Experience the great taste of winning in "Great Taste White’s Choose Great, Win Great Promo" with exciting gadgets, a brand new Toyota Vios, and great cash prizes!

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There's good coffee, then there's Great Taste Coffee ! Great Taste White is making everyday wins even greater with the Choose Great, Win Great raffle, its biggest promo to date. More than P27 million worth of prizes are at stake. 

Experience the great taste of winning in "Great Taste White’s Choose Great, Win Great Promo" with exciting gadgets, a brand new Toyota Vios, and great cash prizes—as much as P3 million for the grand draw winner!

The promo will have four regional draws in five areas: Greater Manila Area, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. 

For every regional draw, there will be one winner of P200,000 and one winner of P100,000 in each area. Two winners will also get their very own white MacBook Air, four winners will take home a white iPhone 6, and six winners will receive a white iPad Mini. 

The Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Promo will culminate in the Grand Draw where one lucky winner will take home P3 million in cash and eight others will get to own a white Toyota Vios 1.3 E M/T. 

To make his winning moment an even greater experience, the grand prize winner will get an exclusive sneak peek into the Pinoy Big Brother experience. Apart from the P3 million cash prize, he will also receive VIP tickets to the PBB: 737 Big Night, tour the PBB House, and get to meet and greet PBB: All In Big Winner Daniel Matsunaga. 

Universal Robina Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Lance Gokongwei (2nd from right) , Daniel Matsunaga, and head officers of Universal Robina Corporation, during the Great Taste White: Choose Great Win Great Promo launch held at the Crown Plaza Manila Galleria, Ortigas, July 21, 2015.

“Through Great Taste White: Choose Great Win Great Promo, we aim to let more consumers savor greater wins,” said Lance Gokongwei, Universal Robina Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer. “This is also one way to thank our consumers for making Great Taste White the leading brand in the white coffee segment.”

Great Taste Ambassador Daniel Matsunaga and Gelli Victor (Host)

The Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Promo is open to all Filipino residents 18 years old and above. To join, participants must simply collect five empty sachets of any Great Taste White variant (Smooth & Creamy, Smooth & Creamy Sugarfree, Smooth & Caramelly, and Smooth & Chocolatey) or one empty BigSAVE Pack. 

They must then put the empty packs in a plain white envelope with a piece of paper containing their complete name, birth date, current mailing address, mobile or landline number, store outlet where the product is purchased, and email address. One envelope qualifies for one entry, which can be dropped at drop boxes located in participating stores, supermarkets, and outlets nationwide. 

Promo period is from August 2 to September 18, 2015. 

Nothing is better than the great taste of winning, from small day-to-day triumphs to grand milestones. Savor great wins and take home the most awesome rewards in the Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Promo. Know more about the promo by liking the official Great Taste White Facebook page (@GreatTaste3in1).

Great Taste White: Choose Great Win Great 

Promo Period: August 2, 2015 – September 18, 2015 

Per DOH-FDA CFRR Permit No. 0577, Series of 2015 

Promo Mechanics: 

1. This raffle promo is open to all Philippine residents at least eighteen years old by August 1, 2015. 

2. There will be four (4) Regional Draws in GMA, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and one (1) National Grand Draw. 

3. Participants can only win once in the four (4) Regional Draws in GMA, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. 

4. Winning entries in the Regional Draws shall no longer qualify for the National Grand Draw. 

5. Non-winning entries in the Regional Draws shall still qualify for the National Grand Draw. 

6. If a Participant wins more than once on the same Regional Draw date and/or National Grand Draw, the prize of the higher value will be awarded to the winner. The prize of lower value shall be raffled off again. 

7. Participants shall submit empty wrappers of any of the following to qualify for one (1) Entry: 

8. Participants shall write down the following details on a sheet of paper. The paper must then be placed inside a plain white envelope together with the required number of Great Taste White wrappers. There shall only be one (1) Entry per envelope. Envelopes shall be labelled -

“Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Raffle Promo.”

· Complete name (same as valid ID) (mandatory)  

· Birth date (mandatory)  

· Current address (specify house number, barangay, street, subdivision and city) (mandatory)  

· Mobile Number or Landline Number (mandatory) 

· Store Outlet (where you purchased) (mandatory)  

· Email address (if available)

· Signature (mandatory) 

9. Participants may drop their Entries at the nearest “Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Raffle Promo” drop box located in participating supermarkets and outlets nationwide starting August 02, 2015 (Sunday).

©2015 Endemol International. Big Brother is a trademark of Endemol Nederland B.V., registered in the Philippines and other countries, and is being used under license. 

Great Taste White makes everyday wins taste even better with the Choose Great, Win Great!

Free data access to get more rewards - Safezone powers free mobile Internet for rewards app PopSlide

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Photo shows from left to right: Stephen Misa, First Vice President and Group Head, Voyager Innovations; Benjie S. Fernandez, Chief Operating Officer, Voyager; Yosuke Fukada, CEO, YOYO Holdings; and, Jim Sarmiento, Sales Director of Southeast Asia, YOYO Holdings. 

Getting free load by just swiping your lock-screen gets even easier because now, you don’t have to pay for mobile data fees as rewards app PopSlide is now fueled by SafeZone, the platform from Voyager Innovations that brings brands closer to consumers by providing access to the free side of the Internet.

With over 800,000 users in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, PopSlide rewards users who use its lock-screen application to display news, weather updates, announcements, features and advertisements. Once installed to the mobile phone, PopSlide gives free load to regular users of the mobile app as incentive.

Popslide is owned by YOYO Holdings Pte. Ltd, and by partnering with Voyager Innovations, both partners see further traction for PopSlide as users who will access it via SafeZone will not need to worry about incurring data charges.

Photo shows: Voyager Innovations and YOYO Holdings are bringing the PopSlide rewards app to consumers free from data charges.

SafeZone is an innovation from Voyager and it aims to connect businesses and customers by offering free data access to partner apps and sites. It is now the biggest community site as of June 2015 according to Effective Measure, with more than 2 million registered users and 6 million monthly page views. Digital brands that have partnered with SafeZone include the biggest names in travel, shopping, transportation, finance, and news.

“I’m glad to that we’re growing opportunities in the Philippines through our partnership for SafeZone. This is a good start, our first step in creating disruptive innovations in user experience across the region.” said PopSlide CEO Yosuke Fukada.

“SafeZone allows consumers to enjoy the best of the Internet without worrying about unwanted data charges. With this partnerships, PopSlide users can get rewarded more. ” said Benjie Fernandez, COO of Voyager Innovations.

SafeZone, is developed by Voyager Innovations, the digital arm of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), which focuses on delivering disruptive innovations for the rapidly changing digital world. 

To enjoy PopSlide on SafeZone, users may download the Popslide app from the SafeZone website, turn on the “Load Protect” feature to ensure that no data charges occur, and then use Popslide as they please. SafeZone is currently​ available for free to subscribers of Smart, Sun and TNT. 

For more information, please visit www.safezone.ph/free-services/#popslide.

DepEd Statement on Teacher Hiring

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In response to Senator Ralph Recto’s conclusions on the Department of Education’s (DepEd) teacher hiring as carried by the Manila Bulletin last July 19, 2015, DepEd stresses that we have adjusted and improved the qualifications in hiring teachers in public schools to ensure the quality of education in the country. In the last four years, DepEd was able to fast track its hiring process: with an average of three months (May to July) hiring period now compared to an average of 14 months before. With over 128,000 teachers hired from 2010 to 2014, records show that DepEd has an average of 95% filling up rate in the past five years.

With the improved hiring policy, the Department has faced a number of challenges such as lack of qualified applicants in several divisions. DepEd was able to address this through DO 22, s. 2015 (Hiring Guidelines for the Remaining Teaching Positions effective School Year 2015-2016) which aims to augment the need for qualified applicants in divisions with high teacher needs.

DepEd clarifies that the remaining 1,778 unfilled items for 2014 in DepEd ARMM will be filled with teachers while the said region continues to revamp its hiring process. DepEd assures the public that the hiring of the 39,066 teachers this year is ongoing and is in accordance to the guidelines set by the Department. Of these items, 32,730 teacher items have been approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and are ready for filling up. Through the streamlined processes and standards, DepEd guarantees the continued delivery of quality education through the hiring of qualified teachers for public schools nationwide.

Official sewing machine Brother brings out Filipinos’ world-class creativity anew in Project Runway S4

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The sewing room of Project Runway Philippines, the local adaptation of the US reality television series, is once more abuzz with activities as a new batch of up-and-coming designers from all over the country competes to become the next big Filipino fashion designer.

What better way to power up the fashion designing competition than to have Brother’s top-of-the-line sewing machines “run” the show. A trusted Japanese global brand with commitment to quality, Brother has the most extensive sewing machine ranges in the market consisting of innovative, easy-to-use, high-quality, feature-rich products designed to meet the needs of every sewing enthusiast or entrepreneur.

Brother’s NV55P Sewing Machine can be seen in Project Runway Season 4

As Project Runway’s official sewing machine, Brother provides the sewing machines used by the contestants not just in the Philippines but also in other countries where the show has local versions. Brother is also sponsoring the additional Php250,000 cash prize of the winner.

Brother Philippines President Glenn P. Hocson said, “Brother Philippines has supported Project Runway Philippines since Season 1, and we are happy to again be a part of this show which encourages Filipinos to come up with world-class designs. We always believe in Filipino ingenuity and creativity, and it’s been our pride and joy to empower Filipinos to maximize their creative potentials with the Brother sewing machine.”

Added Hocson, “Each sewing machine model is designed with the goal of encouraging users to be more creative and have fun while creating their masterpieces.”

Contestants are using the Brother NV-55P touchpad enabled (computerized) sewing machine, which will enable contestants to sew, quilt and do decoration stitches. The perfect sewing solution, NV-55P is packed with numerous features such as 135 built-in stitches, including 10 buttonholes which you can conveniently access from the touchpad. What’s more, the built-in lettering allows you to personalize different stitch patterns to create labels or monogrammes.

For edging, Brother also provides the show with the Brother M3034D easy-to-use home overlocker with multiple features. It allows users to professionally sew seams, trim excess fabric and over lock raw edges all in one time-saving step. It features three or four thread cut-and-sew overlock sticks, easy to follow threading, and a fast and simple lower looper threading system. It also has a free-arm or flat bed convertible sewing surface to make work a lot easier.

Notably, Brother’s reliable and award-winning products also include printing and imaging solutions, label-makers and their respective consumables.

Supermodel and fashion icon Tweetie De Leon-Gonzalez is host and judge of the fourth season of the show. One of Philippine fashion’s respected designers Rajo Laurel returns to the judges’ seat, alongside top fashion model and lifestyle writer Apples Aberin and runway mentor Jojie Lloren.

Produced by Solar Entertainment Group, Project Runway Philippines Season 4 airs every Sunday at 8 pm on ETC. 

OLX promotes the classifieds lifestyle to more Filipinos

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OLX Philippines, the country’s leading buy and sell platform, announced it is now focusing on leveling the online classified ads landscape to provide users with equal buying and selling opportunities. One year after its rebranding, OLX continuing making it easier for more Filipinos to experience online buying and selling.

RJ David, Managing Director of OLX Philippines

Reaching out to more Filipinos

Shortly after its rebranding, OLX established an office in Cebu to reach out to more users in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. Earlier this year, it also merged with another classified ads platform. Through these adjustments, OLX continues to expand its reach and make online buying and selling accessible to more Filipinos. 

“With the level of reach that OLX is attaining, we want to continue making it easier for more Filipinos to experience online buying and selling -- from the occasional sellers who are selling stuff for the first time to street-smart buyers who maintain a practical lifestyle,” says RJ David, Managing Director of OLX Philippines.

Photo: https://instagram.com/p/5L0jaaMJUo/ (IG:msmyrnz)

Enhanced user experience

OLX has implemented several product changes to make the experience more pleasant for their users. For instance, the platform is now highly optimized as the loading time of pages has sped up by as much as 70%. The sell form has also been simplified, allowing users to accomplish more in less time, such as selecting specific location for targeted queries and choosing item categories faster through the auto-suggest feature.

To keep the online buy and sell community vibrant, each ad comes with an improved report button that users can simply click in case they find suspicious ads. This is then directly sent to the OLX Support Team for investigation.

OLX has also removed its feedback system and reduced the number of free ad slots. “Implementing a limit to the number of free ad slots and removing the feedback system give us more quality ads and an equal selling opportunity to all types of sellers. At this point, our focus is to spread the buyer leads to as many sellers as possible,” explains David. Removing the feedback tool has increased the number of sellers getting buyer inquiries by 17% from 51,000 to 60,000 and the implementation of the paid limits has also resulted to a 38% jump from 43,000 to 60,000.

Amidst the changes, OLX remains to be a FREE online classified ads platform where all OLX sellers can still post items at no charge. Paying for additional ad slots is just an option since you can either delete items that have already been sold or remove inactive ads.

Making smarter choices

Steering towards helping their users become active advocates of the classifieds lifestyle, OLX has also introduced their newest content platform, OLX Yaman. This is where they can get first-hand information and insightful tips about online buying and selling. It will also be featuring user stories and lifestyle articles that cover various topics such as cars, real estate, travel, fashion, and tech. Users can already browse OLX Yaman through www.yaman.olx.ph.

Ultimately, all these changes contribute to the company’s higher purpose of providing an opportunity for users to make smart and practical choices that can lead to an improved life.

Photos: Arts & Travel Magazine