Before We Sail: Five Ways 2GO Prepares for Passenger Safety

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Ahead of the holiday travel season, 2GO Travel highlights the preparations behind every voyage, reinforcing its commitment as a reliable travel partner for safe and comfortable journeys. At 2GO Travel, every voyage begins with a continuous commitment to safety.

From training crew members and inspecting safety equipment to assessing vessel readiness and securing the necessary clearances, a series of measures takes place behind the scenes before every ship departs.

Through Before We Sail, 2GO Travel highlights five key practices that help support safe and dependable journeys for travelers across its passenger network.

1. Building readiness through regular crew drills

Safety begins with a well-prepared crew. Regular drills give 2GO personnel opportunities to practice emergency response procedures, strengthen coordination, and reinforce their individual responsibilities onboard.

These exercises help foster a culture where safety is a shared responsibility, and readiness remains a priority every day.

2. Inspecting safety facilities and equipment

Alongside crew preparedness, 2GO routinely inspects safety facilities and equipment onboard its vessels to help ensure their condition and operational readiness.

These inspections support emergency preparedness and help identify any items requiring attention before a vessel sets sail.

3. Conducting vessel checks before every journey

Preparations continue even after a ship completes its voyage. Following arrival and ahead of departure, technical teams carry out routine deck, engine, and bearing inspections to assess the vessel's condition and readiness for its next trip.

These assessments help keep vessels operating safely and efficiently for passengers and crew alike.

4. Screening baggage and cargo brought onboard

Passenger safety also extends to everything carried aboard the vessel.

As part of standard operating procedures, baggage and cargo undergo screening before loading to help manage potential risks and contribute to a secure onboard environment.

5. Securing the required departure clearances

Before leaving port, 2GO works closely with the Philippine Coast Guard to complete the required inspections and obtain the necessary departure clearances.

A vessel departs only after receiving the required approval, providing an additional layer of oversight before every sailing.

A Shared Commitment to Safe Travel

These five practices form part of 2GO Travel's ongoing commitment to passenger safety. With 2GO Travel's strict measures in place, the company works to ensure every voyage begins with safety at the forefront, giving passengers greater confidence every time they sail.

Passengers also play an important role in maintaining a safe onboard environment. Travelers are encouraged to pay attention to safety briefings, familiarize themselves with emergency exits and life jacket locations, and approach crew members for assistance.

As families prepare to reunite and travel home this holiday season, 2GO Travel continues the work behind every journey, preparing its people, maintaining its vessels, and carrying out the measures that help passengers sail with confidence.

For bookings, visit travel.2go.com.ph.

Jollibee gives ‘red flags’ a spicy twist with Chickenjoy

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Red flags are usually a warning sign in dating, but Jollibee is giving Filipinos a different reason to embrace them: spicy fried chicken and witty one-liners that are made to be shared online.

With #TheOnlyRedFlagIWant, Jollibee turned the viral trend into a fun, feel-good experience both online and in-store, bringing its Spicy Chickenjoy to life through cute, funny, and relatable flaglets. The campaign sparked buzz on X, with “JOLLY RED FLAG” trending and inspiring netizens to join the fun and discover the witty flags for themselves.

“We’ve seen how much our customers enjoy joining online trends and creating their own content, even when they’re dining in our stores. We wanted to bring that same fun to their Spicy Chickenjoy experience through these playful flaglets, giving them something to enjoy, take photos of, and share with their friends,” said Dorothy Ching, vice president for marketing of Jollibee Philippines.

Inspired by the popular online habit of joking about relationship red flags, Jollibee’s “The Only Red Flag You Want” features special flaglets with witty messages that turn the familiar dating term into a fun dining experience.

Among the lines featured on the flaglets are “Red flag na laging available for you” (“A red flag who’s always available for you”), “Red flag na pwede ipakilala sa friends mo” (“A red flag you can introduce to your friends”), and “Red flag worth saying ‘yes’ to.”

The flaglets give customers another way to enjoy their Spicy Chickenjoy, share a laugh with friends, and create their own content inspired by the trend.

The special red flaglets will be available from October 15 to November 15, or until supplies last, at 54 participating Jollibee stores nationwide.

Customers can join the fun by getting a flaglet, choosing their favorite line, and sharing their photos and videos online using #TheOnlyRedFlagIWant.

Craving more Jollibee treats and exclusives? Head to www.jollibee.com.ph for the latest updates, order your favorites via GrabFood and foodpanda, and follow us on social media for more JOYful surprises.

vivo V80 teases fun AI-powered camera features

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Smartphone photography is about to get more playful as vivo teases the creative camera features of its upcoming vivo V80, led by Creative Sticker Collage - an AI-powered tool that transforms everyday Live Photos into imaginative, moving compositions.

Set to launch in the Philippines on October 30, the new smartphone will introduce more ways for users to experiment with their photos, explore different styles, and bring their ideas to life straight from the camera.

With Creative Sticker Collage, users can turn their favorite people, pets, and moments into stickers, then combine them with other Live Photos to create scenes limited only by their imagination. A friend can appear riding a paper plane, a beloved pet can become larger than life, or an ordinary snapshot can become a playful creation worth sharing.

The fun does not stop there. The vivo V80 will also bring more AI-powered camera features designed to make creative photography easier and more accessible.

The AI Creative Camera lets users transform the lighting and atmosphere of their photos with a single tap. Styles such as Sunlight, Glow, and Top Lighting offer different ways to enhance a shot, helping users achieve studio-inspired effects without spending time adjusting multiple settings or editing images afterward.

For those who love a touch of nostalgia, CCD Flash Portrait brings a retro-inspired aesthetic to portraits. Combining flash fill-light with CCD-inspired processing, the feature aims to keep faces clear and skin tones natural while adding vintage colors and striking contrast. At night, it helps subjects stand out against a deeper background, creating portraits that capture both the person and the atmosphere of the moment.

These creative tools complement the vivo V80's imaging system, which combines vivo's imaging technology with ZEISS optics to deliver detailed portraits and videos across different scenarios. The smartphone features a 50-megapixel ZEISS OIS Main Camera with optical image stabilization, a 50-megapixel ZEISS Super Telephoto Camera, an ultra-wide-angle camera, and a group selfie camera, giving users more flexibility to capture everything from close-up portraits to group shots and wider scenes.

With its combination of ZEISS-powered imaging, playful photo effects, and AI-assisted creativity, the vivo V80 teases a camera experience that goes beyond simply taking pictures — giving users more ways to experiment, express their personalities, and turn everyday moments into something memorable.

This is only a glimpse of what's in store. The vivo V80 is set to launch on October 30 at 6 pm, with the event livestreamed on the vivo Philippines Facebook page.

Tune in to discover the smartphone's creative camera capabilities and see what else vivo has prepared for its newest portrait-focused device. Viewers can visit the page and click “Going” on the livestream event so they won't miss the reveal.

Maynilad makes handwashing a community effort

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Maynilad's handwashing stations for schools in Muntinlupa and Navotas show how access to the right hygiene facilities helps keep children healthy

DepEd-Navotas officials welcome the donation of modular handwashing stations and IEC materials by Maynilad.

At Daanghari Elementary School in Navotas City, hundreds of students line up for a handful of faucets. By the time the line reaches the back, the soap is already gone.

A teacher watched too many students face this problem and lamented how many of the kids sit down to eat or finish school activities with unwashed hands.

“Lima na ang handwashing areas sa campus, kung tutuusin. Pero pag nagkasabay-sabay pag PE or gardening or experiment, ‘yung iba di na nakakapaghugas,“ Grade 6 Math teacher Elmer Espritu said. "Nakakabahala rin dahil puwedeng mag-cause ng pagkalat ng sakit 'yon sa kanila. Apektado ang attendance at performance sa klase."

Handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways to reduce disease transmission. According to several clinical studies, handwashing lessens the risk of illness by 30% and reduces diarrheal morbidity by 20%.

During the week of Global Handwashing Day, Maynilad Water Services Inc. eased the shortage of taps in schools as the company installed modular handwashing stations in ten campuses: six schools in Navotas, Daanghari among them, and four schools in Muntinlupa.

Maynilad taught learners at Daanghari Elementary School the right way to wash hands.

It All Starts with Water

On paper, most schools have basic handwashing facilities. According to the latest report by the Department of Education, 92.4% of public elementary schools in the country have access to handwashing facilities on campus. The figure is 89% for public junior high schools, while public senior high schools have 85.3%. Overall, that leaves roughly one in nine public junior high schools and one in seven public senior high schools without them.

“Mahal pa naman magkasakit, at marami sa mga estudyante namin ay galing sa low-income families,” Grade 4 MAPE teacher Felizardo C. Clemente said. “Siyempre, kung nakakapaghugas ng kamay, nakakaiwas sa sakit. Kung walang sakit, iwas gastos sa gamot at doktor.”

Maynilad’s Rosmon Tuazon, Head of Corporate Marketing, says the stations are meant to close that gap and give schools the facilities they need.

“We recognize that not all schools have sufficient handwashing areas,” Tuazon said. “Having these facilities encourages more students to develop a habit, and it makes it accessible for all to do it more often.”

Combining hygiene and environment education

Maynilad also took the lesson beyond the faucet through its WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and environmental education initiatives. It told the students of Sucat Senior High School in Muntinlupa City why reliable water is crucial to the success of a hygiene campaign. It told Daanghari Elementary School students why water conservation matters. The company also shared how the management of wastewater completes the picture of a healthy and vibrant community. The goal is simple: nobody gets sick, and this starts at home and is carried to key public spaces like schools.

Maynilad’s Marie Antonette H. De Ocampo, VP and Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications, says the lesson is as much about forming the right habits and water conservation as it is about water resources and supply networks.

“A healthy community starts with what children learn early,” De Ocampo says. “When they know where water comes from and where it goes, they take care of both.”

\Maynilad partnered with stakeholders such as the Muntinlupa City Lake Management Office to share about water conservation and water resource protection with high schoolers as part of its GHD education drive.

Maynilad employs creative teaching strategies to teach water, sanitation, hygiene, and environmental responsibility.

The many hands that keep it going

“We always go back to the basics of a hygiene campaign: provide the right tools, encourage the right habit,” Rosmon Tuazon said. “Students and teachers use handwashing stations. Administrators maintain the facilities. Advocates like Maynilad help fill gaps such as the need to sustain awareness. Each of these players makes it possible for the school to turn handwashing into a habit.”

The habit also leaves the campus. Children who practice it at school carry it back home, teach their siblings, and remind their parents to wash up before meals.

“We aim to turn WASH into a community effort,” Marie Antonette H. De Ocampo said. “We want households to learn not to take each drop for granted. We need customers to report leaks. We need people to protect rivers and other bodies of water. Water, sanitation, hygiene, education, and the environment may sound like separate agendas. In our WASH education drives, they all meet at the faucet.”

Back in the line, the students wash more often now. A teacher watches, and this time, he sees students scrub between their fingers, without needing to be reminded.

SBFI helps school leaders turn communities into partner

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School principals receive their training certificates after completing the five-day in-person training. Also pictured in the front row are DepEd NEAP Director Dr. Joseph Dela Cruz (third from left), SBFI Executive Director Louie De Real (fourth from left), SBFI Trustee Melissa Aquino (fifth from left), and ACED Officer-in-Charge Amelia P. Dycoco (sixth from left).

Schools cannot do it alone. Many of the factors that shape a child's success lie beyond the classroom. Parents, local leaders, businesses, faith groups, volunteers, and alumni all have a role to play. When communities move from simply supporting schools to becoming active partners, children are more likely to thrive.

This was the focus of the Year 3 Principals Training of Mentoring Future Leaders for Nation-Building, an educator development program of Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI) and the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED).

The training held in Iloilo brought together 22 public school principals from across the country to explore how schools can build stronger partnerships with the communities they serve.

Through stakeholder mapping, case studies, workshops, and peer learning sessions, participants

examined how trust, shared purpose, and collaboration can strengthen support systems for learners and help schools address challenges beyond academics.

For Melissa Aquino, Trustee and Corporate Secretary of SBFI, effective community engagement begins with a shift in mindset. "The community is not just an ATM or a source of support. It is a partner. The child belongs not only to the school, but to all of us."

The program encouraged principals to look beyond fundraising and volunteerism and instead build long-term relationships that enable communities to contribute meaningfully to student success.

Guided by Dr. Joseph Dela Cruz, Director IV of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), participants developed Community Engagement Plans tailored to the needs of their schools.

Among them was Rona May Esperanzate Cruz of Ricardo Viola Adriano Elementary School, who plans to mobilize SK officials, alumni, parents, religious groups, and private partners as reading volunteers and mentors through the KABSAT Learning Teams initiative.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hanena Epino of Datu Andiam National High School aims to reduce absenteeism by building a support network of school personnel, peer mentors, barangays, and local government partners.

While their priorities differ, the message was the same: schools are strongest when communities work alongside them.

Through Mentoring Future Leaders for Nation-Building, SBFI and ACED are helping school leaders move beyond managing schools to mobilizing communities, recognizing that lasting change happens when an entire community takes part in a child's future.

For more information, visit www.securitybank.com/foundation.