World Vision Celebrates 65th Anniversary by Launching the Childhood Rescue Campaign

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In celebration of its 65th year milestone, World Vision Philippines shared over six decades’ worth of providing better future for vulnerable children through a virtual media launch held last May 30, 2022. The event featured an impactful campaign launch for “Childhood Rescue” with Bianca Umali as the campaign’s lead celebrity ambassador.

(From Top Left) World Vision Advocacy and Campaign Specialist Caroline Veronilla, World Vision Resource Development Director Jun Godornes, World Vision Field Operations Manager in Mindanao Beth Delgado and World Vision Operations Director Ajab Macapagat

World Vision’s “Childhood Rescue” aims to focus on the most dangerous places where children and their communities have been greatly affected by armed conflicts such as Marawi.

The Marawi siege in 2017 has caused thousands of young Filipinos to live amidst armed conflict, political unrest, and ongoing instability even until today. It has displaced at least 350,000 people, including at least 200,000 children, according to the Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DREAMB).

In these places, children are extremely vulnerable to violence, poverty, and abuse. The Childhood Rescue Campaign advances World Vision’s purpose— protecting the lives, welfare, and rights of children, especially those who are living in the most dangerous places.

World Vision representatives and media attendees show their support for the Filipino children and World Vision’s Childhood Rescue Campaign with a symbolic photo op

As part of the national initiative Task Force Bangon Marawi, World Vision’s Childhood Rescue campaign responds to these urgent and arising challenges with effective interventions, and crisis recovery programs to address the needs of internally displaced families and children since 2017.

World Vision hopes to increase support and raise more donations for its ongoing child welfare projects, “Bangon Marawi” and “Child Protection”. Both programs aim to cover a total of 10 barangays with 6,559 children as target beneficiaries this 2022.

Jun Godornes, Resource Development Director of World Vision, said during the official media launch, “Given the challenging situation of dangerous areas in the Philippines that may take a very long time to resolve, there is a constant threat that a Filipino child's life can change for the worst in an instant. Despite this situation, World Vision is doing its best to ensure that these children don’t miss out on having a joyful childhood and a hope for a peaceful future. We invite everyone to support our Childhood Rescue campaign. Let’s help these vulnerable children living in Philippines' fragile locations. Together, let's bring hope, joy and justice to all children."

Aside from the Childhood Rescue program launch, World Vision also unveiled its new campaign, and future projects in time for its 65th Anniversary celebration. With the mission to bring “Hope, Joy and Justice for All Children”, World Vision aims to reach the most vulnerable children and transform their lives.

Bianca Umali, a World Vision Ambassador, recalls her experience in Marawi and the significance of her support for World Vision's advocacies

Kapuso star and actress Bianca Umali shared her experiences as a World Vision ambassador and expressed her support for the Childhood Rescue campaign through a video message shown during the media launch.

“World Vision has given me the opportunity to become an ‘ate’ to these vulnerable children. Every small effort in helping them goes a long way,” Bianca shared as she recalls her trip to Marawi with World Vision. “Every child deserves to have a childhood. Let us all come together for these children because I believe that they are the future.”

With a total of 47,302 individuals including 16,875 children assisted by the organization’s efforts, World Vision remains committed to serving more affected families and assisting in rebuilding communities to help provide a safe place for children.

For more information and how you can support World Vision’s Childhood Rescue please visit www.worldvision.org.ph

Study shows some OTC throat lozenges found highly effective against the COVID-19 virus

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Lozenges containing both Benzydamine Hydrochloride (BH) and Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) found efficacious in COVID-caused sore throat

Steyer Study discussion with preventive health education and health reform advocate, Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon during the Virtual Media Roundtable

on Wednesday, March 16

Some OTC throat lozenges may be effective against COVID-19

We know your over-the-counter throat lozenge can relieve a sore throat and can help manage a pesky cold or cough. But can they take the wind out of the sails of the dreaded Covid-19 virus?

The question got a fresh look recently after researchers at Microbiology and Immunology Institute of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, found that throat lozenges containing a combination of Benzydamine Hydrochloride (BH) and Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) may have a virucidal effect against Covid-19 and help reduce the risk of viral transmission.

Virus-killing Action against SARS-CoV-2

The preliminary findings, based on testing in a defined and controlled laboratory environment designed to mimic the conditions of the oral cavity, found that all three test settings showed strong virucidal (virus killing) activity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 infection.

In fact, the throat lozenge test products in a high concentration were the fastest at destroying the virus, reducing the viral concentration by 99.99% in as fast as 1 (one) minute. This also suggests the possibility of reducing the amount of virus in the oral cavity as well as reducing the risk of viral transmission.

Encouraging step in fight against Covid-19

While it’s important to note that the study is yet to be peer-reviewed, with economic activities opening up and the country on Alert Level 1, these results are extremely encouraging and a positive step in finding ways to manage the spread of COVID-19; especially through a simple and effective method such as using widely available medicated sore throat lozenges.

Getting Vaccinated with Booster shot, and the observance of standard health protocols such as proper handwashing, physical distancing and mask-wearing are the current mainstays for the reduction of virus spread. However, Benzydamine HCl and Cetylpyridinium Cl containing throat lozenges could prove to be another valuable tool.

*The results of this study were first published by Andrej Steyer, Misa Marusic, Marko Kolenc, Tina Triglav from the Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, in the article “A throat lozenge with fixed combination of cetylpyridinium chloride and benzydamine hydrochloride has direct virucidal effect on SARS-CoV-2”, COVID, 2021;1(2):435-446 (Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/Covid1020037) which has since been republished with permission in the Romanian Journal of Pharmaceutical Practice (Sarafoleanu C et al, 2021).

CSMC advocates for holistic brain and spine tumor management in latest webicon

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Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) zeroes in on brain and spine tumors in its latest webicon entitled, “It Takes A Village to Save A Life: A Webicon on the Multidisciplinary Approach to Brain and Spine Tumor Management.” The webicon was held on February 24 via ZOOM and Facebook live streaming.

Together with its top medical experts from the Brain and Spine Institute, CSMC debunked common myths about brain and spine tumors and discussed the different types of treatments and ways to provide the best, most holistic care to a patient. The webicon was moderated by Dr. Michael Louis Gimenez, Chair of the Brain and Spine Institute, and the specialists invited to speak were Dr. Theodor Vesagas, Clinical Director of the Philippine Gamma Knife Center and CSMC Brain and Spine Tumor Center; Dr. Gilbert Rañoa, Training Officer of the CSMC Spine Fellowship Program; and Dr. Ma. Luisa Abesamis-Tiambeng, Chair of the Cancer Institute.

Dr. Gimenez opened the webicon by touching on the different signs and symptoms of brain or spine tumors. Meanwhile, Dr. Vesagas explained the benefits of CSMC’s multidisciplinary approach to treating tumors. He noted that a team effort in diagnosis and treatment allows patients to receive consistent and timely care, and increases patient satisfaction.

Dr. Vesagas also talked about Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, a procedure that is only currently available at CSMC. The goal of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is to control or stop the growth of the tumor, and allows for excellent control in the removal of tumors with minimal morbidity.

Dr. Rañoa then elaborated on other innovative open surgery treatment options that CSMC offers, such as Stereotactic Biopsy, where neurosurgeons use a needle to obtain tissue from the brain, as well as Awake Craniotomy, which can only be done if an intraoperative neurostimulator is available, and is used to remove tumors in more critical parts of the brain.

Finally, Dr. Tiambeng spoke about non-surgical tumor management and wrapped up the team’s discussion with some reminders and practical tips to follow for when one schedules a checkup for possible tumors.

Mr. Rodel Perez, a 45-year-old OFW based in Dubai and one of CSMC’s patients, was also present as a speaker. Perez recounted his experience after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was about the size of a medium-sized lemon. He noted CSMC’s world-class methods and facilities, praising the compassionate care and sincerity the doctors and nurses of CSMC had towards him during his treatment.

The webicon was concluded with the standard Q&A session with all the panelists, where Dr. Tiambeng stamped out the misconception that these treatments are available only to those who are well-off.

“The Philippine Alliance for Brain and Spine Tumors [is a] foundation [that] is helping and has helped hundreds of patients get free treatments,” she said. “There is also Cardinal Charities Foundations, which helps indigent patients get big discounts or even free procedures.”

When asked how they could encourage Filipinos to seek medical advice over checking their symptoms on the internet, Dr. Tiambeng said, “The internet cannot treat you—Google cannot treat you— it can only give you information.” Despite being a powerful tool in gathering information, a specialist’s intervention is still essential in treating any illness.

“Always remember that here at Cardinal Santos Medical Center, you have a village of medical experts working hand in hand to save lives,” Dr. Gimenez concluded.

For more information about the Brain and Spine Institute, as well as other services that CSMC offers, please visit https://cardinalsantos.com.ph/. CSMC is also on Facebook, like and follow them at www.facebook.com/CardinalSantos.

USAID and DepEd Partnership Celebrates Joint Successes in Improving Early Grade Learning in the Philippines

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Manila, August 13, 2021 – Education stakeholders gathered on August 13 for a virtual event to celebrate the collective accomplishments of the Department of Education (DepEd) and USAID Philippines in improving early grade reading and literacy in the country this past year, amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and RTI International held the USAID ABC+: Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines Project’s Virtual Event and Media Q&A Session on “A Year of K-3 Distance Learning with ABC+: Celebrating Lessons Learned, Achievements, Opportunities & Partnerships”
August 13, 2021.

Through its ABC+: Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines Project, USAID worked with DepEd to improve reading and literacy, math, and social and emotional skills for early grade children (K-3) in Regions V (Bicol) and Region VI (Western Visayas). USAID also worked in coordination with the Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education for activities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“By working together, we have supported DepEd in implementing innovative strategies to improve early grade literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional learning. Through ABC+ we will work together to reach up to two million students in Regions V, VI and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” said Sean Callahan, Acting Mission Director of USAID Philippines.

USAID’s support includes interventions to improve early grade instruction and delivery systems, access to quality materials, and education system capacity. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID has supported the implementation of DepEd’s Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan at the early grade level.

To date, the USAID-DepEd partnership has produced and distributed nearly four million supplementary reading materials to more than 250,000 students; trained over 10,000 teachers, supervisors and school administrators; developed and adapted nearly 500 leveled readers in several mother tongue languages and in English; and produced 64 television-based and radio-based instructional materials.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, in her remarks, said that “ABC+ is an example of the many initiatives that made schoolyear 2020 and 2021 possible. A collaboration with USAID, this partnership covering Regions V and VI and a division of Maguindanao focuses on improving reading and literacy of math and social and emotional skills for early grade children.... today we will witness a glimpse of the success of this partnership that has helped us achieve what we were able to do during the past year."

"The efforts and innovative practices brought to us by this partnership will be taken forward in this incoming school year. We need to embrace innovation, we need to engage with partners and USAID is a shining example, and stakeholders to collectively develop innovative solutions that will help us overcome challenges."

USAID and DepEd are also assisting teachers in project sites to develop appropriate remedial measures to address gaps in reading skills. As a result, children gain the ability to progress towards their actual grade level or become “reading ready” during the school year.

To streamline the training and professional development of teachers, the partnership also developed the NEAP Professional Development Information System that enables teachers to participate in training programs, take pre- and post-tests, complete evaluations and receive their certificates online.

The ABC+ project will continue for three more years and aims to benefit two million early grade learners in its focus areas. The project is a partnership of USAID and DepEd, implemented by RTI International, in collaboration with The Asia Foundation, SIL Lead and Florida State University.

UnionBank opens country’s first mass retail banking hub to better support PH MSMEs

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Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently created the country’s very first mass retail banking hub, aimed at providing support specifically to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country as part of the Bank’s goal of enabling inclusive prosperity amid the current global health crisis.

The hub, a consolidation of all entrepreneur-centric solutions offered by UnionBank, will provide a one-stop center for resources that MSMEs might need in order to support their businesses regardless of size—such as financing, logistics, and a buyer-seller network, to name a few—all made accessible to mass market customers.

This was one of the topics at UnionBank’s E-Talk Tales last February 17, wherein UnionBank’s Chief Mass Market and Financial Inclusion Executive Manual G. Santiago, Jr.  focused on how the Bank addresses the typical pain points encountered by entrepreneurs, especially during the pandemic.

Santiago began the discussion by first explaining what the hub’s target market is, which he defined as “the middle-middle income level going down” which is also a mix of banked, underbanked, unbanked customers.

"I think the definition for SMEs is much more defined where we're really looking at micro, small, and medium enterprises. So, these are your businesses with, for micro, 3 million in capital, and then you have 15 million for small, and for medium, it's about a hundred million in capital," he added.

According to Santiago, UnionBank estimates this market at about 50 million customers, with the majority of them being in the lower-income segments. In addition, about 60 percent of this customer market classify themselves as self-employed entrepreneurs. “It's a large market and we think this is a segment that needs attention at this time, and we're putting our efforts into that.”

Santiago noted that a lot of entrepreneurs today are very careful about their decisions when it comes to their businesses, as a result of the uncertainties, brought about by the current health crisis. This “wait and see” mindset is evident even in those who have immediate access to financing.

“We've seen that in the way they apply for loans. You would think that because you have loans available that people are going to flock and apply,” Santiago said. “In fact, even those existing loans that we have that have reached the renewal stage, MSMEs would even say 'can you renew that at half the amount only, and I will just come back to you when things are better?',” Santiago said.

“It's a good thing because it shows a sign of maturity, and you know, in this time, you can't be very aggressive. You really need to think about your next steps to be able to survive this crisis.”

With its vision of empowering SMEs through digital initiatives, UnionBank has already laid a lot of groundwork even before the pandemic to address SME challenges.

UnionBank Business Loan via UBX SeekCap, an online Loan Marketplace where business owners and SMEs may easily browse short-term business loan products and apply digitally. SeekCap allows SMEs to get approval within hours.

The Bank has also created the SME Business Banking App, an online platform that enables SMES to manage their financial transactions by facilitating all business payments with the most extensive list of government and utility billers, transferring funds to both local and international banks, customizing complex business approval flows, enrolling all companies and subsidiaries in a single-login setup, and opening and managing payroll accounts for their employees, among others.

To know more about UnionBank's digital initiatives, visit https://www.unionbankph.com/

Lessons in business growth and sustainability from Lark Your Way to Success

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The recently concluded Lark webinar series aimed to help businesses adapt to changes in the workplace.

Lark strengthens its position as an ally for sustainability, growth, and success among businesses in the Philippines after completing three successful tracks of the Lark Your Way to Success webinar series. The webinars, which took place throughout November and December 2020, were well-attended by small business owners and entrepreneurs who are members of Lark's partner organizations, Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines, Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI), and GoNegosyo. Representatives from partner media organizations, ABS-CBN News Channel, Business Mirror, CNN Philippines, Esquire, Inquirer.net, UnboxPH, and Yugatech were also invited to the webinars. 

Each track covered three topics and featured industry experts and key opinion leaders who shared their professional advice on how businesses can adapt, evolve, and innovate in order to thrive in the future. These are the highlighted lessons in business growth and sustainability that participants learned at the Lark Your Way to Success webinars. 

1. Businesses without a digitally-enabled workforce may be extinct by 2021

The first webinar session taught attendees the value of adapting to change, and how going digital is a key solution for this. The first speaker of the day was Joey Lim, Vice President of Sales, APAC in Lark. She discussed the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses, and how a new digitally-driven work normal is the future of work. 

Entrepreneur and host RJ Ledesma was the next speaker. He talked about the importance of having an entrepreneurial mindset, and the ability to find opportunity in crisis, in order for a business to succeed. The final speaker for the day was business technology coach Joey Gurango, who shared insights on the current workflow trends. According to Joey, a digital transformation is necessary right now for any business that wants to survive.

2. Connecting and collaborating is essential for business success

The second track focused on how businesses must evolve to stay afloat in the new work landscape. The session started off with a look at best practices in adopting new ways of work through local, regional, and global case studies shared by Cat Avelino, Head of Communications, Lark Philippines. 

The second speaker was entrepreneur, business consultant, and columnist Francis J. Kong, who shared some dos and dont's for managing teams and resources remotely. He explained how a crisis can make us both better and bitter, and how it can also push us to evolve faster. The last to speak was content creator and COO of The Canton Club, Camille Co, together with Charlotte Co. They explained why it is necessary to listen to the needs of consumers, and how true connection and collaboration can yield positive results. 

3. Business leaders must lead by example when embracing new ways of work 

Innovation is indispensable for success in the future landscape of work, and the third track of the Lark webinar series emphasized this. Regional Lark Product Specialist, Andeed Ma started off with a talk about how businesses can make technology work for them in moving towards the future of work, and how Lark is an example of a great tool to use for this purpose.

Digital entrepreneur Carlo Ople spoke next, on the topic of managing ang measuring employee engagement and collaboration while working remotely. According to Carlo, it might be best to focus on each remote employee's key performance indicators (KPI) rather than the on-screen time when assessing productivity. The final talk was by automotive journalist, events host, and CNN Philippines Anchor, James Deakin. He stressed the need for new normal leaders to lead by example, particularly when it comes to learning how to use digital tools, and showing employees how easy they are to use for work.

At the end of the webinar series, two business owners who joined the sessions were selected as mentees for Lark's New Normal Business Council and Mentorship Program. 

The chosen CEOs are Joyce Yu of True Blends Tea & Coffee and Mark Joseph David of Pal Maritime Corporation. Both will be granted a mentorship program by Lark, along with an additional 100GB Lark cloud storage for one year, and PHP300,000 worth of PR and marketing support.

To learn more about the other features of Lark, visit www.larksuite.com.

Lark is available on Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. Click here to start using Lark today.

Lenovo™ ThinkSmart™Collaboration Solutions for Zoom Empower a Distributed Workforce

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Today at Zoomtopia™, Lenovo announced in cooperation with Zoom Video Communications, Inc.  that ThinkSmart Hub and ThinkSmart View will be offered with Zoom Rooms1 and Zoom for Home1 respectively. 

The new Hub announced last month offers smarter collaboration for conference rooms of all sizes with richer audio featuring full duplex speakers and four omnidirectional microphones integrated into a sleeker all-in-one compute device.Built on the Zoom Rooms platform, the Hub lets participants communicate via video2 or voice and content can be easily shared in real time. ThinkSmart Viewis a dedicated personal business collaboration device announced in January this year and is designed to enhance a home office setup. View is now available with Zoom for Home to help unlock individual productivity by enhancing the Zoom experience in a purpose-built solution. Always ready to start ad-hoc or scheduled video meetings, View can sync with a user’s calendar and status, share content and includes a whiteboard function for live annotations.

Built for a Distributed Workforce

Video collaboration has seen exponential increases in user demand with Zoom’s daily meeting participants reaching an all-time high of 300 million by April 20203. An increasingly distributed workforce will only see demand increase as remote workers require more efficient home office unified communications devices and companies accelerate digital transformation strategies providing more intuitive and efficient meeting room tools that are easier to setup and manage.

Zoom Rooms tackles the three primary pain points of meeting room collaboration: By focusing on usability that helps users quickly join meetings with one-touch conferencing start, offering high quality video and providing easy content sharing, Zoom Rooms delivers an effortless user experience in the workplace.Zoom for Homeon ThinkSmart View brings that intuitive and immersive collaboration into the home through the dedicated personal device.

ThinkSmart Hub for Zoom Rooms

The sleek all-in-one design Hub offers a one cable system I/O function that provides power, ethernet, USB and display connections. With current social distancing measures in place, Alexa for Business⁴ voice capability with the Zoom Rooms version adds a layer of protection and easy interaction, allowing users to control meetings simply through the power of voice. In addition to being built on the Zoom Rooms platform, ThinkSmart Hub includes built-in protection with ThinkShield security solutions and is easy to manage using our custom-built ThinkSmart Manager software⁵. We can also offer tailored and personalized guidance throughout Smart Collaboration Managed Services⁶to ensure customers have powerful tools to help teams of all sizes connect, share and collaborate efficiently. To see the full features of ThinkSmart Hub, click here for the datasheet and images.

ThinkSmart View with Zoom

ThinkSmart View now leverages the powerful Zoom for Home platform bringing the best of Zoom Meetings into home workspaces. As a purpose-built appliance that can be easily managed and provisioned, View includes an 8-inch HD touch screen with a wide-angle camera and privacy shutter, dual microphone array, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth that allows pairing of compatible headset. To see the full features of ThinkSmart View, click here for the datasheet and images.

Quotes:

“We are delighted to expand our smart collaboration portfolio to include Zoom platformsand offer a rich unified communications experience” said Joseph Mingori, general manager, Lenovo Smart Collaboration Business. “Whether you are outfitting large enterprise meeting spaces or wish to enhance a home office setup, our new ThinkSmart solutions with Zoom Rooms or Zoom for Homecan energize team interaction and support today’s flexible work schedules.”

“With increased demand and expansion of use cases for video collaboration in recent months we see the need for more tailored unified communications solutions,” said Jeff Smith, Head of Zoom Rooms at Zoom. “We are excited to partner with Lenovo to deliver ThinkSmart Hub for Zoom Rooms and ThinkSmart View for Zoom for Home. These devices, built for Zoom, can help businesses and end users be more productive and efficient in today's highly distributed global workforce.”

Pricing and Availability7

ThinkSmart Hub with Zoom Rooms is expected to be available from November 2020, please contact your local Lenovo representative for solution pricing.

ThinkSmart View with Zoom for Home is expected to be  available from January 2021, starting at $349.

Visit www.lenovo.com/ThinkSmart for more information.

UnionBank Talks Digitizing Corporate Clients in the New Normal at 5th E-TalkTales

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Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) held the fifth installment of its E-TalkTales series last October 20.

The Head of Transaction Banking Mon Duarte discussed the Bank’s various transaction banking solutions, particularly The Portal, its all-digital banking platform for corporate clients.

Duarte began the discussion by differentiating UnionBank’s Transaction Banking solutions, which he defined as simply offering customized solutions to help digitize our corporate clients. Traditional transaction banking helps manage flow of funds by facilitating collections and payments, over-the-counter check deposits, to the provision of armored car services for high cash transaction situations, among others.

The main focus of Duarte's discussion was UnionBank's The Portal, its digital banking platform specially designed for corporate clients. Offering a host of solutions that include bills payments, payroll, fund transfers, check writing services, merchant payment gateway systems, and credit facilities, The Portal provides corporations with all their essential banking needs in a single platform.

Knowing that each corporate entity has needs and priorities that are uniquely theirs, UnionBank designed The Portal in a way that allows it to provide utmost flexibility to clients, making it the preferred platform for those who don't want the one-size-fits-all approach of most competitors when it comes to the corporate banking solutions they offer.

Part of the flexibility offered by The Portal comes by way of various customization options available to clients. Depending on the current needs of their organization, clients can choose only the solutions that they want to avail of at the moment, and then adjust later on. To make it easier, the Bank created a number of packaged solutions based on what it thinks would make sense for clients, which they can avail of anytime via The Portal website.

Another key feature of The Portal in terms of flexibility is the possible configurations for transaction approvals. With this feature, corporates will be able to establish a specific maker-checker process for each transaction made by their team members. This will give them free control over who can make which transaction, as well as the maximum amount for each transaction depending on who makes it, among others.

With The Portal, UnionBank aims to make transaction banking as seamless for users as possible, and the Bank wants to make this very clear right from the moment a client starts using the platform—the onboarding process.

Onboarding is typically one of the most stressful phases of using a new platform for many corporates, since it involves learning a new set of interfaces and processes. This phase can take a few days or weeks or even a few months to finish. With The Portal, however, UnionBank also digitized the onboarding processes so that clients can get into the platform in less than a day, usually within a few minutes, with no further training needed.

These are only a few innovative features of The Portal. As the Bank continues its digital transformation journey, more services will become available in the coming months.

The Portal is not based on any third-party digital framework. Instead, it was built from the ground up. In creating The Portal, UnionBank was guided by the principle of having a simple integrated platform in order to ensure the best user experience for customers. For the Bank, providing superior transaction banking experiences to users is a top priority, and The Portal is the perfect representation of what it believes transaction banking should be.

The Organic Child: Health or Hype?

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PROMIL Organic recently held an interactive session with medical expert Celeste Gomez, M.D.. The live zoom session last Thursday, August 13, was fun, exciting and informative,  with the theme "The Organic Child: Health or Hype?"

Let"s see why and how to do #SmartWayToGoOrganic with #PromilOrganic.

Food is indeed a powerful influence on one’s health and well-being. An adage even says, “every time you are eating a meal, you are either feeding disease or fighting it.” In this era when staying healthy has, more than ever, become our top priority, how do we keep our overall health in tip-top shape? And for parents, how do we ensure that our children live better lives?

Today, many parents are now embracing the concept of switching to healthier options and advocating organic nutrition for their children’s growth and development, medical expert and a mom to a toddler Dr. Celeste Gomez, from The Medical City Pediatrics and the Institute of Functional Medicine, shares the benefits of organic nutrition and guides fellow moms in their shift to organic to help strengthen their family’s immunity.

Shifting to an organic lifestyle may sound intimidating for others. But essentially, vegetables or grains are organic if they have no GMO, synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, chemical additives, or sewage sludge. For meat, dairy, poultry, and fish to be labelled as organic, there should be no hormones and antibiotics, fed with organic grains or vegetables, no animal by-products, no GMO corn or soil, poultry must have access to outdoors, livestock must have access to pasture, and fish are wild caught and not farmed.

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM International), a Germany-based organization of organic certifying bodies, regulates the standards of Organic Agriculture which should be maintained for a certain product to be accredited as organic. In the country, the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP), accredited by IFOAM International, gives the Certified Organic seal to products grown using agricultural standards.

Compared to conventional food, there are a few differences between organic and all-natural. In some instances, “all-natural” products may also use artificial fertilizers or pesticides, irradiation, and GMO ingredients. On the other hand, conventional food products may use artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, fertilizer, pesticides, irradiation, and GMO ingredients. 

In addition, some food products and their packaging may also contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) which can decrease or increase normal hormone levels, mimic the body’s natural hormones, or alter the natural production of hormones when absorbed in the body. Some examples of EDCs in food are pesticides (found in vegetables, grains, and fruits), bisphenol A or BPA (food storage containers), and phthalates (food packaging).

While Dr. Gomez clarifies that conventional food is still nutritious and isn’t entirely that bad, its way of processing as well as presence of pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria growth add stress on our body systems. Hence, we just need to detox more. How? By choosing whole and organic food in every chance we could.

In relation to organic food, whole foods are natural products that are not processed or refined in any way. Or if they are processed, they need to be able to retain 95% of the natural nutrients. They do not need to be bought in organic options as they are already rich in vitamins and minerals as they are. According to EWG’s 2020 Clean 15, among the examples of whole foods are avocados, sweet corn, pineapple, onions, papaya, cauliflower, and broccoli. On the other hand, some examples of plant produce that should be bought in organic are strawberries, spinach, kale nectarines, apples, tomatoes, and potatoes. 

Gomez, who is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine, further explains that Functional Nutrition is an emerging field which studies about finding the right way for each of us as individuals to use food to maximize the potential for health and wellness, specifically, by focusing on whole foods and organic choices.

“There is no single “right diet” that applies to all of us. We have different genetic backgrounds, different preferences, and different lives. We all want to be healthy, but most of us haven’t figured out just how to make food and dietary patterns serve that goal,” she added. 

The world has indeed evolved now, more than ever, and we have seen so many changes in everyone’s lifestyle. Along with that change should also be the way we take care of our family’s health, particularly our little ones, through proper nutrition. A smart way to go organic is choosing an organic milk for our children. Luckily, Wyeth Nutrition’s PROMIL® Organic knows exactly what parents need.

PROMIL® Organic is made with 100% organic milk sourced from certified organic dairy farms, following all the strict standards in manufacturing an Organic formula milk, with higher levels of DHA and AA versus previous formulation to help support the development of children over 3 years old.

Organic Certified: free from antibiotics and chemical pesticides! Only the good is in PROMIL® Organic.

“PROMIL® Organic follows strict compliance of the 95% processing level and international standards from the IFOAM Organics International. It is also certified organic by the OCCP,” says Associate Marketing Director Maria Carmela Gabunada of Wyeth Nutrition. 

It is the only organic formula milk expertly designed with key nutrients DHA, AA, iron, iodine and vitamin B12 to help the child with mental and visual development; boosts immunity with Vitamin A and C; Calcium, Vitamin D, K, and zinc to promote proper growth; and dietary fiber (oligofructose) to improve digestive health.

To know more about PROMIL® Organic, visit the following:

· Website: https://www.wyethparenteam.com.ph/products/promil-organic

· Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PromilOrganicPH/

· YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PROMILORGANICPhilippines

Together, let’s choose the #SmartWayToGoOrganic with #PromilOrganic

See more photos here.

“Can the Philippines Dance with COVID-19?” To provide balance in protecting lives, livelihood, Gov't, private sector, civil societies present fresh strategies vs COVID-19

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With the uncertainty of the ongoing pandemic, and Filipinos hungry to open up their lives, new strategies must be formulated for government, business and civil society to bring the country to a sustainable balance.

Industries have to be agile if they are to find the balance between public health and safety and the revitalization of the economy. 

How to prioritize both lives and livelihood, especially in the light of the new MECQ, was tackled by leaders from the health, business, and academic sectors in the virtual business forum, “Can the Philippines Dance with COVID-19?”, held this morning August 5.

The speakers were Secretary Vince Dizon, National Action Plan Against COVID-19  Deputy Chief Implementer and Testing Czar; Department of Health (DOH)  Undersecretary Rosette Vergeire; former DOH secretary Dr. Manuel “Manolet” Dayrit; Josephine Gotianun-Yap, CEO of the Filinvest Development Corporation; and  University of the Philippines College of Public Health (UPCPH) Dean Dr. Vicente  Belizario. Joining them in the panel discussion were Lars Wittig, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) Vice President and Country Manager of Regus and Spaces, and George Royeca, Chief Transport Advocate of Angkas. Amor Maclang, Chairwoman of the ECCP’s Innovation Committee and communications technical advisor to the DOH, was panel moderator. 

Secretary Dizon, the country’s designated testing czar, has dedicated himself tirelessly to TASK FORCE T3 (Test, Trace, Treat) over the past few months, the task force convened by the Inter-Agency Task Force – National Task Force (IATF-NTF) and the Department of Health (DOH). For his part, he described how the government fast-

tracked in its response as the number of cases kept rising. While only a limited number of people were tested at the start of the outbreak, the capacity for testing has improved, as the labs increased from one to 96 in four months. “From 500 tests a day in March, we are now doing 35,000 tests today,” he said, “We are pushing to do more tests. We are [now] one of the countries who test the most in Asia and far outpacing the other countries in [the region].”

Secretary Dizon also pointed out that collaboration is critical to achieve more results.  “We have to push more in places with high spreads like Calabarzon. It's all about execution and coming together. "Lahat tayo ay Pilipino at ngayon natin kailangang magsama-sama. Isaisantabi na natin ang iba't ibang kulay at di pagkakaunawaan. Kailangan ng pagtutulungan tulad ng nangyari kamakailan na nagbunga ng pagtaas ng ating testing capacity sa halip ng dalawang buwan. At kung tuluy-tuloy ang ating pagtutulungan, magiging epektibo ang laban natin sa Covid-19.”

Usec. Vergeire shared how the DOH is collaborating with the medical communities on increasing contact and recovery efforts in the barangay level during this MECQ. She said, “We will not wait for patients to go to us; we will go to them. [We will] check for symptoms, and if there are exposed people, do necessary interventions. 

Eventually once we sustain this, the LGUs will be more empowered.” The USEC also emphasized that “DOH is leading this response.”

Dr. Belizario pointed out that accurate communication with the public is needed “to  lower the risk of COVID-19 to low, low levels so it doesn't pose a risk to a significant number of the population and to public areas. We need to train young people to become effective communicators for behavior change. It is not enough to put up posters and ads---we have to make sure that these materials result in behavior modification.”

Complementing communication is the use of data to track COVID-19’s status. He said, 

“Enhanced surveillance and response in the regions and provinces and capacity is built even in the periphery so we can act quickly in the collection and processing of data---and [provide them to] local and national authorities.”

Dr. Dayrit gave his insights on how to realistically reduce the number of cases:

“Don't fixate on the total number of cases. A large proportion of them have already died or recovered. So what are the new cases occurring everyday? This is where we can intervene.”

Dr. Dayrit, a member of Task Force T3, also cited the importance of building capacity in various aspects throughout the entire medical supply chain, including testing, laboratories, isolation, contact tracing, and hospital beds. He emphasized, “We need to invest in and modernize our health system because we will face similar medical challenges in the future. Many of these facilities have been neglected over time. Now we're trying to get them to perform at a level to fight this virus. This is a chance to rise to the occasion.”

Playing a key role for her work in the T3 task force, Ms. Gotianun-Yap emphasizes the importance of data management in preventing the spread of COVID-19, seeing how it can protect industry employees, customers, business partners, and communities. Her company used the StaySafe app for “daily health reporting and app-based contact tracing. It's important for us to have a data system to track COVID-19.” 

She envisioned the building of a “data end-to-end system that can track Covid-19 and link hospitals and clinics. The public will be notified if they come into contact with a positive-tested person.”

Setting best practices for the private sector’s role in preventing transmission of COVID-19, Filinvest was also the first to install safety measures at the initial stages of the outbreak. To prevent infection through commuting, it provided shuttle services for employees. BPO tenants were also allowed to sleep in their office premises. Testing for the workforce, especially the frontliners, were regularly conducted. Mall operations were reinvented to encourage social distancing, and all of its premises, offices, outlets, stores, and other stores were frequently sanitized.

Mr. Wittig agreed that success in containing COVID-19 boils down to “a matter of execution and with the significant contribution of the private enterprise. We have [also] surpassed other countries in testing.” He also said that data-driven efforts like what Filinvest is doing “is helping everyone to see the face of the beast so we can act accordingly.”

Ms. Maclang mentioned how the return of MECQ illuminated the constant challenge posed by the disease: “We have to learn to live with COVID-19 possibly for a long while. If we need a little rest from the fight, then let's take this time to learn how to dance. We have to recalibrate our actions and improve what we are already doing to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”

Mr. Royeca pointed out the importance of individual responsibility to foster collaboration:

“There are gaps in implementation, but it has to start with ourselves. When we go out, we wear masks, do social distancing, etc. The public needs to know they have a big responsibility. The private sector needs to know our role. Let's use this virus not to be divisive but to unify us. COVID-19 doesn’t care about differences so let's work together and try to solve it.”

Dancing with coronavirus may take a series of complicated steps, but it might be the only feasible approach to protect the lives of millions of Filipinos, while restoring their livelihoods. 

USec. Vergeire summed up the urgency of the situation, saying, “We have two weeks to recalibrate our responses and stop the spread of infection. The sacrifices of people during the MECQ should not be in vain. There is no more national or local, we are all in this together. If we can all collaborate, we can beat COVID-19.”

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