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said that ASG plays an important role in solidifying ASEAN ties. He said, “This display of solidarity among nations proves that neither borders nor cultural barriers are hindrances to the development and further camaraderie among ASEAN countries.”

“This ASG is not a mere sporting event but a parade of culture among participating countries. We dare learn from each other. We learn that differences allow us to enjoy and appreciate the various treasures in each of our cultures,” he adds.

Luistro also said that ASG seeks to promote ASEAN solidarity among the youth through school sports and provide opportunities for school athletes to engage in cultural exchange.

Marikina City Mayor Del De Guzman said, “The ASG promises an opportunity among ASEAN youth through sports, and for school athletes to interact and engage in cultural exchange within ASEAN. Hosting this particular sporting event is a first for Marikina City and the Philippines.”

The education chief lauded all the student athletes present at the opening ceremonies, saying, “We continue to applaud all of our athletes. We ask you to compete in the spirit of sportsmanship.”

“The future of ASEAN is all gathered here in Marikina City. I have no doubt that the best student athletes from the ASEAN countries are here tonight,” Luistro added.

Some 1,500 student athletes from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines will compete with each other in the 11 sports included in the ASG. The sporting event is until December 7.

The venues for each sporting event are Marikina Sports Center for Athletics, Volleyball, Tennis, and Swimming; Trevvi Subdivision for Badminton; Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College for Sepak Takraw; St. Scholastica’s Academy for Wushu; Marikina Convention Center for Table Tennis; Marist School for Basketball; Rizal Stadium for Gymnastics; and Valley Golf and Country Club for Golf.

Philippines hosts Chef de Mission meeting for 2014 ASEAN Schools Games

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The Department of Education (DepEd) and the City Government of Marikina met with the delegation heads of participating countries to ensure the readiness and safety of playing facilities for the 2014 ASEAN Schools Games (ASG), which will be held from November 29 to December 7, 2014 in Marikina City.

The “Chef de Mission” meeting is intended to finalize billeting arrangements and to allow the countries’ representatives to inspect the playing facilities.

“This meeting allows us to settle all issues months before the conduct of the games,” says DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali, adding that it is important for all delegations to be on the same page.

Umali emphasized that ensuring the readiness and safety of the facilities is integral in safeguarding the welfare of the ASG delegates. He said that guaranteeing such environment for the athletes would provide a venue for creating champions. He added, “We want to create a community of champions—not just in the Asian Games or the Olympics, but champions in discipline, teamwork, and leadership.”

“We are excited to see how our young athletes are growing to be our ASEAN champions,” Jolly Gomez of the Philippine Sports Commission said.

This is the 6th ASEAN Schools Games and the first time for the Philippines to host although last year the country already hosted the golf tournament of the 2013 games, which were held in Vietnam.

Participating countries are Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The events in the ASG are athletics, swimming, badminton, golf, tennis, sepak takraw, gymnastics, table tennis, basketball, volleyball and wushu. The Philippine delegation will be composed of student-athletes from both public and private schools, as selected by a separate selection committee.

DepEd, Marikina City finalize plans for 6th ASEAN Schools Games

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The ASEAN School Games (ASG) is an annual sports competition among students of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

Apart from providing the youth with opportunities to showcase their sporting talents, the ASG promotes solidarity and fosters cultural exchange among the youth of participating countries. In November 2013, the Philippines hosted a Golf Tournament of the 5th ASEAN Schools Games hosted by Vietnam.

“This is a big challenge for our country and we thank the Department of Education (DepEd) for giving us this task,” said Marikina City Mayor Del R. De Guzman at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with DepEd on the hosting of the 6th ASEAN Schools Games (ASG). 

MOU signing between Deped and Marikina City for the Asean School Games

Education Secretary and honorary chairman of the 6th ASG Governing Board Br. Armin Luistro FSC explained, “This (ASG) is very important, not only for Marikina but most especially for the Philippines, because here we can showcase the country’s talents in the area of sports and show that we are ready for the world.”

Undersecretary for Regional Operations Rizalino Rivera said, “This is historic, because this is the first time the Philippines will be hosting the ASEAN Schools Games.” 

Rivera said that the country is privileged to accommodate all the ASG delegates. “The ASG is like the ASEAN Games but for younger people so you could just imagine the scale of participants in this sporting event,” he added. 

Participating countries are Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines, as this year’s host.

Luistro shared his hopes for the event, “My prayer is that the experiences of the athletes and their delegations will be a lasting memory for them -- part of the legacy which we hope to impart to our youth during this administration.”

The ASG will be held in the City of Marikina from November 29 to December 7, 2014.