Robinsons Supermarket, DTI advocate buyers’ welfare with Consumer Corner

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Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and Robinsons Supermarket Corporation managing director Jody Gadia unveil a Consumer Corner which supports DTI’s endeavors to reinforce consumer rights awareness among the public.

Smart shoppers know how important it is to be meticulous in every purchase they make, from basic needs and household goods, to clothing, electronics, and other commodities. Not only should products and services be priced right, they must be of satisfactory quality and give consumers the best value for their hard-earned peso.

In line with its commitment to protect the welfare of its loyal customers and in celebration of World Consumer Rights Day, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Robinsons Supermarket launched Consumer Corner at Robinsons Place Manila last March 15, 2019. The corner was unveiled by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officials led by Secretary Ramon Lopez, Consumer Protection Group Undersecretary Atty. Ruth Castelo, Consumer Protection and Advocacy Bureau Director IV Domingo Tolentino, and Robinsons Supermarket Managing Director Jody Gadia.

The Consumer Corner provides everyday shoppers with ready access to DTI consumer-related information materials, which can help them to make intelligent purchases, and enable them to assert their rights and exercise their responsibilities as consumers.

It will enable shoppers to become more aware of which products are classified as basic commodities and are therefore subjected to SRPs. They will also learn basic consumer rights, including the right to information, right to make choices, and right to receive compensation. The facility also promotes awareness on DTI programs, as well as contact information for consumer complaints.

“Aside from advocating wellness and a healthy lifestyle among our patrons, Robinsons Supermarket is also about espousing smart shopping, especially among families. Our partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, through this Consumer Corner, will hopefully go a long way towards providing our customers with relevant and timely information, empowering them to become more informed and responsible shoppers.” said Mr. Jody Gadia, Managing Director of Robinsons Supermarket.o

DTI and Robinsons Supermarket’s Consumer Corner is available in all outlets nationwide. For more information, please visit www.robinsonssupermarket.com.ph or Robinsons Supermarket’s official Facebook page : www.facebook.com/RobSupermarketOfficial.

VIRTUAL REALITY GALAGA FEVER DEBUTS AT THE GARAGE IN CITY OF DREAMS MANILA

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City of Dreams Manila launches “VR Swarm Shooting Galaga Fever,” a virtual reality shooting experience as its latest VR Zone activity produced by Japan’s Bandai Namco Amusement Inc., one of the world’s leading video digital entertainment development companies. The newest activity at The Garage VR Zone, which is situated at the walkway of The Shops at the Boulevard at the upper ground, leading to The Garage VR Zone and food park is now available. 

Celebrating its 38th anniversary, “Galaga” is considered a classic video game masterpiece and one of the most popular arcade video games since it was first released in the 1980s. Taking on a new and exhilarating format as “VR Swarm Shooting Galaga Fever,” the game is set to deliver an action-packed, multi-sensory, and startling hyper-realistic experience through the top-of-class VR technology of Bandai Namco group.

“We are committed to provide compelling attractions for families and friends of different generations, so that they can all come together to The Garage and share a fun, memorable, and elevated virtual reality experience with the introduction of “VR Swarm Shooting Galaga Fever” and other VR activities. It’s an honor for City of Dreams Manila to strengthen its partnership with Bandai Namco Amusement Inc. to continue to raise the standard of innovative and state of the art entertainment,” COD Manila Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President Kevin Benning stated.

Up to two participants can play the latest VR attraction. Players will be provided with VR goggles and a VR gun, as they play atop an elevator that will take them 150 meters into the atmosphere, where they have to shoot down as many swarming alien attackers from Galaga as they can. The battle ends if the elevator crashes down or if the players fail to evade and be hit even once by the Giant Galaga’s beam.

The Garage also features another new thrilling VR experience, the Winged Bicycle. The two VR experiences by Bandai Namco group are the latest addition to The Garage’s popular VR activities: Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Ski Rodeo and Hospital Escape Terror.

Winged Bicycle, which can be played by up to four individuals, enables players to experience the thrill of flight through riding the pedal-powered Winged Bicycle. Players have to pedal with their legs, and fly over soaring mountain surfaces, plunge through waterfalls, and dodge rocky cliffs along the way in order to reach the floating castle within a certain time limit to win.

VR enthusiasts and their families and friends also get to enjoy The Garage’s gastronomic offerings at its food park, comprised of carefully curated food trucks and trailers: Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, Katsu Sora, Pink’s Hotdog, Little Flour, El Chupacabra, Pizza Grigliata, Farmacy, Chocol8, The Roaster, and Juiced.

The Garage VR Zone and food park is set in a 2,714-square meter cool and comfortable space located at the integrated resort’s upper ground floor. It puts into spotlight a new generation entertainment using top of class VR technology operated by Bandai NamcoAmusement, and stands out with its modern industrial interiors catering to a 563-seating capacity.

On Sundays to Thursdays, the VR Zone is open from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m., food outlets at 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and The Roaster at 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and on Fridays to Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., the food outlets at 10 a.m. to 12 a.m., and The Roaster at 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Single VR activity ticket is at Php 380; while packages are available for those playing in pairs or groups: Php 700 for two persons playing Ski Rodeo or Galaga Fever; and Php 1, 300 for a group of four playing Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Hospital Escape Terror or Winged Bicycle. For those who want to avail of three or five activities, the ticket prices are Php 1, 300 and Php 1, 650 respectively.

For inquiries, call 800-8080 or e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com or visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com.

Casino Filipino holds ‘Tanghalan ng Kampeon’ nationwide singing tilt

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Amateur yet talented singers in the country will once again take center stage at Casino Filipino (CF) this year as CF launches “Tanghalan ng Kampeon sa Casino Filipino 2019.”

For the grand finals, the nationwide singing competition will give away P300,000 cash prize to the grand winner; P200,000 to the second prize winner and P100,000 to the third prize winner with corresponding trophies and certificates, P10,000 and a certificate will each be given to the non winners. Meanwhile, for the Branch Qualifiers, the Top 2 winners will receive P 25,000 each and the non winners will receive P 5,000 each as consolation prizes.

The contest is open to all amateur singers with either Filipino or dual citizenship. They must be 18 to 30 years old as of May 9, 2019 and must not have previously won in any national singing competition.

According to PAGCOR’s Entertainment Department head Elmer Quintana, the talent competition will serve as a launching pad of many talented yet undiscovered singers who have what it takes to become singing champs. “Filipinos are naturally good singers. But not everyone has the chance to be discovered. Not everyone pursues a career out of singing. But with this talent competition, we give them the opportunity to shine on a nationwide scale. Hopefully, it will also serve as a stepping stone for their bigger dreams in life,” he said.

Interested parties may secure the official registration form free of charge from PAGCOR’s Entertainment Department and in all participating CF branches and satellites nationwide or may be downloaded at www.pagcor.ph and www.casinofilipino.ph

All applicants must submit a proof of citizenship and age such as scanned or photocopied passport, or in the absence of passport, a photocopied Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-authenticated birth certificate. They must also present a scanned or photocopied government-issued ID such as driver’s license, Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Postal ID with the official registration form or school or company ID.

Completed application forms with the required documents may be submitted toPAGCOR Entertainment Department, 4th floor, Carmen Building, U.N. ave. cor. Ma. Orosa Street, Manila or in any participating CF branch or satellite. 

All application forms should be received four days before the auditions. Those with incomplete data form or documentation requirements will automatically be rejected.

Qualified applicants for auditions, as well as branch qualifiers will be advised to report to the following venues: CF Manila Bay (May 14), CF Angeles (May 16), CF Bacolod (May 22), CF Cebu (May 29), CF Davao (May 31), CF Madison (June 5) and CF Malabon (June 6).

The competition’s grand finals will be held on June 20, 2019 at the Wave Entertainment Venue of CF Manila Bay. 

For more information, please call PAGCOR’s Entertainment Department at (02) 755-36 99 local 7001, 7006 to 7007.

A Little Goldilocks Goes A Long Way

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For the past two years, Goldilocks Foundation and Caritas Manila have been working hand-in-hand to help several communities around the country with their Integrated Nutrition Program. The Program aims to help alleviate the problem of severe malnutrition in children, especially in poor communities. 

The program began in May 2017 and has since grown to a stable outreach that has rehabilitated and improved the lives of hundreds of children. The program lasts 120 days and distributes Vitabread, necessary vitamins and supplements, as well as other donated food items to children, making sure to improve their health and nutrition. 

Not only that, Goldilocks Foundation and Caritas Manila provides the children's families with a Family Development session that focuses on health, nutrition, and livelihood. They also conduct seminars on proper personal hygiene, health tips and other related content so that their community beneficiaries understand the basics of combating malnutrition and protect their children's health. Medical assistance is also provided for free during the entire program.

The Vitabread feeding program recently ended their second phase, and Goldilocks and Caritas Manila are proud to announce that they have increased their beneficiaries in the communities of the Risen Christ Parish and Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish, both in Manila. When they started two years ago, they only had over 200 beneficiaries. At the end of their second year, they had a total of 618. The program aims to be able to help even more in the coming years.

Malnutrition is a growing problem here in the Philippines. According to the latest survey from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the DOST, 31.2% of Filipino children aged 5 to 10 are underweight and malnourished. The 2016 Global Nutrition Report backs this up, ranking the Philippines as one of the countries with the highest number of underweight and severely malnourished children. The Integrated Nutrition Program of Goldilocks Foundation and Caritas Manila is a step forward in helping Filipino children to become healthier and stronger.

SM Supermalls introduces SAM, the frst in-mall customer service robot

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Here's  #SMThingNew you can meet at SM Supermalls! 

As part of a series of innovations designed to improve customer maling experience, SM Supermalls raises the bar in customer service with the introduction of SAM, the country's first ever in-mall smart robot- launched at SM Megamall 

SAM is an artificial intelligent (AI) humanoid robot programmed to deliver a smoother, more personalized and eficient interaction with customers.

"Innovation is what SM strives for in providing better customer service to all and we are proud to introduce our latest innovation yet," said Steven Tan, SM Supermalls COO.

"SAM is easy to approach and has answers to almost everything SM mall related, making shopping more seamless and fun for our customers."

Now at SM Megamall and coming soon to other SM malls, SAM is designed to help with directions and provide mall information about the latest deals, promos and events. Equipped with an advance face recognition technology, it can also make personalized greetings to customers once they enter the mall. Customers can also chat with SAM through the SM Supermalls Facebook page. It serves as a 24/7 online concierge that can provide information like branch locations, mall schedules and promos, to name a few.

SAM was created in partnership with the Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines), which is a leading provider of electronic and original design manufacturing services.

Next time you visit SM Megamall, drop by Mega Atrium, Mega Fashion Hail, or Bank Drive and say hi to SAM for a more fun, convenient, and exciting malling experience.

For more information, visit SM Supermalls' official website at https://iwww smssmsupermalls. com/ , or its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @smsupermalls.