CHERRY CARES donate 300 tablets to DILG in support of KONTRA DROGA B.I.D.A (BUHAY INGATAN, DROGA’Y AYAWAN) Program

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CHERRY Cares— the corporate social responsibility arm of CHERRY Philippines, donates a total of 300 units of Flare Tab and Omega Tab Pro tablet to the office of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on November 13, 2023 in Quezon City. This is in behalf of their flagship anti-drug campaign—Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) Program.

(L-R) Atty. Salvacion Z. Baccay, Dir. Debie T. Torres, Atty. Kevin R. Carpeso , ASec. Rolando C. Puno, Ginesty Gilboy, Rica Mae Herrero and Ruzelle Camposano at the turnover ceremony of 300 Cherry Flare Tab and Omega Tab Pro tablets at the DILG Office in Quezon City (November 13, 2023). AP Photo/DILG

BIDA Program is an enhanced and comprehensive anti-drug campaign of DILG nationwide that prioritizes rehabilitation and socioeconomic growth. It's an effort to reduce drug demand while increasing awareness among all facets of the community. The local government units recognized by DILG with exceptional performance in this campaign against illegal drugs are the beneficiary of the CHERRY tablets.

“We are glad that CHERRY Cares signifies its support to the BIDA program with its CHERRY tablets as we honor the outstanding contributions of our Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC) awardees. The ADACs are our heroes committed in implementing the BIDA program and in ultimately achieving the goal of a drug-free Philippines. Surely, the tablets will be a big help to them,” said ASec. Rolando C. Puno, Assistant for Communications and External Affairs.

Atty. Salvacion Z. Baccay, Assistant Director of Bureau of Local Government Supervision; Dir. Debie T. Torres, Director of Bureau of Local Government Supervision; Atty. Kevin R. Carpeso, Head Executive Assistant; and Assistant Secretary Rolando C. Puno, Assistant for Communications and External Affairs were present in the donation turnover. They enthusiastically received the tablets handed over by CHERRY Cares representative, namely Ginesty Gilboy, CHERRY Program Officer; Rica Mae Herrero, PR and CSR Associate; Ruzzelle Camposano, CSR Program Officer; and Marra Lanot, PR and Content Writer.

“It’s an honor to support this initiative of DILG and our local government units. This is part of our appreciation to our LGU’s Anti-Drug Abuse Council. We are hopeful that the tablets will bring value and aid to their campaign,” said Agnes Conopio, PR and CSR Head of Cherry.

CHERRY Cares by MSN Foundation encourages our families and communities to stand with DILG’s campaign in fortifying the drug reduction activities of local government sectors; disseminating awareness through different online and offline material; ensuring the commitment of the national government units and encouraging partnership with various organizations.

To learn more about the foundation and its other programs, visit:

Cherry Cares by MSN Foundation Inc. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CherryCaresbyMSNFI

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CHERRY caRES is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principle of Cherry Mobile that stands for Customers, nAtural Resources, Employees, and Society. It embodies the deep desire of the company to give back, share, care, and create a positive impact not just for its own people but more for the greater whole. Since 2011, CHERRY caREs laid the groundwork for the establishment of MSN Foundation, now the corporate foundation of CHERRY. It has spun various education, health, environment, livelihood, and community development programs in the hope of improving lives and igniting change in the nation one community at a time.

DOH launches multi-sectoral initiative to eradicate tuberculosis

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The Department of Health (DOH) has launched the Philippine Acceleration Action Plan for Tuberculosis (PAAP-TB), a multisectoral initiative to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) in the country by 2035. The DOH together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), through the PAAP-TB aims to provide wider access to health services, and improved education and public information, social protection, and labor protection to eradicate TB by 2030.

OIC Secretary of Health – Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire delivers opening remarks on the importance of TB eradication and building a healthy population

Tuberculosis is a chronic communicable disease that comes second only to COVID-19 as a leading cause of mortality from a single infectious organism. According to the Global TB Report 2022, the disease accounted for 1.6 million deaths in 2021. In a preliminary report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) this year, TB continues to rank 11th among the causes of death in the Filipino population.

TB elimination entails improving access to TB services, and addressing the social, economic, and physical determinants that significantly affect its occurrence, transmission, and even treatment. “In addressing these social determinants of health, we enjoin all our sectoral stakeholders for synergistic solutions to overcrowding, low education, malnutrition, and ultimately poverty. Our collective interventions will make TB services equitable, especially for the poor,” said Officer-in-Charge Secretary Dr. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire.

The PAAP-TB aims to address the nation's TB epidemic by re-examining current programs and initiatives of National Coordinating Committee for Tuberculosis (TB-NCC) member organizations. Together, these collaborating sectors will provide an action plan and involve the private sector and organizations to achieve the program's goals over two medium terms.

OIC Secretary of Health – Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire and Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. present the PAAP-TB document

Also present at the event were representatives from various sectors committed to eradicating TB in the Philippines, Department of Health Assistant Secretary Beverly Ho, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., DSWD Assistant Secretary Janet Armas, DOLE Executive Director for the Occupational Safety and Health Center Ma. Teresita Cucueco, and FDA Director IV Jesusa Joyce Cirunay.

Department of Social Welfare and Development Assistant Secretary Janet Armas during the press conference at the Philippine Acceleration Action Plan for Tuberculosis (PAAP-TB) initiative

“By engaging multiple disciplines, organizations, sectors, and partners can combine strengths and leverage resources, expertise, and knowledge, while addressing the social, environmental, economic, and political systemic drivers that influence behaviors and prevent the effective delivery of health policies and interventions,” said Officer-In-Charge Singh-Vergeire.

FDA Director IV Jesusa Joyce N. Cirunay delivers pledge of support for the elimination of TB in the Philippines

USAID Philippines Deputy Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks delivers pledge of support for the elimination of TB in the Philippines

The PAAP-TB document has been developed with technical support from the USAID’s TB Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening Project implemented by FHI 360.

Mobile learning package Text2Teach celebrates 10th Anniversary

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Ayala Foundation, DILG, DepEd, ULAP, Microsoft and Globe sign commitment to bring tech innovation to all Philippine public elementary schools.

Mobile learning package Text2Teach celebrates its 10th year Thursday June 19, 2014. In line with the anniversary, Ayala Foundation, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Education (DepEd), Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) , Microsoft, and Globe Telecom have signed a commitment to mainstream Text2Teach, implementing it in all 38,000 public schools across the country. Text2Teach uses Lumia Devices installed with the Microsoft Education Delivery (MED) software application. MED harnesses mobile devices, networks, applications and cloud technology to deliver more than 300 educational video materials on grade 5 and 6 Math, Science, English, and Values Education even in remote communities. It comes with a Globe prepaid SIM and a 32-inch LED Toshiba TV that will play the videos for classroom use.

To mainstream the program, Text2Teach works closely with ULAP and the DILG in advocating and sharing the program with local government units. ULAP will hold advocacy workshops with LGUs and highlight the benefits of Text2Teach.

In addition to this, Ayala Foundation, with its aim to reach all public elementary schools in the Philippines, will conduct capability-building training sessions for all 203 local DepEd divisions, which in turn will train teachers in their respective areas to implement the Text2Teach program.

In celebration of Text2Teach's 10th anniversary, representatives from the Text2Teach Alliance sign a commitment to mainstream the project into the public elementary school system. From left: Czarina Medina-Guce, Executive Director, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines; Ana Bonagua, Director, Bureau of Local Government Development, Department of Interior and Local Government; Dina Ocampo, Undersecretary for Projects and Programs, Department of Education; Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation; Ernest Cu, President and CEO, Globe Telecom; Sanna Eskalinen, Global Lead for Social Solutions, Microsoft; and Rowena Lopez, Senior Director for Programs, Ayala Foundation.

As part of its mainstreaming efforts, Text2Teach will also have all its materials and content available for DepEd teachers, through DepEd’s Learning Resource Management and Development System (LRMDS) portal. Videos, teaching guides, and other Text2Teach materials will be made available online as supplemental guides for teachers.

Text2Teach will also receive a system upgrade using Microsoft’s new devices. Text2Teach schools will be using Lumia Devices, which run on Windows OS8.1. The MED application where the Text2Teach videos are sent and stored will be updated with a new user-friendly interface. Additional features also include the ability to comment and ask questions about the media files. Text 2Teach will also make use of the mirroring function of the Lumia Devices, with the help of a dongle connected to the television. This means that teachers no longer need to hook up the phone to the 32-inch LED Toshiba television through a cable connector. Through its mirroring function, teachers can wirelessly connect their phones to the television and play the Text2Teach videos.

Text2Teach is the Philippine name of the global program BridgeIT conceptualized by Nokia, Pearson, the International Youth Foundation, and the United Nations Development Programme. The Philippines has the longest-running Bridge IT program from among 12 countries in the world. Last year it was hailed by Nominet Trust, a UK funder for tech projects, as one of the 100 most inspiring social tech innovations. It was also identified as one of the ten “Exemplary Information Communications Technology Innovations for Education” at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forum on ICT in Education held at Shenzhen, China last 2013. This year, Text2Teach received a Merit Award for Best Community Program at the 6th Annual Global CSR Summit and Awards in Bali, Indonesia.

The use of Text2Teach has shown improvement in student’s performance and National Achievement Test scores. It has fostered positive attitudes towards learning and the use of technology for teaching. The program’s impact can be seen in disadvantaged schools, thus helping bridge the social gap. To date, Text2Teach has served over 300, 000 students from 1,103 schools nationwide, covering a total of 78 cities and municipalities.

The mainstreaming of Text2Teach marks the fifth phase of the program, led by the partnership among DepEd, DILG, Microsoft, Globe, ULAP and the Ayala Foundation. The success of Text2Teach is also credited to Toshiba and Pearson Foundation who have supported the program in its earlier phases. Text2Teach also thanks the teachers, students, and volunteers who continue to believe in the program.

Be a part of Text2Teach! The program is open to groups and organizations who wish to become a partner in mainstreaming the program.

For more information on Text2Teach visit http://www.text2teach.org.ph/

or email info@ayalafoundation.org

About AYALA FOUNDATION

Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) envisions communities where people are productive, creative, self-reliant, and proud to be Filipino. As a believer in creating shared value and inclusive business, it has four key program areas— Education, Youth Leadership, Sustainable Livelihood, and Arts and Culture. AFI is a member of the Ayala group of companies.

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