ANGKAS now ready for pilot run in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu

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ANGKAS announced that tbey are ready for motorcycle taxi pilot run and now retraining bikers partnets.

Angkas, the country's first app-based motorcycle ride-hailing service, is ready for its government-sanctioned six-month pilot run in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu with additional safety measures in place and a retraining of all its 27,000 biker-partners. 

Angkas Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs George Royeca said that they are retraining their current biker-partners in preparation for the pilot run and in compliance with the directive and recommendations of the Technical Working Group (TWG) created by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to study the feasibility of motorcycle taxis.

“The safety of the riding public has always been Angkas’ advocacy. All our biker-partners go through rigorous riding skills assessments, written tests, and extensive safety training to ensure they meet very high safety standards. We fail over 70% of applicants to make sure that only the most capable bikers ferry passengers for Angkas,” Royeca said during the recent press conference held at Shakey's Restaurant,  Roxas Blvd.  

For his part, Angkas Operations Head David Medrana revealed, “For the pilot run, Angkas is introducing special reflectorized vests with side straps that help bikers become more visible at night and aid passengers in holding on to the biker’s waist. Each vest also has the biker’s unique ID number, ensuring that only officially-registered bikers can take bookings.”

Medrana also said that, as before, all Angkas biker-partners and their passengers are insured for every ride.

“We also have a feedback mechanism in our app to closely monitor the performance of all our biker-partners and address any concerns immediately,” Medrana noted. "Hopefully, after the six-month pilot-run, the law to regulate motorcycle taxis can already be passed," he added.

Angkas has been an advocate for biker education and training since the service’s inception. Testament to their strict safety guidelines, Angkas officials have trained more than 100,000 motorcycle bikers to date but have accredited only 27,000 biker-partners because of their stringent standards. This has resulted in a current safety record of 99.997%.

In a previous statement, Royeca declared, “I am grateful that the DOTr saw the merits of Angkas’ safety record and we are happy to be working with them to ensure motorcycle taxis are safe.”

Jobert Bolaños of the Motorcycle Rights Organization declared, “The pilot run is the fruit of the long hours spent by the members of the TWG: Angkas, the DOTr, the LTFRB, the Highway Patrol Group, the MMDA, and all the hardworking commuter groups, transport advocates, and members of the academe. We’ve spent a long time working to figure out how to come up with a motorcycle taxi service that's not only fast and accessible, but also satisfies the safety requirements of the regulatory agencies as well.”

On Father's Day, show dad how much you appreciate his unique kind of love

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Whether he’s dad, tatay, papa, or itay to you, many fathers share one thing in common—a love expressed in actions more than in words. Since most dads are not very vocal with their feelings, it's also a challenge to find ways to show them in turn how much you appreciate their love and care.  

  

This Father’s Day, here are simple ways to express gratitude and show how much you appreciate dad’s unique kind of love with the help of PayMaya.  

1.  Give him a week’s worth of hassle-free rides  

The daily commute to work can be very tiring, especially for dads who have been doing it for more years than you can count. Spare him this weekday struggle by giving him hassle-free rides to and from work for a week.  

You can do this by directly purchasing Grab vouchers through the PayMaya Shop. All you have to do is log into  your PayMaya app, go to the Shop tab, choose between the GrabCar P100 or P200 e-voucher, and send it to your dad using your preferred messaging app.     

2. Send him some "allowance" for a special gift 

Remember all those times your dad secretly gave you some extra baon when your mom wouldn’t budge? Now is your time to give back! Send dad some "allowance" and let him splurge on himself for a change!   

Make him feel loved 3,000 times over by sending him at least P3,000 using your PayMaya. All that’s left to do is to include a note saying "I love you 3,000"—your dad’s inner Avengers fanboy will surely melt at that!  

Do this from June 14 until June 30, 2019 and you’ll get a one-time reward of P150. See? Showing dad some love has its extra perks, too!  

3.  Get him a much-needed shopping spree  

A lot of dads get the "kuripot" tag, probably because they refuse to get rid of a worn-out belt or a shirt they've had since a decade ago. Father’s Day is a great excuse to treat your dad to a shopping spree and give him a much-needed wardrobe makeover!  

Use your PayMaya physical card or #ScanToPay using PayMaya QR when you purchase items in department stores like Robinsons Department Store or The SM Store. You can also shop online and buy wardrobe must-haves on Zalora or Lazada. 

Get more bang for your buck when you use your PayMaya! Spend an accumulated P3,000 using your PayMaya physical card or virtual card from June 12 until June 18, 2019, and you’ll get a P300 cashback. (Then get yourself a little something, too!) 

  

4.  Treat him (and the whole fam) to a delicious Father’s Day meal  

Sharing a meal with the whole family is already a gift in itself. So make sure that you and your siblings take time off work for a delicious dinner with your dad this Father’s Day.  

Enjoy a hearty buffet meal in PayMaya partner merchants like Niu by Vikings, and #ScanToPay for your meal to get up to 100% cashback!  

You can also send dad something extra to enjoy at home by purchasing a food voucher from PayMaya Treats found inside the PayMaya Shop which your dad and the rest of your family can redeem at any participating branch nationwide. 

Know where you can make the most out of your money and find the full list of PayMaya’s partner merchants by visiting http://pymy.co/QRMerchants.  

5. Take care of this month’s bills 

Fathers take pride in being the provider for the family but helping him out once in a while will definitely put a smile on his face. Surprise your dad by paying for all your bills this month. 

Take care of your bills in the most convenient way possible when you use your PayMaya app. You can do it in the comforts of your own home or your office, and even get up to P500 cashback when you pay for two or more bills, worth at least P1,000 each.  

With most dads, it’s true that there’s no need for extravagance. They’ll surely appreciate the gesture no matter how simple it is. So while you honor your dad this Father’s Day with a meaningful celebration, let PayMaya give you rewards and discounts as well (just because you're awesome!). 

To know more about PayMaya’s latest deals and discounts, visit PayMaya.com/deals. 

Our Very Own Superhero

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Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. From policemen that keep us safe to teachers that help us learn new and exciting things. A Hero will always be there to look out for us. However, there is one hero that trumps them all, A hero that is ours, and ours alone, that of course is our very own Father. One that looks after us well into our adult years. A hero that has sacrificed so much for us yet asks for nothing in return.

Much like the hero that our dads are, Goldilocks, the country’s number one bakeshop aims to show their appreciation by introducing their Father’s Day Triple Delight Greeting Cake topped off with special Father’s Day themed Cake toppers. 

Treat the hero in your life with Goldilocks’ Father’s Day Triple Delight Greeting Cake, a decadent masterpiece made with layers of delicious chocolate, vanilla , and mocha chiffon cake which is then filled with luscious chocolate and vanilla cream icing and is iced with sweet chocolate frosting and vanilla icing and is finally adorned with intricate Father’s day themed chocolate toppers that show how much we love and care for our fathers

Give back to the hero in your life with Goldilocks Father’s Day Triple Delight Greeting Cake! 

Grab these and other Father’s Day gifts at any Goldilocks Bakeshop nationwide! For more information, you may also follow Goldilocks on Twitter or Instagram at @GoldilocksPH, on the Goldilocks Facebook page, or at the official Goldilocks website at www.goldilocks.com.ph

Sulit life hack from MayWard: “It’s all about spending your time online wisely”

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Manila, Philippines – Teen stars Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber, popularly known as MayWard, are among the busiest young stars in showbiz today.

With TV series and a lot of projects in the pipeline, free time is a luxury for the phenomenal love team. What’s a day like for MayWard?

“On most days, we’re on set or on location shooting,” Edward shared. “We spend long hours at work, away from our families. So, we really make the most of whatever downtime we get.” As an online gaming enthusiast, Edward likes to play during break times, and tries to teach Maymay as well.

For her part, Maymay enjoys binge-watching fashion, make-up and runway video blogs. In fact, she’s applying some of those tricks to her own runway skills in real life.

She said, “Minsan when online, yun na yung ‘me’ time namin kapag nasa shooting o nasa trabaho. Tapos siyempre kapag may break, ‘yun na rin ‘yung time namin para tumawag safamily at friends kasi lagi kaming malayo sa kanila.”

Digitally savvy as they are, MayWard makes sure to keep a balance between their online activities and nurturing their real-life relationships. “We definitely enjoy our digital lifestyle, it’s part of who we are and what we do,” Edward said. “But we also enjoy hanging out with our friends and loved ones. It’s all about balancing your time online and offline.”

“Malaking bagay ‘yung internet lalo na kung long distance ‘yung relationship mo sa family at friends pero ibang bagay pa rin ‘yung quality time na magkasama kayo,” Maymay furthered.

Aside from their showbiz engagements, the teen idols are also brand ambassadors of PLDT Home WiFi—the telco leader’s prepaid broadband service. It’s the ideal home internet solution for young netizens like MayWard because you only load it when you need it and there are no lock-in periods, monthly charges or bill shock from uncontrolled data usage. 

As brand ambassadors for PLDT Home WiFi, MayWard reminds their fans to make the most out of their internet connection by sharing it with their family and using it for important online activities such as schoolwork or weekend bonding with the family.

Edward noted, “Make sure you have real-life bonding moments with your loved ones and use your data wisely. When you buy a Home Prepaid WiFi device, you get free 10GB data which you can use for school or for online activities you do for fun.”

When it comes to maximizing data, his advice is to make sure that data-consuming mobile settings are turned off. “Check your auto-refresh and auto-play settings so you can save your data for videos that you really want to watch. And if possible, watch in SD instead of HD to save data,” he said.

With PLDT Home WiFi, you can also manage your data usage by checking your balance and usage. To check the balance, just connect to your PLDT Home Wifi and visit pldthome.com/homewifiload.

Maymay concluded, “Sa experience namin ni Edward, mas nasusulit mo ang data kapag alam mo kung pa’no i-balanceang paggamit nito. Halimbawa, sa PLDT Home WiFi, pwede ka mag-log in sa dashboard to check your balance para laging sakto sa data at sa budget.”

The PLDT Home WiFi is available at all PLDT Stores and retailers nationwide for a one-time payment of Php1,995. It already comes with free 10GB of data valid for seven days. 

Check out MayWard’s Techie Hacks on YouTube for tips on how to #GetYourSulitOn. You can also visit pldthome.com/homewifi for more information.

Tourism Promotions Board launches Sustainable Community-Based Tourism Recognition

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The Philippine Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), launched recently the first Sustainable Community-Based Tourism Recognition (SCBTR) as part of its "SustainableTourism" campaign. 

In keeping with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, and the National Tourism Act of 2009, which recognizes sustainable tourism development as key to national socioeconomic development, the SCBTR highlights different forms of tourism such as ecotourism, which focusing on areas that promote environmental conservation and appreciation of nature; culture tourism, which promotes heritage and encourages participation in cultural activities; and adventure tourism, which offers a full adventure travel experience.

TPB will identify the best sustainable tourism destinations of the country with the assistance of DOT Regional Offices and recognize three winners according to a set of criteria that includes community participation, benefit sharing, tourism resources conservation, partnership and support from within and outside the community, local ownership, management and leadership, communication and interaction among stakeholders, quality of life, scale of tourism development and tourist satisfaction.

The recognized sites must also practice sustainability through preservation, conservation and protection of the environment and community; provide a unique local experience; practice ecological balance and sustainable organic farming; promote artisanal products in the community; empower cultural pride; share cultural heritage; offer immersive and experiential activities; and elicit overall interest from visitors.

Winners will receive incentives and grants for the enhancement of sites and tourism products and services; trainings and seminars; and progress monitoring and assistance from TPB to obtain support from organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Slow Food International and The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority(TIEZA) for the development of community programs. 

The destination will also be promoted digitally, featured in international and domestic travel fairs and shows participated in by DOT / TPB, and endorsed for a possible partnership with the former Secretary of the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Ms. Gina Lopez.

This first-of-its-kind recognition is initiated by TPB in support of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat's overarching direction in striking balance between tourism business and social responsibility.

Aside from acknowledging sustainability efforts and achievements, TPB also hopes to reaffirm the commitment of local government units, non-governmental organizations, and private sectors in the tourism industry in implementing sustainable tourism related-initiatives.

Moreover, TPB hopes to showcase and promote domestically and internationally the country’s unique tourism products, inspire stakeholders to share sustainable practices, and draw potential investors for the enhancement and development of sustainable tourism sites and attractions.