June 18, 2023

EastWest’s Top Men: Strong Leaders, Gentle Fathers

EastWest CEO Jerry G. Ngo, EVP and Consumer Lending Head Lawrence Lee, and SVP and Head of Marketing Martin Reyes look back on their experiences as fathers

Although it takes a lot of gumption, firmness, and drive to lead and shape a gigantic institution such as one of the Philippines’ most prominent banks, three of EastWest’s top leaders bear their fatherly responsibilities with a tender and gentle touch.

EastWest CEO Jerry G. Ngo, Executive Vice President and Head of Consumer Lending Lawrence Lee, and SVP Head of Marketing Martin Reyes all profess to be easygoing dads at home despite being tough bosses at work. It’s an interesting (not to mention welcome) contrast to how many Filipinos grew up.
Martin Reyes, Jerry G. Ngo and Lawrence Lee

“I think I’m fairly easygoing as a parent, as it’s a bit difficult to be a disciplinarian these days,” said Jerry, who has two adult children, a son and a daughter in their 20s. He had traveled all over the world with his family for work, first moving to Singapore in the ‘90s when his daughter was only a year old, so the children were well aware that they had to be somewhat nomadic.

“We grew up fairly strict, my wife and I, but we learned to adapt. We learned to treat them as adults, to have adult conversations and discussions early in their lives.”

Martin agrees with that mindset, as he says he tries to be friends with his children (who are also young adults in their 20s) so that they feel safe and comfortable enough to keep communication open.

“That’s the only way they can be open. What you don’t want to happen is they hide things from you and be distant, di ba?” he says.

Lawrence also feels that he has to be a kind parent, especially as his eldest son has special needs. “I would say that was one of the challenges, to take care of someone like him,” he said.

“To raise someone like that, it really requires patience, understanding, and experience.” He realized early on that the ways he grew up with might not work, and adapted as he needed.

From the home to the boardroom

Beyond the kind of doting parents they are at home, some of those fatherly instincts definitely do translate to their style at the office. After all, there is an overlap between being a father and being a leader—when you trim it down to its very essence, fatherhood is simply leadership at home, so it isn’t surprising that some aspects make their way to the team they’re leading at work.

“It made me a better leader, because as a father you tend to be more compassionate,” shares Martin. “Especially now, I’m older and more mature, and then the people working for me are younger. I mostly consider them my kids.”

However, despite feeling compassion, in the office work remains work, and there are outputs to be produced and targets to hit. “I’m not as lenient with the people at work,” he adds. “I demand more from them. Sometimes tough love is necessary. But at home, it’s my wife who’s tough.”

For Jerry, who has the most responsibility as EastWest’s CEO, fatherhood was instrumental in preparing him for the ups and downs of his career. “Fatherhood gives you a lot of curveballs, right? That’s something I learned to take in stride,” he says. “You take it as you go along, never overreact, and try to see what’s underlying.”

He touches on a nugget of progressive wisdom that a lot of fathers—and men in general—could learn a lot from, especially those in leadership positions.

“Even if you’re emotionally charged at that moment, you kind of just hold it and manage it and understand the issue that lies beneath. We are all children at the end of the day, right? It’s quite helpful understanding the psyche, where people are coming from.”

Lawrence reinforces this thinking with his own opinion of leadership and fatherhood. “The similarities between the role of the father and a leader at work is to facilitate,” he adds.

“You know the type of culture that’s there in your environment, so you have to facilitate the right culture and atmosphere. That’s what I applied both at work and in my family.”

Leadership by example

The traditional archetype of a working father is that he grinds and hustles all day at work to provide for his family, sometimes to the detriment of the quality time he spends at home with them. Fortunately, these leaders know full well that those days are over. Having a healthy home life is far more gratifying than success—even if sometimes it could risk the bottom line.

“I’ve been traveling for most of my career, and I learned that moments are very important,” says Jerry. “I always try to be there. And I keep telling my team, if there’s a conflict between you and your family, you should just choose your family.”

He ties this back to his belief that what you do is what your children will learn to do when they get older. Fathers, whether they like it or not, whether they’re aware of it or not, will leave behind patterns and behaviors that their children subtly imbibe. This translates to team members and mentees, especially those aspiring to take on leadership positions in their own careers.

“Your nonverbal communication is equally important as your verbal ones,” he adds. “Children have a way of mimicking how you behave. For example, if you treat your wife well, there’s a better chance that your children will treat their partners like that. Those kinds of things, you don’t directly teach.”

Lawrence seconds this, but also adds that it’s okay to have fun, even when the responsibilities of a father can be intimidating. “Just be yourself. When you do, hopefully they see that and they’ll do the same,” he suggests.

Martin has an even more understanding take on this lesson, a thinking honed by years of friendship with his kids.

“You can’t force your ideas and set your own principles or standards on them,” he says. “They will decide on their own. You can try to guide them through example or let them learn themselves. But you have to be around them, too, and catch them when they make a mistake.”

With empathic and compassionate yet driven leaders such as Jerry, Lawrence, and Martin, it’s safe to say that their “children” that they lead in EastWest are assured of mentors that can guide them to achieve their—and the bank’s—boundless potential.

June 17, 2023

Protect, Brighten & Glow – These Shiny New QUICKFX Releases Will Take the Top Spot on Your Shelves

For beauty and skin care, as always, nothing excites us more than new beauty discoveries, especially brand that highlights the importance of maintaining a smooth, flawless and glowing skin in order to have a high performance skincare.


Local beauty brand QUICKFX has come a long way since their early days. From entering the skincare market with their iconic sachet format, to expanding their cult-favorite Pimple Eraser line, to formulating conscious and sensitive skin-friendly ranges, QUICKFX excites and delights with innovative products championing effective ingredients that deliver fast results, at prices everyone loves—and it looks like they aren’t slowing down any time soon.

In fact, it seems like they’re just getting started—and this time, they’re here to make sure that you get the glowing summer skin of your dreams all year round with their exciting, new releases.

Enter the QUICKFX SunGlo Weekend held last June 10-11, 2023 set at Patio by Balai Norte at La Union. This gorgeous seaside hotel served as the perfect backdrop for the brand’s special guests to learn about their newest releases, including two brand new sunscreens—the QUICKFX Vita Suncreen and Super UV Sun Spray—as well as a brand new, fruit antioxidant-powered line: the QUICKFX Glo Smoothies range. Their mission: to create products that help protect, brighten and hydrate the skin for the ultimate all-year round summer glow.
Smooth, flawless, glowing skin starts off with adequate sun protection, and no one knows this better than QUICKFX themselves—and they’ve got you covered. The first new release is the QUICKFX Vita Sunscreen, which promises 3X Sun Care Action. This lightweight, fast-absorbing face and body sunscreen lotion is formulated with SPF 50 PA+++, as well as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Niacinamide, Avocado and Chamomile Extracts. For sunscreen touch-ups throughout the day—which are essential, especially in our sweltering Philippine summers—the brand new QUICKFX Super UV Sunspray will do the trick. This spray format sunscreen also promises SPF 50 PA+++, is formulated with Vitamin E, Sunflower Oil, Niacinamide, and Green Tea Extract, and comes in a spray can for a smooth, even application every time. These sunscreens promise to be reef-safe, kid-safe, and sweat-proof, and are guaranteed to be completely invisible once absorbed by the skin—goodbye, white cast!

With such innovative formulas, you’d wonder if these sun screens would make a pretty significant dent in your bank account—but don’t fret. The Vita Sunscreen retails at PHP499 with 200mL, while the Super UV Sunspray comes in a 150mL aerosol can and retails at PHP399. Price point on point, as expected.

A glowing complexion doesn’t just stop at sun protection—in fact, it should be maintained with a generous serving of fruits, so go ahead and give your skin its daily dose with the brand new QUICKFX Glo Smoothies line. This new, exciting addition to the brand is their foray into harnessing the benefits of fruit-powered antioxidants, and is designed to be like a detoxifying fruit smoothie for your face. The goal: to give your skin the most even, gorgeous glow ever.

QUICKFX Glo Smoothies made its debut with two products, starting with the QUICKFX Glo Smoothies Brightening Serum Cleanser. This gentle face cleanser features a delicious blend of Watermelon and Peach Extracts, Niacinamide, and Ascorbic Acid, and is designed to detoxify, brighten, and even out the skin in as little as 7 days. Plus, with its hydrating serum formula, this cleanser is guaranteed to clean your skin thoroughly without stripping it dry. Next, the QUICKFX Glo Smoothies Ultra Brightening Serum. Also formulated with a cocktail of Watermelon and Peach Extracts, Niacinamide and Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, this light-as-air, easily absorbed serum doesn’t just brighten the skin—it also aims to help prevent acne and wrinkles over time.

Perhaps the only thing more exciting than the new releases themselves would be their price point. The Glo Smoothies Brightening Serum Cleanser retails at P299 for 100mL, while the Glo Smoothies Ultra Brightening Serum comes in 2 sizes: in 10g for the iconic sachet format, and in 40mL for the full size, priced at PHP109 and P399 respectively. Not bad for products that are 100% made in Korea—what a steal!

The best part: these versatile new releases aren’t just great on their own—in fact, they’re designed to work even better together to help you achieve that glowing, summer glow all year ‘round.

What else went down at the SunGlo Weekend? The launch didn’t just provide the attendees with the opportunity to learn about and test out the brand’s new product releases—it also set their minds in airplane mode for two days. 

Guests had dinner and drinks at The Lark and were invited to various activities the next day to encourage mindfulness and sustainability, like outdoor yoga and a brand-initiated coastal cleanup led by the QUICKFX brand team, Angeline Agustin, Mari Baretto-Syquia, Frances Jabeguero and Marven Abat, Vice President of The La Union Surf Club. The event provided not just an educational weekend, but one filled with rest and mindfulness not just of oneself but also of the environment as well.

Itching to get glowing with QUICKFX? The new Vita Sunscreen, Super UV Sunspray and Glo Smoothies products are officially available for you to try! Check them out exclusively in Watsons stores nationwide. Shop the new releases on the Watsons App, as well as on the official Watsons Stores on ShopeeMall and LazMall.


Infinix Featured in Prestigious Kantar BrandZ Top 50 Chinese Global Brand Builders of 2023

Infinix has once again proven its worth in the global market, securing the 45th position in the prestigious Kantar BrandZ rankings for Top 50 Chinese Global Brand Builders of 2023. This remarkable achievement follows Infinix's recognition in 2022 as a Kantar BrandZ Rising Star among Chinese Global Brand Builders. Such consistent acknowledgment showcases the brand's continuous efforts in capturing the trust and loyalty of consumers, providing them with a strong sense of value associated with the Infinix brand.

"We are deeply honored to receive this recognition from Kantar BrandZ, which acknowledges our ability to create captivating and meaningful brand narratives that resonate with our global customer base. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated fan base worldwide, who appreciate our commitment to empowering young individuals with innovative technology while embracing style and positivity." said Lake Hu, CMO at Infinix.

Building the Infinix Brand

Infinix has successfully expanded its presence across more than 70 global markets by offering high-quality products that combine exceptional performance and cutting-edge design. The brand has gained significant traction by introducing innovative technologies, such as the revolutionary 180W Thunder Charge featured in the ZERO ULTRA smartphone. Infinix has also joined forces with renowned audio brand JBL, delivering exceptional sound quality through the 'Sound by JBL' partnership in the Infinix NOTE 30 Series. Collaborations like these, along with notable partnerships like the one with the Tesla Science Center, have further solidified Infinix's reputation among young consumers worldwide.

By analyzing data from a comprehensive brand equity study involving millions of consumers and thousands of brands across various industries, Kantar BrandZ identifies and acknowledges the growth strategies of the most valuable brands worldwide. In 2022, Infinix received the distinction of a Rising Star among Chinese Global Brand Builders. This year's rankings reaffirm Infinix's remarkable progress, showcasing its evolution from a rising star to a globally influential brand, favored by young consumers worldwide.

Infinix remains steadfast in its commitment to foster a strong and distinctive brand identity that resonates with young individuals globally. Alongside this, the company empowers young consumers with innovative and top-of-the-line technology. This unwavering dedication has resulted in the establishment of a passionate and widespread fan base worldwide, cementing Infinix's position as a truly internationally recognized brand. Looking ahead, Infinix aims to further expand its global presence and evolve into a high-tech and trendsetting brand with significant global impact.


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About Infinix

Founded in 2013, Infinix Mobility is a brand that designs, manufactures, and markets an expanding portfolio of smart devices worldwide under the Infinix brand. Achieving a global presence in more than 70 countries, Infinix is committed to creating a strong and globally acclaimed brand identity that resonates with today's young consumers who demand advanced, innovative technology, and stylish device designs at a price they can afford.

For more information, please visit: https://www.infinixmobility.com/ph/

Join Camella Homes' Letter Writing contest and win an HONOR Smartphone!


Join Camella Homes’ Father’s Day Events and win HONOR smartphones. Make sure to tune in as well this weekend for #HONORMyTatay live sessions and get up to Php 2,300 off HONOR devices!

Looking for the perfect gift for your dads this Father’s Day? Don’t fret because the leading smart devices provider, HONOR Philippines, has partnered up with Camella Homes for their “Dear Awesome Dad” campaign this Father’s day! What’s more, HONOR is also giving away up to Php 2,300 discounts available only on June 18, 2023 through their online partner stores at Shopee, Lazada, and Tiktok Shop.

“HONOR has a wide variety of smart devices perfect for our amazing dads, and we’re offering them at discounted prices this Father’s Day. We’re also collaborating with Camella Homes this year in celebrating this special event through their ‘Dear Awesome Dad’ campaign, which started last June 5. Make sure to join their various events to win devices from HONOR Philippines,” said HONOR Philippines Vice President Stephen Cheng.



Dear Awesome Dad: Win HONOR Devices this Father’s Day!

Camella Homes launched its Father’s Day Celebration last June 5, 2023 through their offline Letter Writing Contest entitled “From Heartfelt Words to Handcrafted Brews.” Letter-writers are encouraged to visit Dear Joe branches near them and write heartfelt letters for their dads, and post these on their social media accounts and tag @camellaofficial.

If you’re unable to drop by any Dear Joe stalls near you, don’t worry for you can still win HONOR devices through the online leg of their Dear Awesome Dad Campaign! All you have to do is visit Camella’s Official Website to answer their Father’s Day Quiz. Screenshot your results and place it on the comments section of the contest announcement posted on Camella’s official Facebook page.

Both contests will run until June 17, 2023, and various winners will receive HONOR devices as prizes such as HONOR 70, HONOR X9, HONOR X7a, and the limited edition HONOR X9a 5G in Midnight Black. Make sure to follow Camella’s official social media accounts to get the latest Dear Awesome Dad updates.

#HONORMyTatay with exciting deals and discounts from HONOR!

HONOR is also giving away exciting discount deals and exclusive freebies this Father’s Day! Get up to Php 2,300 worth of freebies and discounts when you check out your favorite HONOR devices on June 18, 2023 from Lazada (https://bit.ly/3ZsS0Jx), Shopee (https://bit.ly/3J1Zv5n) and TikTok Shop (https://bit.ly/3IMaizo)! 

HONOR Magic5 Pro, the latest flagship phone from HONOR, will also come with X3 Lite Earbuds and Band 6 accessories – at a discounted price as well, so make sure to check them out on Father’s Day.

For more updates and announcements, you may visit HONOR’s website www.hihonor.com or social media platforms: Facebook (Facebook.com/HonorPhilippines), Instagram (Instagram.com/honorph/) and TikTok: (Tiktok.com/@honorphilippines). To check out HONOR’s complete list of retail stores, go to https://www.hihonor.com/ph/retailers/.

Uratex Philippines Renews Partnership with Philippine Orthopaedic Association (POA)


Uratex, the leading foam company in the Philippines, reaffirms its commitment to provide quality sleeping products to all with the brand’s partnership agreement renewal with the Philippine Orthopaedic Association for another five years.

The Philippine Orthopaedic Association (POA) is the national organization of orthopedic surgeons in the Philippines, dedicated to excellence in the delivery of orthopedic patient care, orthopedic training, and medical research.

The renewed partnership between Uratex and the POA aims to strengthen the importance of sleep in the total health and well-being of individuals through the latter’s certification of Uratex-produced products. 

The partnership event was attended by representatives from both organizations led by Uratex Managing Director Peachy Medina and Uratex Sleep Business Director Stephen Lee with leaders from the Philippine Orthopaedic Association Dr. David Algar, President; Dr. Melito Antonio Ramos, Vice President;and Dr JaC Pimentel, Secretary.

Uratex ensures its customers that the POA-supported products and promotional materials comply with all applicable ordinances, laws, and statutes governing the promotion, sale, and application of these products.

The POA-supported Uratex products include the Orthocare Mattress Collection, Senso Memory Mattress Collection, Premium Touch Mattress Collection, Permahard Mattress, Trill Mattress Collection, and the Airlite Mattress collection for Mattresses.

These products with Orthofirm® foam provide excellent support, absolute comfort, and promote better air circulation. Treated with Sanitized® which effectively protects against growth of bacteria, odor, mildew, and dust mites, keeping the mattress clean and hypoallergenic. The mattresses produced by Uratex are covered with Biorytmic® knitted fabric specially infused with energy restoring minerals to boost vitality, balance, and concentration.

For pillows, the POA-supported products include the Senso Memory Pillow Collection, Soft Escape Pillow Collection, and Wink pillow. These Uratex products are made up of premium memory foam that gently conforms to the shape of your head and has a soft feel with good support. Enveloped with a smooth, knitted fabric cover for enhanced comfort, it comes in a rectangular design that’s ideal for all sleeping positions.

Finally for mattress toppers, these include the Senso Memory Mattress Topper Collection, Trill Topper Collection, Back Care Topper Collection, Premium Touch Topper, Perfect Serenity Topper for Mattress Toppers. Uratex’s mattress toppers are designed to provide an extra layer of plush comfort to your mattress with Visco-elastic foam that allows the surface to blend with the body’s contour, alleviating pressure points and body strains while you sleep. It is also enriched with the smooth, refined finish of a premium knitted fabric.

“We are really committed to quality, value for money, and better sleep for the Filipinos. What a great idea to be able to collaborate with the Philippine Orthopaedic Association towards this trust to help us develop better products for the Filipinos,” said Ms. Peachy Medina, Managing Director of Uratex Philippines.

To learn more about Uratex, its products as well as upcoming promos, visit www.uratex.com.ph. You may also visit their official Shopee page at shopee.ph/uratexph and follow UratexPhilippines on Facebook, and @uratex_ph on Instagram for updates and upcoming promos.



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About Uratex
Uratex is the leading foam company in the country, offering products that help enrich lives and create meaningful moments such as mattresses, pillows, toppers, etc. For more than 54 years, the brand has been committed to provide comfort through its products and services.

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