Country’s largest teaching institution joins the Globe PRISM program

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Philippine Normal University teachers undergo digital literacy training

Globe Telecom, in partnership with the Philippine Normal University, the largest training institution for teachers in the country, recently held the culminating activity for PRISM, a digital literacy training program designed to equip school teachers with technological expertise for effective classroom learning experience.

Globe PRISM Participants from the Philippine Normal University

As a strong advocate of education and digital learning, Globe designed PRISM, a professional development program to help Filipino educators teach for 21st century learning. This is in line with Globe Telecom’s sustainability commitment to empower every Filipino with world-class learning through technology in response to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 to “ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.”

Dr. Ester B. Ogena, Philippine Normal University President and Derrick Heng, Senior Advisor for Globe myBusiness lead the opening of the PRISM digital learning expo at the Philippine Normal University Auditorium.

“As we become more and more digital as a society, it is crucial for teachers to learn how to apply information and communications technology (ICT) tools in the classroom if they want to motivate their students to learn the skills needed to adapt to the digital age,” said Derrick Heng, Senior Advisor for Globe myBusiness. “Through this program, we are enabling the teachers in discovering new and exciting ways in which they can nurture critical and creative thinking among the students” Heng added.

The partnership with the Philippine Normal University has proved to be a mutually beneficial partnership in bringing world-class learning for Filipino students, with the PNU being the largest training institution of teachers, powered by the telco’s ICT expertise. “We truly appreciate and commend Globe for bringing the PRISM program to PNU. We recognize the need to transform the way we teach to meet the demands of millennial learners, and through PRISM, we’ll be able to better equip our teachers and educators,” said Dr. Ester B. Ogena, Philippine Normal University President. “We look forward to seeing more of our faculty maximize the use of technology in improving the quality of graduates and educators we produce. We hope to see a ripple-effect of having the PRISM program adopted to other campuses of the university, and to other teachers and teacher-educators throughout the country” Ogena added. 

The pressing need for digital teaching skills prompted Globe early this year to reach out to 1,000 educators from all over the country. Of the number, 250 teachers came from the PNU, contributing to a total of 800 teachers who have undergone the program this year. 

Through PRISM, the selected teachers underwent a three-week professional development program conducted by Globe. It included a two-day immersive bootcamp, distance project-based learning, and personalized coaching. A key component of the program is the Edmodo interactive social learning platform that enabled distance learning for three weeks with access to multimedia resources to guide them through the learning process. This also allowed them to collaborate with learning coaches and other teachers in real time. The program concluded with a culminating activity wherein the teachers showcased various projects on technology-enabled instruction through the application and synthesis of what they learned throughout the program. Teachers who went through the program have shown 80% improvement in terms of digital literacy.

PRISM is supported by Globe myBusiness whose mission is to help transform Philippine schools and empower every Filipino with world-class learning through technology. “We want to create a better education system and impact the lives of the students in the best way that we can. Students today are digital natives who grew up in the era of computers, mobile phones, and instant connectivity, making it necessary for teachers to be adept in the use of technology in order to guide the students properly in the use of digital information both inside and outside the classroom,” added Heng. 

Teachers who undergo the PRISM Digital Literacy Program are nominated by both Globe and the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC). The PEAC National Secretariat processes the nominations submitted by schools nationwide while a Vetting Committee, composed of two (2) representatives from the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), a DepEd Regional Director, and the PEAC Executive Director, is set in place to closely vet the nominated teachers. 

PRISM was earlier conducted in Metro Manila, Naga City, Cebu and Pampanga, and is on track with its objective to train 1,000 educators nationwide.

“This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” with Ken Chan and Barbie Forteza to spread love, tears and romance

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It is easy to love but not easy to forgive. How many times should we forgive the person we love?

Can love be sweeter the second or third time around?

Regal Entertainment Inc.’s most promising romantic film this year: “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” starring Ken Chan and Barbie Forteza.

A Film by Joel C. Lamangan, “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter”, touted to be one of this year’s much-anticipated theater release.

The cast of “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” with Direk Joel Lamangan and Mother Lily Monteverde during the #TTIBSBlogMediaCon held at the Valencia Events Place, November 3, 2017.

The love story-rom-com-drama film is the first big screen team-up of the “KenBie” love team which was tried and tested already in two TV series - “Tween Hearts” and “Meant To Be.”

“This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” is so much different from the pair’s recently-concluded soap in that the film requires from Barbie and Ken much deeper emotional range without sacrificing moments of kilig, joy and laughter.

In this movie, Barbie plays Erika, who has a crush on her classmate, Tristan, played by Ken. The two become closer, but Erika is left heartbroken after they part. Years later, as a reporter, Erika covers an accident which coincidentally involves Tristan's family. The call of duty prompts Erika to communicate with Tristan. The pair reconnect and Erika helps Tristan recover from a misfortune. But is Erika prepared to get hurt again? Will love be sweeter for them the second time? 

Also starring in the movie are Akihiro Blanco,  Sato, Niel Sese, Kim Rodriguez, Hiro Peralta, Fiona Yang, Yayo Aguila, Jai Agpangan, Jon Limbo, Rey PJ Abellana, and Ara Mina.

Direk Joel Lamangan and Mother Lily Monteverde 

‪Akihiro Blanco

Hiro Peralta

Kim Rodriguez

Jai Agpangan

Fiona Yang 

Kaki Ramirez

“This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” is set to open in cinemas nationwide on November 8, 2017.

Mr. and Ms. BPO Top 40 Finalists Revealed

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After a careful deliberation, Royale Chimes Concerts and Events Inc., makers of Mr. and Ms. BPO, finally revealed its Top 20 male and Top 20 female finalists after the three closed-door screenings held at I'M Hotel in Makati last October 7, 8 and 14.

 

Prior to the final selection of the Top 40 candidates, these hopefuls presented themselves to the Mr. and Ms. BPO Screening Committee composed of officials from Royale Chimes Concerts and Events Inc., former beauty queens, top-notch fashion designers, ace fashion and lifestyle photographers and beauty pageant social media influencers. 

#1 Nykhi Arines, Alorica Mezza

Here are the official 40 finalists of Mr. and Ms. BPO presented to the press last October 24, 2017 at Antidote Bar in I’M Hotel Makati:

#1 Derick Bocito, Teleperformance Philippines 

#2 Magic Sa-onoy, Acquire BPO Shaw 

#3 Lee Bueno, Teletech Pioneer

#4 Brent Selma, Opsify Cebu

#5 Job Aiax Simpas, NTC Voice Solutions Makati 

#6 Arthur Bilog, Sykes Asia PH - BGC 

#7 Iversen Vasquez, RingCentral EDSA Shaw

#8 Victor Relosa, Sitel Eton

#9 Ariel Noval, Accenture Eastwood City

#10 Simon Delos Reyes, Teletech Mall of Asia

#11 Al Calilung, Sutherland Global Services Clark Pampanga

#12 Yuichi Sekiguchi, IQOR Philippines SM Dasmarinas 

#13 Daniel Sindo, Acquire BPO Eastwood City

#14 Jonel Roncales, Teletech Mall of Asia

#15 Rnel Mangahas, Transcom EDSA Shaw

#16 Josh Perez, Accenture Robinsons Pioneer 

#17 Esthan Obusan, Acquire BPO Robinsons Cyberspace Beta Ortigas

#18 Giovanni Guillermo, Convergys Megamall

#19 Ronnie Cadag, Teleperformance Philippines

#20 Shadid Sidri, Stellar BPO Eastwood City 

Ms. BPO Top 20 Finalists:

#1 Nykhi Arines, Alorica Mezza

#2 Angelique Elizario, Microsourcing Inc. Ortigas

#3 Trish Cabilao, Teleperformance Philippines

#4 Christine Vigo, Conduit Global KGB Philippines Sta. Rosa, Laguna 

#5 Glydel Espero, Concentrix Tera Tower QC

#6 Abigail Chua, Sun Life of Canada, Inc. BGC 

#7 Jannies Alcantara, Teletech Sta. Rosa, Laguna 

#8 Julia Mae Mendoza, VXI HPI Munoz

#9 Andee Infante, ADP Philippines Makati 

#10 Shane Cortez, Startek PH

#11 Ja Maranan, VXI Makati 

#12 Khristine Dignomo Corpus, RingCentral Manila

#13 Jen Bohol, TaskUs Cavite 

#14 Jaztine Balagtas, VXI Panorama

#15 Airene Gogo, Teletech Mall of Asia 

#16 Danna Leviste, Convergys Alabang 1

#17 Jam dela Luna, The Results Companies Lipa Batangas

#18 Bianca Abejero, Sykes PH Shaw 500

#19 Winzel Magbuo, WNS Global Services Eastwood

#20 Micca Rosal, Teletech Makati

Upcoming Mr. and Ms. BPO Pageant Activities

Mr. and Ms. BPO aims to empower the candidates with a Mentoring Workshop composed of mentors for fitness and well-being, communication skills, emotional intelligence and modeling that will help them gain confidence and boost their morale.

The mentors are Jonathan Yabut (first The Apprentice Asia winner), Jun Macasaet (Mr. Manhunt International 2012 winner), Jennifer Hammond (Binibining Pilipinas – Intercontinental 2016), Mauro Lumba (Century Tuna Superbods 2014 winner) and Ruby Manalac (Emotional intelligence expert).

The 40 aspirants will also headline a Pre-Pageant Night at I'M Hotel in Makati on November 11, 2017 as they highlight the talent, swimwear and brand wear competition.

Grand Coronation is on November 21, 2017, 8PM at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Tickets are available at SM Tickets starting October 27 with the following ticket prices: VIP 4,500; Patron 3,500; Lower Box 2,500; Upper Box 1,500 and General Admission 750.

The Mr. and Ms. BPO pageant is for the benefit of Habitat for Humanity Philippines.

Follow the candidates’ journey on Mr. and Ms. BPO social media accounts: facebook: /MrandMsBPOofficial, twitter: @MrandMsBPO and instagram: @MrandMsBPOofficial.

The Mr. and Ms. BPO pageant is sponsored by Centro Hair Salon, Discovery Primea, EDC Photography by Edward Dela Cuesta, iSkin Aesthethics Lifestyle, I’M Hotel, K-Pub TriNoma, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Profiles Asia Pacific / People Dynamics, Unified Makeup Artists of the Philippines, Voyager Innovation and 360 Fitness Plus – Commonwealth.

Epson launches the new compact L-series integrated ink tank printers - Epson L-series Integrated Ink Tank Printer

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Epson, a global leader in printing technologies and market leader for ink tank printers, has launched its new A4 duplex integrated ink tank printer, the new L-series printers that offer one of the lowest printing costs in the market.

Sporting a brand new sleek design, the new L-series integrated ink tank printers have been re-designed into a compact size with the ink tank integrated into the printer, offering the smallest footprint amongst all brands of ink tank printers.

Designed with the customers’ experience in mind, its easy-to-use spill-free ink bottles offer users ease and convenience when refilling the ink bottles. The ink bottles are designed to prevent re-filling errors with each ink bottle nozzle uniquely customized to fit its matching color tank.

The new integrated L-series printers significantly lower the total cost of ownership to businesses with its ultra-high page yields. Each complete set of 4 ink bottles increased its yield to 7,500 black and white pages and 6,000 color pages to help businesses lower their operating costs. The pigment-based black ink also provides laser-like quality, making documents water and smudge-resistant when printing in mono.

The new L-series ink tank printers come with auto-duplex print function which affords users up to 50% savings on paper cost, reducing running costs even further. Epson is currently the only brand offering ink tank printers with auto-duplex function in the market.

Since Epson first launched its breakthrough ink tank system printers, the company has continued to provide innovative modifications to further improve productivity for business and home users. 

Epson’s long-term product development and manufacturing philosophy is aligned with the company’s motivation to innovate for the future to realize the company’s business goals, and at the same time ensure customer satisfaction and preserve the environment with its limited resources. 

“Epson printers have also taken steps to drastically reduce environmental impact by lessening the amount of consumables used. Compared to laser printer’s toner cartridges which gives low black page yield and made from more plastic materials, customers can print 7,500 pages with the Epson L- series resource-friendly ink bottle,” explains Russer Cabrera, Product Manager, Inkjet Printers, Epson Philippines. 

The new L-series printers come with PrecisionCore printheads for high performance, achieving high ISO print speeds of up to 15ipm for standard black and white printing and 33ppm for draft printing, for improved business efficiency. Delivering a maximum print resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi, Epson’s PrecisionCore printheads are composed of Micro Thin Film Piezo print chips for precise multi-size droplet control capabilities, ensuring the greatest details and extremely smooth gradations in documents or photographs. 

The integrated ink tank printers deliver exceptional quality black and white prints with the use of black pigment ink that produces water and smudge-resistant printouts. For photo printing, the printers offer outstanding lab-quality photos when printing on photo media. Large-sized photo printing is made possible as the printers support borderless printing of up to A4 size.

Additional features include a 30-page Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) for unattended scanning and copying of multi-sheet documents.

The ink tank printers support printing on-the-go and comes equipped with Ethernet2, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi Direct connectivity, enabling users to print wirelessly within a network, connect to mobile devices or print remotely from anywhere via Epson Connect, Epson’s suite of connectivity solutions.

As the brand with the widest range of ink tank printers worldwide, Epson continues to lead as the number one ink tank vendor, achieving the largest market share of ink tank printers among ink tank vendors across South East Asia. There are now over 20 million Epson ink tank printers sold worldwide since its launch in 2010. 

“We have redesigned the experience of our L-series ink tank printers to bring greater convenience and ease-of-use to users, as well as added new features that support the business needs of our customers. The new integrated ink tank printers are designed with the customers’ experience in mind to offer one of the lowest printing costs in the market. We look forward to offering solutions that support businesses by helping them to manage their operational costs and improve business efficiency,” said Eduardo Bonoan, General Manager and Head of Marketing, Epson Philippines.

The new integrated ink tank printers consist of the L4150 and L4160 models, and the L6160, L6170 and L6190 models.

Citi sees positive economic outlook in the face of global challenges, market headwinds

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Citi, the country’s leading foreign bank, remained positive on the Philippines while sharing its mid-year economic outlook for 2017at an event exclusively held for Citigold clients.

Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed welcomed clients to the event, and thanked them for their unwavering support and continued confidence in the bank. “Your presence here means that we have your trust. Without your trust, we would not have your business,” he said. “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be your financial partner, providing financial solutions that meet your needs.”

Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed (center) flanked by (L-R) Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines, Inc. President Lester Cruz; J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Supreet Bhan; Citi Philippines Retail Banking Head Rene Aguirre; and BlackRock’s Eric Mueller.

Ramon Tejero, Investment Product Head of Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines, Inc., provided an insightful overview of the Philippine economy in the 1st half.

According to Tejero, the tax reform agenda presently being pushed by the administration should help prop up the economy to a higher level. While the economy is still very much driven by OFW remittances, he said the tax reform with its aim to reduce income tax payments, can play a big role in boosting local consumption.

In the same event, J.P. Morgan Asset Management Executive Director and Southeast Asia Funds Head Supreet Bhan gave an outlook on Asia, while Eric Muller of BlackRock’s Multi-Asset Strategies Group gave an update on global markets.

In his closing remarks, Citi Philippines Retail Banking Head Rene Aguirre assured clients that Citi will continue to offer personalized services and deliver world-class investment capabilities through Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines, Inc. (CFSI), Citi’s brokerage arm.

As the preferred wealth management partner in Asia and in the country, Citigold helps clients grow, manage and protect their wealth, and secure their financial future with its team of experts, unmatched research services, world-class products, global access, and exclusive privileges and rewards. 

For more information about Citigold, visit www.citibank.com.ph, go to the Citi branch nearest you, or call (632) 995 9888 for more details.