MEGA GLOBAL: Championing the Filipino Family

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Mega Global’s extensive line of premium brands—Mega Sardines, Mega Creations, Valley Farm and Oh My Ulam!

Mega Global has been winning the hearts of Filipino families from one generation to another for almost 40 years. Aside from providing high-quality, value-for-money products, the country’s top manufacturer of ready-to-eat viands and canned goods strives to enrich people’s lives with its relentless efforts to bring forward several improvements and innovations in terms of packaging and food technology.

As a result, Filipino consumers have professed their loyalty to the brand, praising its commitment towards a rewarding and engaging dining experience for contemporary Filipino families who have to deal with the pressure of adapting to modern lifestyle and crammed schedules.

This persistence to strike a balance between convenience and quality has made Mega Global products a lifesaver, establishing a strong foothold among varying markets across the nation. 

Mega Global’s extensive line of premium brands—Mega Sardines, Mega Creations, Valley Farm and Oh My Ulam!—have become an integral part of our daily food consumption. Each brand offers a unique way of capturing the sensibility and emotional affinity inherent to family-loving Filipinos.

Healthy and Natural

Over the years, Mega Sardines has earned a reputation of being the Top of Mind choice of most households that prefer high-quality and great-tasting canned sardines. Conchita Mae Suarez, a housewife and a mother of three kids, can attest to this claim. “I’ve always been a firm believer of Mega Sardines,” she relates. “My husband and kids are familiar with its taste. They really love it when sautéed with garlic and onions. And now that I've discovered that it can also be added to our regular dishes like Misua and Caldereta, it is my new cooking partner "

To date, Mega Sardines remains to be a dominant canned sardines brand in the domestic market, offering the freshest and healthiest options for trendy moms who are protective of their families. It can also be used as a special ingredient to a variety of home-cooked dishes, therefore emphasizing its versatile qualities as a culinary recipe. As the local parlance goes, “sari-sari ang sarap”.

One of its popular variants, Mega Sardines in Tomato Sauce has no preservatives and is ready to eat. The catching-to-canning process is completed within 12 hours from catching, minimizing histamine levels and delivering the optimal amounts of protein, calcium and Omega 3 oils—essential nutrients that reduce the risk of heart problems.

Variety

Sheila Caliboso, a licensed architect from Quezon City, sometimes finds it hard to cook meals due to her hectic schedule. “My travel time from Taguig to Fairview vice-versa is pretty challenging,” says the mom of 2 kids. “Thank goodness for Valley Farm and Mega Creations, I can now prepare hearty meals for my children without having to worry about time.”

Valley Farm, Mega Global’s latest offering in the canned food market, takes pride in their positioning as the only luncheon meat in the Philippines with real meat chunks. With its meat chunks blended in selected spices, Valley Farm gives kids the best-tasting luncheon meat that they can enjoy in all meals, most especially during breakfasts. “I’ve tried making a Luncheon Meat Maki out of Valley Farm,” Ms. Caliboso narrates. “The kids instantly fell in love with it, and so as their classmates. I had to prepare more servings because they like to share and give back. It was a heart-warming experience.”

Sheila Caliboso also shares her experience with Mega Creations, another culinary sardine line of Mega Global. “On weekends, I usually experiment with the dishes I serve to my family, and Mega Creations really helped me discover new ways on how to innovate my cooking,” she enthuses. “So far, I’ve done Fried Sardine Gyoza, Escabeche Sardine Patties, Aglio Olio and a bunch of gourmet dishes using Mega Creations Spanish Style and Mega Creations Natural Oil.”

Mega Creations, a non-tomato based sardine brand, is more than just a versatile culinary component that you can use to complement any dish. It also offers basic ready-to-eat convenience for moms who consider cooking as an expression of love and happiness.

Utmost Convenience and Value For Money

For working adults who are entangled with the fast-paced facets of modern living, Mega Global has another surprise right up your alley. Oh My Ulam!, another entry in the ready-to-eat viand market, is the only brand that comes with the convenience of easy-open can packaging. It takes pride in being the only ready-to-eat ulam that uses real meat and spices for that authentic home-cooked experience. 

Call center agent Jeremy Sinco brings one to the office whenever he’s in a hurry. “Oh My Ulam! tastes like something my lovely mom would cook for us during lunch or dinner,” Sinco tells us. “It’s easy to open. I can eat it anywhere, anytime I want”.

With a lot of Filipino BPO professionals pressured by the demands of the industry, there is simply no other brand that is as convenient, time-saving and "sulit" as Oh My Ulam, which comes in 3 variants namely Lechon Paksiw, Pork Adobo and Mechado. Sinco further reiterates, “You have to try Oh My Ulam Pork Adobo. I tried making Adobo rice using it. And guess what? My family thought it was the real deal. They absolutely enjoyed every bit of that meal.” 

No other brand brings real value in what consumers buy other than Oh My Ulam.

DepEd strengthens readiness of public schools along East & West Valley faults

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In ensuring the safety of students and teachers, the Department of Education (DepEd) convened with its officials, principals, Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) coordinators from the National Capital Region and CALABARZON, and representatives from Phivolcs to boost readiness of the schools along the East and West Valley faults.

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC underscored the importance of strong leadership in disaster preparedness, “As principals, you are the leaders on the ground. While it is not in your job description, I know it is ingrained in your heart: to take care of school, students, and teachers during disasters.” He added that school heads need to be prepared and to have a “strong heart and clear head” during any disasters.

Luistro said that the foundation of strong leadership during disasters is having the right information. He encouraged the school heads to be updated and to have the correct information on DRRM, saying, “You have to be able to communicate to the parents, students, and teachers the right information to properly gear up the community for any possible disasters.”

“Bago pumasok ang estudyante sa June 1, lahat kayo dapat ay may sariling preparations in case the earthquake happens on that day,” he added.

DepEd Undersecretary for Regional Operations Rizalino Rivera said, “May mga nagawa na po tayo para sa patuloy na paghahanda ng ating mga eskwelahan para sa kahit anumang disaster.”

DepEd has existing and ongoing support to strengthen the preparedness and mitigation response of its schools and field offices nationwide. This includes quarterly emergency drill and integration of DRRM concepts in the curriculum. In partnership with other agencies, non-government organizations, and local government, DepEd has also developed learning materials that include understanding and preparing for the occurrence of disasters such as earthquakes. DepEd also has a continued partnership with Phivolcs in reinforcing and updating existing learning materials that will include engagement of families on earthquake preparedness.

DepEd is currently mapping and uploading these materials on the LRMDS for easier access of teachers and DRRM coordinators. The Department’s Regional and Schools Division Offices have come up with action plans for mitigation and continue to monitor and implement them. DepEd has also pre-loaded DRRM materials in all computer packages to be deployed to schools and DRRM coordinators.

DepEd is coordinating with Phivolcs in the revalidation of schools that may be transected by the possible movement of the West Valley fault. The schools initially identified are Barangka Elementary School, Barangka National High School (Marikina City), Anne Claire Montessori (Taguig), Alabang Elementary School, Sitio Karahume Elementary School (Bulacan), and Pedro E. Diaz High School (Muntinlupa City).

Luistro has directed DepEd engineers to confirm and validate the structural integrity of the building that may be affected in the abovementioned schools. He said, “Until this is done, the building will not be used for classes. We cannot take risks.”

Epson Ph Country Manager heads Region, two other sea counties

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Epson Philippines Corporation’s (EPC) President/Country Manager, Toshimitsu Tanaka, starting June 2015, in addition to being EPC's President will hold concurrent positions as Managing Director of Epson’s Regional office (Epson Singapore Pte. Ltd.), President Director of Epson Thailand, and Director of Epson Indonesia. The current Managing Director of Epson Singapore, Koichi Endo, will retire due to expiry of term.

Toshimitsu Tanaka, Epson Philippines Corporation’s (EPC) President/Country Manager

As reason for the movement, Seiko Epson Corporation (SEC) shared its aim to establish a management structure that will enable it to fulfill its goals as it enters the final year of both its SE15 Corporate Vision and the second half of its SE15 Mid-Range Business Plan, and that the movement will help it expedite management decisions based on maximizing corporate value and ensuring good corporate governance.

Mr. Tanaka joined SEC’s System Devices Sales and Marketing Department in April 1981, after graduating in Waseda University with a degree in Bachelor in Economics. 

From 1997 to 2003, Mr. Tanaka was relocated to Epson’s South and Southeast Asia regional headquarters in Singapore to lead regional sales initiatives as the Sales Director for System Devices. Within that period, Mr. Tanaka achieved several milestones, which included securing a high value Ministry of Education tender project in Malaysia in 2002 which entailed 20,000 units of projectors for classrooms. 

Mr. Tanaka returned to the SEC global headquarters in Japan in 2003 to take care of the Business Systems in the Sales & Marketing Department. After a year, he was promoted to General Manager, where he was instrumental in driving sales for the business products globally. In 2007, he was appointed as General Manager for the Imaging Products Sales & Marketing Support Department.

In July 2012, Tanaka became the head of Epson Philippines. As Country Manager of EPC, Mr. Tanaka strengthened the Epson brand, created new business models to fit the local requirement, and led the company in achieving market share and value share leadership in the inkjet printer, projectors, and business systems categories. 

Mr. Tanaka’s 34-year tenure with SEC and its affiliate companies, as well as his in-depth knowledge in the field of economics, served as valuable assets to many accomplishments during his various assignments.

Mr. Tanaka is married with two offspring, and enjoys golf, baseball, and skiing.

Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in printing, visual communications, quality of life and manufacturing. Epson’s lineup ranges from inkjet printers, printing systems and 3LCD projectors to industrial robots, smart glasses and sensing systems and is based on original compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies. 

Health News: Polident embarks on denture care awareness campaign

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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), in collaboration with the Philippine Prosthodontic Society (PPS) recently (May 15) launched a metro-wide advocacy campaign to promote proper denture care among Filipinos to help them rediscover uninhibited joy and regain the confidence to eat, speak and smile. 

The latest study revealed that 9 million Filipinos wear dentures, making the Philippines the country with the highest incidence of denture wearers in Asia. Filipinos who wear dentures are mostly in the 35-69 year-old age group, wear false teeth, whether full, half, or partial.

SMILING WITH CONFIDENCE (from left); Jeoffrey Yulo, general manager of GSK Consumer Healthcare in the Philippines; Isabel Marfori, Polident product manager, Dr. Liezl Manaloto-Ceballos, president of the Philippine Prosthodontic Society; Gikki Martija, marketing director of GSK Consumer Healthcare; Heather Pelier, general manager-Elect of GSK Consumer Healthcare, and Eduardo Joseph Cimafranca III, GSK Group Product Manager

Major reasons cited are the Filipinos` very limited access to oral care, expensive dentist fees, and the lack of awareness on how oral hygiene generally affects one’s confidence and the ability to eat and speak. 

This was revealed in the study “Oral Care U&A: Market Understanding Study Middle East & Asia’’ conducted by Ipsos Marketing for GlaxoSmithKline(GSK). 

“The qualitative research titled ‘The Emerging Consumer Denture Journey,' conducted by Nick Newall and Rachel Kern for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) revealed that in the Philippines, majority of denture wearers are between 35-69 years old. Wearers have full, half, or partial dentures,’’ said Isa Marfori, GSK Polident product manager.

GSK’s Polident embarks on a campaign to educate the public on the proper maintenance of dentures to allow them to pursue regular activities such as speaking and eating without fear. 

Another study, ‘’Oral Care U&A Market Understanding Study Middle East & Asia’’ conducted in July 2014, also revealed that sixty one percent of denture wearers are female, while thirty nine percent are male. 

“The same study reported that eighty four percent of denture users reside in Metro Manila, with nine percent in Metro Cebu and six percent in Metro Davao. Fifty six percent cited careless oral regime as a reason for wearing dentures, while nineteen percent attributed wearing dentures to loosing teeth in accident, and twelve percent to illness,’’ Marfori added. 

STIGMA 

Nevertheless, a lot of Filipinos experience denture problems, resulting to loss of joy and confidence in performing daily activities such as eating, smiling, speaking and socializing. 

Dr. Danny Magtanong of the Philippine Prosthodontic Society said that over the years, there has been a stigma attached to wearing pustiso mainly because a lot of embarrassing mishaps are associated with wearing dentures. 

“It is not uncommon to hear stories of false teeth coming off while speaking or while eating. In fact, in YouTube, there are a lot of videos posted which show these embarrassing moments featuring people from all walks of life. Whose confidence wouldn’t be demolished once a denture wearer finds himself in this situation,’’ said Dr. Magtanong. 

The PPS official also noted that as a result of these humiliating situations, some denture wearers become very shy. “Others would cover their mouths while speaking, some would refuse to attend social functions. To be safe, others would not eat food that require much biting, thus they are inhibited,’’ Dr. Magtanong added. 

Evelyn Del Mundo, registrar at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), knew that the latent risk of dentures falling off could be disastrous to her reputation as a university official. “Since I face and interact with students on a daily basis, my dentures need to be solidly secure. It’s really difficult when I speak while my dentures rattle about. I especially become wary when I eat; I do not know what happens in my mouth when I chew: have the dentures fallen off? Was it food or was it my dentures?” admitted Del Mundo. 

Wearing dentures gave Lina Santiago, 32, a resident of from Mandaluyong, great relief from lacking the essential teeth to be presentable. “I could not get the job that I wanted because of my bad teeth. As soon as I got the money to finance it, I went to a dentist to have dentures fitted. True enough, I gained back confidence and more importantly, I found a satisfying job,” said Lina. 

COMPLACENT ATTITUDE 

The problems being encountered by Filipino denture wearers are mainly caused by complacency in consulting dentists and in engaging in proper denture care, the two studies confirmed. 

Dr. Magtanong said that generally, Filipino denture wearers lack knowledge and vigilance on the proper practices before wearing dentures, while wearing them, and before they go to bed at night. 

“There are responsibilities that come with wearing dentures, lack of proper maintenance measures lead to more serious problems like bad breath, swollen gums, or loose fit. While it is true that wearing dentures is tedious, a change in habits and lifestyle will help give back self-confidence to the denture wearer,” said Dr. Magtanong. 

Among these responsibilities is to make sure that the dentures are regularly and properly cleaned, and that they snugly fit in the mouth which only professional dentists can do for the patient. 

While forty nine percent of the more than 200 denture wearer-respondents in the “Oral Care U&A Market Understanding Study” have had it for five years or less, a high fifty three percent visit dentists only when they have specific problem such as broken or cracked dentures. 

“Denture wearers also lack information in the proper way to care for their dentures. For instance, sixty four percent do not remove it before going to sleep at night. By not removing dentures and soaking in proper cleansers, bacterias build up and cause more problems in the mouth,’’ the study further cited. 

Clearly, denture usage is very high but knowledge and use of products like denture adhesives and denture cleansers is low, Marfori said. 

“Denture cleansers are not very popular and most use regular toothpastes for cleaning dentures, which should not be the case because toothpaste contains abrasives that scratch dentures, leaving small holes where bacteria can collect and grow. Toothpaste also contains bleaching chemicals that may damage the dentures and whiten its pink portion,’’ Dr. Magtanong stated. 

On the other hand, denture adhesives usage is low because denture wearers do not see the importance of having snugly fit dentures. “As much as possible, dentures should be firm and stable in the mouth to stop food particles from getting into the dentures,’’ Dr. Magtanong advised. 

GSK, one of the largest global healthcare companies and is currently one of the key players in the oral care strategy, has come up with Polident, an ally of denture wearers in maintaining and caring for false teeth to give back to denture wearers their self-confidence and allows them to pursue regular activities such as speaking and eating without fear or shame. 

Polident is the leading denture care brand in the Philippines. The “Take the Polident Challenge!” PR campaign is part of the brand integration program that will alleviate the perceived complacency of Filipino denture wearers on their dental health. In collaboration with Philippine Prosthodontic Society (PPS), this campaign aims to erase the stigma of social, emotional and physical tortures brought about by improper denture care and will feature GSK’s Polident Denture Adhesive Cream and Polident Denture Cleanser. 

Polident Denture Adhesive Cream, for instance, helps secure dentures properly. Applying Polident Denture Adhesive Cream on the dentures once a day helps fasten it securely for up to twelve hours. 

Polident Denture Cleanser, on the other hand, is formulated to clean dentures, remove stains and kill 99.9 percent of odor-causing particles. 

Polident dares denture wearers to live a healthy life free of inhibitions by taking the Polident Challenge. For free samples and delivery nationwide of both Polident Denture Cleanser and Polident Denture Adhesive Cream, call 924-2475.

Polident Mounts First-of-its-Kind Installation in Manila 

• Polident mounts bigger-than-life inflatable installation in Metro Manila. 

• The installation depicts a denture biting onto a corn cob, aims to highlight the physical tortures experienced daily by denture wearers; which according to dental health professionals is part of the bigger torture problems – emotional and social. 

• There will be three scheduled installations in three busy locations. 

To create awareness about its metro-wide advocacy campaign promoting proper denture care among Filipinos and help denture wearers regain the confidence to eat, speak and smile, Polident, a product of GlaxoSmithKline, unveils a first-of-its-kind installation on May 14, 2015, at the Palacio de Maynila in Malate, Manila. 

The installation is part of “Take the Polident Challenge!” campaign which will run a series of educational activities in Metro Manila such as free denture consultations and fun denture torture tests like corn-eating contests and videoke contests. 

Towering at 30 feet, the inflatable installation depicts a giant denture biting onto a corn cob to highlight the physical tortures experienced daily by denture wearers, which according to dental health professionals are part of bigger emotional and social problems. 

“Wearing dentures is difficult and what Polident aims to do is take away the worry that it would move, fall out, and cause embarrassment. Dentures should not take away the fun out of enjoying their favorite food or singing like their favorite idols. Polident thus challenges denture wearers to do their everyday activities like eating, speaking and smiling with confidence,” says Isa Marfori, GSK Polident product manager. 

The Polident installation was inaugurated at the Rajah Sulayman in Malate, Manila on May 15-17. Other schedules were on May 22 to 24 at the Plaza Miranda, Quiapo, Manila and on May 29 to 31 at Tutuban Market.

Polident dares denture wearers to live a healthy life free of inhibitions by taking the Polident Challenge. For free samples and delivery nationwide of both Polident Denture Cleanser and Polident Denture Adhesive Cream, call 924-2475.

“How Deep Is Your Love” Iconic Song to be Part of Saturday Night Fever Asian Tour

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“How Deep Is Your Love”, the 1977 mega-hit by the Bee Gees, will be released as a single that will be part of an original cast recording of the Asian Tour of the stage musical version of Saturday Night Fever.

The Asian tour will have stops in Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and will star Brandon Rubendall who will play Tony Manero and Jenna Rubaii who will play his dance partner and eventual love interest Stephanie Mangano. The two will also perform the song on the musical’s official soundtrack (OST). The Manila leg, mounted by the Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group (ATEG) in close coordination with the Robert Stigwood Organization, will have performances from July 3 to 26 at the Theatre, Solaire Resort and Casino.

Everyone knows the song well. Originally intended for Yvonne Elliman (who later recorded "If I Can't Have You) instead won an award for Best Pop Performance by a Group at the 20th Grammy Awards held in February 1978 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 24 December 1977 (becoming the first of six consecutive US number-one hits) and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record 17 weeks. It also ranked number 375 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In a 2001 interview the Bee Gees'did for Billboard magazine, Barry Gibb reportedly said that "How Deep Is Your Love" was his favorite Bee Gees song.

Said Barry: "A lot of the textures you hear in the song were added on later. We didn't change any lyrics, mind you, but the way we recorded it was a little different than the way we wrote in terms of construction. A little different for the better, I think, the title 'How Deep Is Your Love' we thought was perfect because of all the connotations involved in that sentence, and that was simply it.”

That iconic song will make itself heard again to a whole new generation of listeners once the Asian Tour of Saturday Night Fever takes off.

Marie Rose, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, Mikkie Bradshaw, Jamie Wilson and Carla Guevara-Laforteza are also joining the show’s 20-strong cast.

Broadway choreographer Vince Pesce, Tony Award-winning scenic designer David Gallo, original lighting designer of “Saturday Night Fever” on Broadway Paul Miller, costume designer Eric Pineda and musical director Ceejay Javier are also part of the creative team.

The Manila crew is working in close coordination with the Robert Stigwood Organization whose founder, Mr. Stigwood, produced the original Saturday Night Fever film and its various stage incarnations from 1998 to the present. 

Director Bobby Garcia reveals: “We’re using a brand-new script (originally written by Nan Knighton, in collaboration with Arlene Phillips, Paul Nicholas and Mr. Stigwood) that brings back a lot of the grittiness and the coming-of-age in a tough world aspect of the movie. It’s edgy and exciting. It’s a completely conceptualized production.”

He is excited that the famous movie musical is being re-invented for a stage audience across Asia, and that “How Deep Is Your Love” will be heard again via this new cast recording of the stage version.

“We have a first-rate creative team and have assembled an amazing cast,” he says. “I think the quality of the show will speak for itself once it’s up on its feet. This production will be everything Saturday Night Fever should be.”

For tickets and more information, call ATEG at (632)650 5144 or (63917) 8381534; visit TicketWorld at ticketworld.com.ph.

Like ATEG on facebook.com/ATEGasia.