"Mabuhay Germany 2015 - Connect Now!"

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The German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (GPCCI) together with the German Embassy Manila, Goethe Institut and the German European School Manila will hold "Mabuhay Germany 2015" festival.

Less than two weeks until Mabuhay Germany turns Bonifacio High Street, once again into a festival of German products, food, culture and fun. The annual Mabuhay Germany in Fort Bonifacio is the biggest German-Philippine exhibition in the country.

Dozens of companies will showcase their high-quality goods and services on 21 - 22 February, while German organizations and institutions present their various activities in fields like development cooperation, education, and cultural work.

The weekend under the slogan "Connect Now!" will be filled with live music and performances, games for all ages like the German Chamber Bingo, and sport activities like the Run for Schools, making Mabuhay Germany an event for the whole family to enjoy.

Getting excited about German culture and lifestyle already? Experts from the Goethe-Institut Manila and the German Embassy will talk about the opportunities of learning the language and working in the country during a joint discussion, taking place on the main stage on Saturday, February 21 at 1 PM. The forum is entitled "Tara na sa Germany!" (directly translated as "Let's go to Germany!").

For more information on the topic, visit Goethe's new web project of the same name: http://www.goethe.de/ins/ph/prj/tng/enindex.htm

For more details about the program please visit: MG2015 Programme.

TV5 Opens Doors for Aspiring Hi-5 Philippines Cast

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TV5 opens its doors to all aspiring young adults who dream of becoming a part of the much-awaited local version of the world-class children’s program, Hi-5, by announcing its ‘one day only” auditions for the cast of the upcoming Hi-5 Philippines.

On February 21, TV5 calls on young adults, male and female, aged 16 years old to 25 years old, who love singing and dancing and at the same time, value the craft of acting, to take part in this one-day-only auditions. The Happy network aims to look for young individuals who can very well represent the Filipino community in this this local adaptation of the popular children’s program that will surely become a TV hit.

In line with this, TV5 has also formally signed a partnership with Hi-5 World last February 4, making this local Hi-5 adaptation possible. It was also during the contract signing where Hi-5 World GM for Global Sales and Operations Jaenani Netra mentioned her admiration for the talents of the Filipinos, “I think the Philippines has the best talent in singing and dancing”. She further mentioned how Hi-5 World is excited now that Hi-5 Philippines is coming to TV5. Netra also pointed out the most fundamental characteristic of what Hi-5 Philippines cast should have: “Being able to reach out to children is one of the primary characteristics we are looking for and we are excited to see the new show Hi-5 Philippines on TV5.”

Meanwhile, TV5 President and CEO Noel C. Lorenzana recognizes the value and popularity of Hi-5. He said that “Hi-5 is the best children’s show in the world” when asked for the reason why TV5 is doing a local adaptation of this iconic children’s show. Lorenzana also added, “Hi-5 is already a strong, successful brand that has been built through the years. So what do you do with strong brands? You capture its essence and don’t go against it. So yes, it will generally include the same familiar feel as well the same popular songs.”

As for the audition, TV5 Chief Entertainment and Content Officer Wilma Galvante said, “The message of the song and the music of Hi-5 will be there. Hi-5 World gave us the guidelines to follow aside from looking for good singers and dancers.”

This ensures that Hi-5 Philippines will not just be an entertaining children’s program but a local adaptation that will definitely be at par with the its international brand especially when Galvante mentioned that it will be faithful with the popular international show Hi-5.

So, if you think you have what it takes to become a part of the cast of Hi-5 Philippines, join the one-day-only auditions on Saturday, February 21, 10am to 3pm at the Studio 4 of TV5 Media Center (Reliance cor. Sheridan St Mandaluyong City).

Hi-5 Philippines airs this coming March only on TV5.

Globe dominates postpaid business with revenues of P29.9B and customers base at 2.3 million in 2014

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Sustains market leadership with the launch of the new MyLifestyle Plan

Globe Telecom continued to dominate the country’s mobile postpaid segment as it posted revenues of P29.9 billion ending 2014, an 11% increase from last year’s P27.1 billion. As a solid contributor to overall mobile business, postpaid revenues formed 38% of total mobile revenues in 2014.

Meanwhile, postpaid customer base has grown to 2.3 million in 2014, up 12% from previous year’s 2.0 million, with gross additions reaching over 830,000 as of full year 2014, 17% higher than over 700,000 a year. Postpaid gross acquisition in the fourth quarter was the second highest acquisition for the year, coming from the third quarter’s record-level gross additions.

“Our leadership in the postpaid business is clearly unprecedented, with sustained growth in this business and our breakthrough offers and innovations attracting new customers. Our modernized network is a solid advantage because it enables our customers to maximize their postpaid plans anyway they want it,” shares Issa Cabreira, Senior Vice President for Consumer Mobile Marketing at Globe.

In 2014, Globe led the postpaid market by offering a complete digital experience to customers. The telecom company launched innovative offers alongside premium devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, and the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. It relaunched its highly-successful Reset program for the newest iPhones, allowing existing postpaid customers to renew or extend their accounts to get the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.

Globe also launched its two (2) new Generation 3 Stores as a way to give postpaid customers a world-class retail experience. The Globe GEN3 stores are home to various lifestyle zones with stories and exciting features for customers to experience and enjoy. These zones feature latest trends in product, people and even in business. Various lifestyle vignettes illustrate mobile and broadband technologies as connected solutions—featuring the latest devices, apps, digital connectors gadgets and services that contribute to the total interactive customer experience.

Set to continuously grow the business, Globe also unveiled the Lifestyle bundles last year, which provide mobile internet bundles available for as low as P99 for 30 days to grow mobile browsing behavior among customers. Lifestyle bundles are designed for customers who access a few apps or sites specific to their needs at work, school or their interests and hobbies.

Read : The new myLifestyle Plan: A plan built for the way customers live today.

For more details on the new Globe myLifestyle Plan, visit www.globe.com.ph/mylifestyleplan, call 02-7301010, or visit the Globe Store nearest you.

Phil and James Younghusband invade entertainment world, show funny side of sports via TV5's YH Tube

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Football Ambassadors brothers Phil and James Younghusband now take a break from the serious sports stuff as they invade entertainment world. They will share some good laughs, pranks and Tagalog nose-bleed on their show 'YH Tube' on TV5, will be aired at 4:30 p.m. every Saturday starting Feb. 21.

“We wanted to show a different side of Phil and James. Everyone knows them to be two of the best football players to wear a Philippine jersey. They’re talented athletes and dedicated to the game of football. But this time, they get to show their funny side. The two are gifted with great personalities and they love a good laugh every now and then, just like everybody else. All these will come out in YH Tube,” said Sports5 manager Vitto Lazatin.

Phil and James Younghusband of the Azkals, will be hosting the YH Tube, a show featuring sports bloopers from all over the world, mostly from the Philippines.

For the famous sports siblings, the show is indeed a welcome break from their routine activities. For the past three years, the brothers have been teaching football basics on AksyonTV, in the segment FYI: Football Younghusband Instructional. Filipinos also known them as serious and dedicated athletes on the football field, as part of the Loyola Meralco Sparks and the men's national fotball team.

During the press conference, the brothers gave us a sneak preview of what to expect from their new show, and present us something we will really watch out, their tongue twister in Tagalog!

According to Phil, “James is only 11 months older than me. Para kaming kambal!” We see them as James spoke openly of his lovelife, having a non-show biz girlfriend for four years now, and Phil has become a master at evading such issues. As I was surprised, Phil was linked to the actress “Bangs” after his breakup with Angel Locsin! But Phil said though that "whatever there was between me and Bangs is now over and we’re just friends."

The brothers are getting relax and having fun with the media people - James was so cool, but when they took time out after the question and answer portion,  Phil Younghusband’s shirt was so drenched with sweat, it looked like he had just played a whole game of football.

We requested them especially Phil, to answer in Tagalog, and thanks there was no nosebleed speaking all that Tagalog during the press conference of “YH Tube.”

"Pag may time, acting acting pag may time," Phil said. 

YH Tube is a production of Sports5. Watch and join Phil and James every Saturday at 4:30 pm beginning February 21 as they bring us sports' comedy of errors on YH Tube only on TV5. 

Unilever, Smart, Cebuana Lhuillier strengthens partnership with a shared mission for environmental sustainability

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Three industry leaders—Unilever, through its number one laundry brand Surf, Smart Communications and Cebuana Lhuillier—have renewed their commitment to champion environmental sustainability. With their shared mission to improve Filipino lives, the partners launched the third year of their Sachet Recovery Program.

Through their joint efforts to create a process that is easy, convenient and rewarding, the program involves and educates more consumers about sustainability and waste recycling.

Unilever Philippines Chairman and CEO Rohit Jawa thanked their partners for their continued support in the endeavor to reduce the environmental impact of sachets. This, according to Jawa, is in line with the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan that aims to double their business while cutting their environmental footprint in half, and in the process, bringing a brighter future to one billion people worldwide.

“We owe the Sachet Recovery program’s success these past two years to the valuable contributions of Smart Communications and Cebuana Lhuillier. This year, their bigger participation will definitely produce greater results for the benefit of the environment and Filipino communities,” Jawa said.

Since 2013, the Sachet Recovery Program has been teaching proper waste segregation and recycling by encouraging millions of Filipinos to collect empty Surf sachets in exchange for free Smart texts at any Cebuana Lhuillier branch nationwide.

Unilever Philippines Vice President for Home Care Benjie Yap shared the achievements of the Sachet Recovery Program from the previous years. “In Year 1, we collected 4.5 million sachets, which we converted into 45,000 pavers. In 2014, we collected an additional 7.5 million empty sachets nationwide,” Yap said, adding that some of the pavers were readily donated to Barangay Union Coastal of Mayorga, Leyte and served as foundation to the environmentally-friendly laundry facility, Surf Labahan.

In 2015, the three industry leaders plan to make the Sachet Recovery Program bigger and better than the first two years. For every sachet surrendered in any of the close to 2,000 Cebuana Lhuillier outlets, consumers will receive 10 free texts from Smart. With this increased incentive, more people will be involved in and educated about recycling empty sachets.

“As we enter the third year of this worthy undertaking, Smart is expanding its support for this program. Starting this year, Talk ‘N Text and Sun subscribers will also be able to exchange their Surf sachets for free SMS. This opens the door to engaging millions more of Filipinos in this endeavor,” said Napoleon Nazareno, Smart Communications President and CEO.

Cebuana Lhuillier, on the other hand, will add newly-opened outlets to facilitate the redemption of Surf sachets. “Our growing branch network, which now totals close to 2,000 outlets, will provide a convenient way for millions of consumers nationwide to participate in the Sachet Recovery Program,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO.

During the event, the partners also donated 7,000 cement pavers to the Mandaluyong Elementary School. The construction materials—made from hundreds of thousands of shredded empty sachets—will form pathways to improve school grounds and make walking around the school more convenient for students.

Here are some photos during the event at the Mandaluyong Elementary School: