Be a Hero with McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys DC Girls and Justice League

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Be ready kids ! Here's an action-packed playtime with McDonald’s new DC Girls and Justice League Happy Meal toys. 

The set features iconic characters from the world-famous superhero franchises, including Superman, Batman, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl. Plus, gear up with exciting accessories like the Hawkman Mask, Wonder Woman Tiara, and Supergirl Headband.

Collect all eight DC Girls/Justice League toys, free with every purchase of a McDonald’s Happy Meal! Customers can choose from a Cheesy Eggdesal or 1-pc Chicken McDo during breakfast hours and 1-pc Chicken McDo, 4pc Chicken McNuggets, Burger McDo or McSpaghetti during regular hours. Happy Meals come with a choice of fries or corn and orange juice for a delicious treat!

Bring out the hero in you or your kids with the latest McDonald’s Happy Meal collection. Share your superhero bonding experience on McDonald’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/McDo.ph, or tag @McDo_PH on Twitter and Instagram.

Aiko Melendez In Her Acting Best in Wildflower

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Award winning actress Aiko Melendez now plays as the villain, the politically powerful, cruel character Emilia Ardiente-Torillo in the ABS-CBN revenge drama Wildflower, directed by Onat Diaz, starring Maja Salvador.

Aiko prays that her character, the politically powerful Emilia Ardiente-Torillo, who doesn’t mind committing bloody murder to protect the family reputation, stays on the set.

Aiko Melendez

Aiko who is a mother of two beautiful kids, Andrei and Marthena says, she snaps out of her character the moment the director shouts "cut."

She prays before and after facing the camera? 

“I am Christian, so I always pray, ‘Lord, role lang po ito. Make me effective without sacrificing my real being and attitude,” she says.

And because she knows the lead character is just as good as the villain, Aiko not only gives her all. She loves getting “meaner” by the day.

She also knows that Maja Salvador’s (the lead female protagonist/antagonist Lily Cruz) fans are cursing her on Twitter. 

“As the villain, I’m expecting the worst,” she laughs. And she loves getting meaner by the day. 

That means Aiko is playing her cruel character very well.

Aiko knows her character inside out. What she discovered about Emilia moved her to pity.

Emilia according to Aiko is a victim of circumstances, a woman pushed to the wall because of things beyond her control.

“I understand where her attitude is coming from,” Aiko says.

"I love my Wildflower team." Aiko is all praises for her co-actors. She admires how Maja attacks her role and her dedication to her job.

“Working with her makes me so excited. She’s the best in her generation. Maja delivers, and her acting nuances are great!” gushes Aiko.

She shared to us that they are doing the production, shootings everyday to offer the daily episode of the Wildflower series. 

Wildflower airs right after Minute to Win It on ABS CBN.

SCG elevates its expertise in building materials through innovative technology, creating world-class products for better living

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SCG, the ASEAN business leader with an expertise in building materials and sustainability for construction products and services, launched the SCG Smartwood and SCG Portland Cement to the Philippine market in a press conference held during the WORLDBEX 2017 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Philippines. 

WORLDBEX is the venue for the most talented architects, interior designers, exporters, and students to learn about the latest trends and innovations for the construction and building sector. 

This year, SCG showcased how an innovative and sustainable home can be both stylish and durable.

“At SCG, we create and deliver world-class building materials that truly serve our customers’ needs. SCG Smartwood, a superior brand of fiber cement wood substitute, offers a variety of designs and applications while at the same time extending the lifespan of a house for up to 30-50 years. SCG Portland Cement, on the other hand, uses innovative technology to boost its compressive strength, increasing its resistance to everyday wear and tear,” said Mr. Phaskorn Buranawit, Country Director of SCG Cement-Building Materials Philippines.

Apart from its durability, SCG Smartwood and SCG Portland Cement also respectively contributes to the well-being of the environment. SCG Smartwood lessens the number of trees cut for lumber, planks, timber, and other wood products. The production of SCG Portland Cement on the other hand, involves the rehabilitation of its quarrying sites.

The company gives importance to research and development of products, which aimed at creating more value for customers and promoting environmental conservation. SCG’s ultimate goal is to respond to consumers’ lifestyle both in the present and in the future.

“SCG Smartwood and SCG Portland Cement are produced through environmentally-friendly processes. SCG Smartwood is asbestos-free so the material is non-hazardous for our respiratory systems. It can also reduce the use of natural wood for over 90% of construction needs. SCG Portland Cement is innovative because it uses the waste heat power generator system in its production process. With these innovations, we hope to continue what we started in providing green and sustainable products to our clients in the construction industry.” added Buranawit. 

With growing concerns over environmental issues, it has been forecasted that there will be an increasing demand for spatial buildings and building information modelling which account for environmental impact before construction even begins. There will also be a rise in demand for sustainable cement and rustic wood aesthetic, creating opportunities for better and stronger properties for the future.

SCG has been an innovative leader in developing green products and services. In a sustainability report released in 2016, SCG identified how it is able to maintain its position as a leader in building and providing a better future for everyone by implementing green practices in its processes, producing world-class and sustainable products and services. 

“We have always envisioned an urbanized future for the world without damaging the environment. SCG Smartwood and SCG Portland Cement are materials for stronger and more sustainable homes and buildings,” concluded Buranawit.

SCG Cement-Building Materials is the official core business that supplies SCG Smartwood and SCG Portland Cement. It operates with full commitment to environmental friendliness and optimum use of natural resources in line with its sustainability framework.

About SCG

SCG is a leading ASEAN business conglomerate with regional focus, and established commitments towards business conducts that are in line with good corporate governance and sustainable development principles. Established in 1913, following the royal decree of His Majesty King Rama VI, SCG’s cement products were the essential materials for the construction of Thailand’s infrastructure projects during that period, which have contributed greatly towards the country’s modernization. Since its inception, SCG has grown continuously and has earned widespread recognition as a role model for other businesses, both locally and internationally.

Today, SCG is comprised of three core business units, namely: SCG Cement-Building Materials, SCG Chemicals, and SCG Packaging. With more than 200 companies under its umbrella and approximately 53,000 employees, SCG creates and distributes innovative products and services that respond to the current and future needs of the consumers.

SCG has been present in the Philippines since 1993 with more than 1,400 employees through its seven subsidiaries: United Pulp & Paper Co. (UPPC), Mariwasa Siam Ceramics Inc. (MSCI), SCG Roofing Philippines, Inc. (SCGR), SCG Trading Philippines, Inc. (SCGT), SCG Marketing Philippines, Inc. (SCGM), Green Siam Resources, Inc. (GSRC), and Green Alternative Technology Specialist, Inc. (GATSI).

In the Philippines, the available products under the SCG brand are the following: SCG Smartboard, SCG Smartwood, SCG Concrete Roof, SCG Thermal and Acoustic Insulations, and SCG Cement.

One of its CSR initiatives in the Philippines include the Sharing The Dream program. Now on its 10th year, it is SCG’s way of giving back to the community by providing educational assistance to underprivileged Filipino high school students.

About Mariwasa Siam Ceramics

Prior to SCG’s presence in the Philippines, its subsidiary Mariwasa Siam Ceramics has already been established. In 2016, Mariwasa celebrated its 50th anniversary in the Philippines and is continuously pioneered the manufacturing processes such as: production of vitrified floor tiles, big size wall tiles and 3rd fired ceramic tiles.

Pencils Without Borders

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MoneyGram partners with Black Pencil Project to deliver learning and teaching materials to schools in remote areas of the Philippines

Out of 30 high school graduates, only 8 to 10 continue their education and move on to college, while the rest choose to become farmers, casual laborers or decide to start a family at a very young age. This is the reality faced by the youth of Sta. Ines in Tanay, Rizal. It may be only a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Manila but it is worlds apart in opportunities. Situated in distant mountains of Tanay, one must cross nine rivers to be able to get to Sta. Ines Elementary School.

Out of the school’s 260 pupils, 40 represent Dumagats, an indigenous tribe with roots tracing from the Aetas. They were sea gypsies: semi-nomadic people who made their homes along the coast of Quezon. Living in a remote area, the community has difficulty in getting access to education. The mountains they live in may paint a beautiful landscape to the province but it serves as an obstacle wall to the community.

Thanks to the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, the elementary school in Sta. Ines was able to establish satellite classrooms in the Dumagat communities and worked closely with the Department of Education to a create a customized curriculum for the tribe’s children. Teachers of Sta. Ines also learned the Dumagat language so that it would be easier for students to understand the lessons.

“We can’t do it alone”, shares Sta. Ines Elementary School Principal Adoracion Valdez. “We need stakeholders who can help us empower the children and show them that it is possible to graduate from the school and accomplish  anything they want.”

Mrs. Valdez, the seventh of 10 children, said her parents had always motivated her. Despite being simple farmers, they struggled to be able to send all their children to school. “That gift is immeasurable”, she said. “My parents believed that education is the only inheritance they could give us.”

This belief is shared by 13-year-old Elizabeth Laurio, a sixth-grade student at the Sta. Ines Elementary School, who upon her mother’s untimely death last year, had to step up to become a "mother" to her five younger siblings. Many times, Elizabeth had to absent herself from school to look after the children at home.

Elizabeth doing laundry

Elizabeth in front of their house

Elizabeth lets circumstances surrounding her motivate her, even more, to continue her studies and fulfill the dream of becoming a teacher to help her family and many more children in her village break out of the cycle of poverty.

“Dreams are free”, she said in Filipino. “So I will hold tight to my dream.”

The solution

In order to help children like Elizabeth fulfill their dreams, MoneyGram, a global provider of innovative money transfer services, through the MoneyGram Foundation, donated P1 million to the Black Pencil Project, a civilian volunteer organization helping to promote primary education and welfare to remote and indigenous Philippine communities to promote children's primary education and welfare.

MoneyGram Foundation’s mission is firmly rooted in the belief that education is the key to better economic opportunities, healthier families, individual freedom, and empowerment.

The donation will benefit at least six barrio schools and provide at least 2,500 students from kindergarten to grade six with prescribed pencils, writing pads, notebooks, and art materials.

Aside from Sta. Ines, MoneyGram will provide supplies to the Ivatans and Ifugaos of Banawe from Cambulo Elementary School, the Dumagats of Rizal from Casili Elementary School, and the Aetas of Tarlac from Labney Elementary school in Mayantoc Tarlac. Other communities that will benefit from this donation include the Ivatans of Batanes from Sabtang Central Elementary School, the Palawanons of Palawan from Cagayan Elementary School, and the Mangyans of Mindoro from Sablayan Elementary School.

“This is our way of reaching out to our brothers from the marginalized communities to let them know they are not alone in reaching their dreams”, said Alex Lim, MoneyGram Philippine country manager. 

“We firmly believe that education is the key to a better tomorrow.” A belief shared by Adoracion Valdez and Elizabeth Laurio. 

“I know it’s possible. I’ve seen it happen in my life. I want to empower my students to do the same like my parents did once for me”, added Valdez.

About MoneyGram International, Inc.

MoneyGram is a global provider of innovative money transfer and payment services and is recognized worldwide as a financial connection to friends and family. Whether online, or through a mobile device, at a kiosk or in a local store, we connect consumers any way that is convenient for them. We also provide bill payment services, issue money orders and process official checks in select marketsMore information about MoneyGram International, Inc. is available at moneygram.com

About MoneyGram Foundation 

MoneyGram established the MoneyGram Foundation in 2012 to help children around the world gain access to educational facilities and learning resources. Its mission is firmly rooted in the belief that education is at the heart of better economic opportunities, healthier families and individual freedom and empowerment. The MoneyGram Foundation is focused on inspiring minds and improving lives and grants funds to deserving organizations with this mission in mind. To learn more, please visit moneygramfoundation.org or connect with us on Facebook. 

New Downy Parfum Collection Offers Freshness That Lasts Longer Than Expensive Fine Fragrances

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Downy Philippines unveiled an amazing #NEVERFADE window display at Puregold QI Central branch, to commemorate the launch of new and upgraded Downy Parfum Collection.

This window display had two mannequins, one wearing an elegant red dress washed with Downy Parfum Collection, while the other one had a dress that had been sprayed with expensive fine fragrance.

“We want to let Puregold shoppers smell and prove for themselves that the new Downy Parfum Collection gives freshness that lasts longer than expensive fine fragrances on fabric” said Shreyas Subbaraya, head of shopper marketing at Procter & Gamble Philippines.

Designed to match the varying personalities and preferences of Filipinas, the new Downy Parfum Collection features an upgraded formula of its flagship sophisticated scents: Passion, Mystique, Romance, and Fusion.

“The upgraded collection has the highest-ever intensity of premium perfume oils and the best dual perfume capsules technology in Downy’s history in Asia” added Mr. Subbaraya. 

Downy has also set up scent selector booths in leading branches of Puregold, so shoppers can choose the scent that suits them best. Shoppers purchasing P100 worth of Downy Parfum Collection at these branches will be eligible for a chance to win a full year’s worth of Downy.

This #NeverFade window display can be seen at Puregold QI Central branch until 18 March, and at Puregold Shaw branch from 24 to 31 March 2017. 

Follow the conversations at www.facebook.com/DownyPhilippines or at #Downy #NeverFade.