Philam Foundation and Happy Hearts Fund renew partnership for Pinoy children

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The Philam Group’s CSR arm, Philam Foundation (PFI), continues its philanthropic endeavours by continuing its partnership with the Happy Hearts Fund (HHF), which aims to rebuild safe, resilient schools in areas impacted by natural disasters. PFI and HHF recently signed an agreement for another joint project to build nine classrooms worth US$225,000 (Php10Million). 

The Happy Hearts Fund was founded in 2006 by Petra Nemcova after she survived the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Its mission aligns perfectly with the Philam Paaralan program of Philam Foundation, which aims to build classrooms in calamity-stricken areas around the country with the assistance of the Department of Education. To date, the program has constructed 101 classrooms since it started 4 years ago in 2012.

Present during the MOA signing at the Philippine Consulate in New York City were (from left) PFI President Max Ventura, Ms Universe Pia Wurtzbach, who lent her support for this project that will benefit her fellow “kababayans”, HHF Founder and President Petra Nemcova, Handang Tumulong President Nelsie Parrado and Philippine Consul Felipe Cariño III. 

For more information on Philam Foundation please visit www.philamlife.com

National Pilipino Protektado Day! Cebuana Lhuillier Insures One Million Filipinos and launches Cebuana Alerto app & MIAAPI

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Cebuana Lhuillier has declared July 21 as the National Pilipino Protektado Day as part of the company’s advocacy to build disaster-resilient communities and help the Insurance Commission achieve its vision of protecting 80% of the Filipinos with microinsurance by 2020 and continuing helping Filipinos be more disaster-resilient and prepared against various calamities.

One million Filipinos officially joined the country’s rally to be a fully-insured nation as Cebuana Lhuillier—the Philippines’ leading microfinancial company—provides free microinsurance through its National Pilipino Protektado Day campaign.

“For the past years, we’ve been constantly just introducing new and innovative products and services to the public to be able to help them be financially included. This time, with our National Pilipino Protektado Day campaign, we decided to take a bolder step and took the initiative to really touch ground with those who are most vulnerable to calamities and directly offer them free microinsurance as a new way for them to be secured,” Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier said.

In partnership with Pioneer Insurance and with the help of various public and private organizations, free microinsurance were given out across the Philippines, prioritizing the most vulnerable communities, families and individuals from the marginalized sector.

Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions General Manager Jonathan Batangan

Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions General Manager Jonathan Batangan reiterates that National Pilipino Protektado Day is only one of the company’s many endeavors in its push for disaster resilience. “National Pilipino Protektado Day is a great milestone in our disaster preparedness campaign. But after insuring one million Filipinos, we are on to more initiatives that will help us promote microinsurance and foster disaster resiliency. We are introducing an app, a microinsurance organization, and later on, a website--all designed to ultimately promote the welfare of Filipinos,” he said.

Cebuana Alerto App

Reinforcing its disaster resilience advocacy further, Cebuana Lhuillier has also officially launched Cebuana Alerto during the culminating event. An android app that harnesses the digital mobile platform, Cebuana Alerto is designed to provide real-time vital information about disasters within the Philippines.

Equipped with an interactive technology that allows users to share updates in areas affected by any disaster, the Cebuana Alerto app features an alert system that sends notifications to the user in the event of disasters such as typhoon, earthquake, fire, and flood.

It has live newsfeeds that show the latest updates from third-party government agencies including the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDDRMC) for weather updates, the Department of Education (DEPED) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for school suspension announcements, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for information on traffic and road conditions. It also informs the users about Cebuana Lhuillier’s various insurance products and services which they can also purchase immediately online through the app.

Furthermore, the app also includes a "Safe Button" special feature that will automatically notify and send an “I AM SAFE” SMS message to the intended recipient about the user’s current state during a disaster.

MIAAPI

Simultaneously, Cebuana Lhuillier also led the formation of the Microinsurance Agents Association of the Philippines, Incorporated (MIAAPI)—an organization founded to promote the interests and welfare of microinsurance agents nationwide.

MIAAPI interim Board Members include ASEAN Insurance Council Head Michael Rellosa, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) RFPA Asia Senior Adviser Dante Portula, Pioneer Insurance VP Geric Laude, Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines Past President Enrique Abellana, Philippine Insurers Club Treasurer Edgardo David, RBAP Coordinator Gay Mapano, Eternal Plans SAVP Jumer Lecetivo, Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation Executive Trustee Atty. Cesar Vidal, and CLIS General Manager Jonathan Batangan.

Moreover, Cebuana Lhuillier is also set to launch an online platform for insurance donations called OurHelp later this year. Connecting donees in the Philippines and donors from all over the world through a dedicated website, this crowdfunding website further aims to provide quality insurance protection awarded to the most vulnerable sectors in the form of premium donation from socially aware enterprises.

Prior to the culmination of the National Pilipino Protektado Day, Cebuana Lhuillier kicked off its disaster resilience advocacy by mounting and leading the highly-commended “2016 READY: The Role of Microinsurance in Building Disaster Resilient Communities” forum last January. A series of roadshows in key cities such as Baguio, Cebu, and Davao immediately followed to cascade the Forum’s learnings. Simultaneously, Cebuana Lhuillier launched during the road shows the Alagang Cebuana Plus Gold or ACP Gold—an improved version of the company’s premiere microinsurance product that already includes a microlife component underwritten by PhilamLife. ACP to date has covered more than six million Filipinos.

Epson Philippines partners with DepEd on Gift of Brightness program to provide schools with technology

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Epson Philippines has partnered with the Philippines’ Department of Education’s (DepEd) Adopt-a-School Program to provide Epson printers and projectors to public schools, to help address the shortage of resources as well as help in the delivery of better quality education to public schools in the country, particularly in the poverty-stricken provinces and areas.

Ninoy Aquino Elementary School, one of the school beneficiaries of the Epson Gift of Brightness program, utilizing the Epson 3LCD interactive projector in their science discovery laboratory classroom

DepEd nominated the beneficiary schools from each targeted area based on performance, with DepEd’s Bureau of Educational Assessment (BFA) providing a list of top ranking primary and secondary schools from 2015 to 2016. From this list, Epson selected schools located across the country and within Epson’s service areas, to help facilitate new user training and visits with the schools’ faculty members.

Epson will be benefitting fifteen schools with this batch of donations, bringing the number of beneficiary schools from the Gift of Brightness programme to a total of thirty since the program started in 2014. 

Fourteen schools were selected from DepEd’s list of Top Performing Schools for School year 2015-2016, with an additional school directly chosen by Epson Philippines to complete the number of recipients for the second batch. 

Each beneficiary school will be receiving an Epson Technology package that includes Epson Ink Tank System printers – the L220 Multifunction Color Printers and L-Series Inks; the Epson WorkForce M100 Single Function Monochrome Printers and Inks; an LQ310 Dot Matrix Printer and SIDM Ribbons, Labelworks LW400 Label Printers and ribbons, portable EB-S31 projectors and a document camera.

“Schools that already received a Technology package from Epson in the past years have relayed to us how much the products helped make teaching and studying exciting and enriching. These stories have inspired us to continue equipping schools that do not have the financial capacity to acquire them. We would also include a 1-year supply of inks and ribbons along with the equipment, to ensure that these products will help out in the students’ assignments and other school requirements,” explains Epson Philippines head of Marcom and PR Donna V. Ferro.

The recipients include schools from:

Ilagan, Isabela, Calapan, Mindoro, Balanga, Bataan, Lapu-Lapu,Cebu, Roxas, Capiz, Talisay, Cebu, Zamboanga City, General Santos, South Cotabato, Butuan, Agusan Del Norte, Baguio City (CAR), Valenzuela City, NCR, Paranaque City, NCR, Pasay City, NCR, Quezon City, NCR, and Las Pinas City, NCR.

“The Epson Gift of Brightness program is Epson’s way of supporting the development of youth and contributing towards the education sector. This is an ongoing advocacy effort, and we are always looking for like-minded partners, groups and organizations to help us select schools from all over the country. For this year, DepEd made it possible for us to access top-ranking schools who truly need the resources we can offer. It is our hope that their students will be able to continue towards a brighter future with the help of technology that can make their learning experience even more fruitful,” concludes Ms. Ferro.

Jollibee holds special movie screening of Ice Age: Collision Course to launch the Jolly Kiddie Meal Arctic Buddies!

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Here's the new surprise from Jollibee for Filipino kids as it launches its Jolly Kiddie Meal “Arctic Buddies” toys inspired by the loveable characters of the 3D animated comedy film Ice Age, now appearing on its fifth sequel Ice Age: Collision Course.

In line with the new Jolly Kiddie Meal offering, Jollibee hosted last July 10 a special block screening of this new chapter in the blockbuster Ice Age franchise at Shangri-La Plaza Cineplex exclusively for media friends and their kids. 

Radio DJ Tracy Abad hosted a simple program featuring fun games for the kiddie moviegoers, who won and took home exciting prizes such as the Jollibee Magic Tumblers and a complete set of the collectible Arctic Buddies toy line.

Ahead of the movie screening, Jollibee introduced Scrat Chat, a mobile game that allows users to use SnapChat and swap faces with their favorite character from Ice Age: Collision Course. Kids can tag @Jollibee for Facebook and Twitter, and @bestfriendjollibee in Instagram when they post the photos online.

Each of the Artic Buddies toys can spark children’s imagination through interactive play as kids create their own stories while playing. Aside from having movable parts, the toys have special features to support learning while kids are at play.

The four collectibles are: Sid Slide N’ Write with a cool pen to write notes with its perfect buddy, Manny Arctic Memo Pads which has an Ice Age note pad. For pencils that need sharpening, be sure to use the Scrat Rocket Sharpener. And finally, kids can get a stamp of approval for good work with the Buck Stomping Stamper.

All collectibles are included in every Jolly Kiddie Meal, packed inside beautifully designed Jolly Joy Box, featuring Jollibee’s iconic mascot. Inside each Jolly Joy Box are surprisingly fun activities that kids can play with friends including a board game, a word puzzle, and a game of spot-the-difference. The Jolly Joy Box can also store the Arctic Buddies toys when not in use.

Hurry up as these collectibles are available from July 6-Aug 31 only! And don’t forget to catch the much-awaited Ice age Collision Course movie, still in cinemas on its 3rd week.

Here's from Instagram : 

msmyrnzThank you @bestfriendjollibee for special screening
of Ice Age Collision Course #IceAge5 #IceAgeCollisionCourse
#jollibeeIACC
This is #Sunday well spent with famiy and#Jollibee
and with the whole #kiddie#collection and super hilarious
#family#adventure #movie #IceAge
#Thanks #perkcomm #enjoyingeverymoment
#enjoyingwonderfulworld #entertainment
#shangrila #premiumtheater #happiness

4TH Impact on RTL CBS Entertainment for the New Season of The X Factor UK

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Sisters, Mylene, Celina, Irene and Almira Cercado better known as the all-Filipino girl group 4TH Impact will appear in a series of on-air clips promoting the new season of The X Factor UK on RTL CBS Entertainment coming in August.

The girls catapulted to fame through their first audition in London with standing ovations and rave reviews from judges including Simon Cowell. The video of the first performance has received over 57 million views on Youtube. With their unique talent and guidance from mentor, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, 4TH Impact ultimately finished fifth in last year’s competition. 

Post the show, the group was part of The X Factor 2016 Live Tour that kicked off in February this year. The X Factor 2016 Live Tour is an arena tour which travels all around the U.K. Finalists perform classic songs and viewers’ favourites from the TV series. Attended by over three million people, The X Factor Live Tour has been one of the most successful annual arena tours in the UK for the past twelve years. 

Aside from the clips, RTL CBS Entertainment also had the opportunity to interview the girls about their experience during the competition. The interview will be posted on the RTL CBS Facebook page, www.facebook.com/RTLCBSEntertainment in the coming weeks.

The new season of The X Factor UK premieres first and exclusive on RTL CBS Entertainment on August 28, Sundays and Mondays, same day as the U.K., at 10:30am with primetime encores on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays at 9pm.