Lazada Welcomes 2016 with Chinese New Year Sale

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Lazada Philippines (www.lazada.com.ph), the country’s One Stop Shopping and Selling Destination, kicks off its first big sale of the year, the Chinese New Year Sale. A wide assortment of unique finds for the year of the fire monkey and discounts as high as 88% across 15 categories will be up for grabs from January 26 to February 8.

Prosperity shops will take over the Lazada website, where customers could avail of Lucky 88 and Lucky 888 deals. P88 items include Casio Beside Men's Silver Stainless Steel Strap Watch, Diva Designs Swarovski Crystal Heart Studs, while items like the Oli Casual Mstyle Low Cut Sneakers, Nankai-02 20000mAh Power Bank with free Mini Power Bank Mini Foldable Monopod will be sold for only P888.

Special categories to make the most out of the year of the monkey include Everything Red & Gold, Feng Shui Home and Lucky Charms Shops.

Adding to online shopping fun, vouchers and special deals from the wheel of fortune onsite game will allow customers to push their luck and win additional discounts.

Playful monkey finds for both kids and the young at heart are also available at smart prices:

Start the year right by enjoying huge discounts of up to 88% off from the leading online shopping destination in the country. Lazada’s Chinese New Year Sale is just the beginning of a year filled with lucky breaks on a wide assortment of products with the best prices. Shop now through desktop or mobile.

About Lazada

Lazada (www.lazada.com.ph) is Philippines’ largest online shopping mall and is pioneering e-commerce by providing a fast, convenient and secure online shopping experience combined with an extensive product offering in categories ranging from mobiles & tablets and consumer electronics to household goods, toys, fashion and sports equipment. Lazada is continuously striving to offer its customers the best possible shopping experience with multiple payment methods including cash on delivery, extensive warranty commitments and free returns. Lazada mobile applications for Android, iPhone and iPad provide additional convenience to its consumers’ allowing them to shop anywhere, anytime.

For more information, please visit http://www.lazada.com.ph. For updates on Lazada’s latest innovations, as well as activities, contests and promotions, connect with us via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LazadaPhilippines).

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach Supports Smile Train

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The Miss Universe Organization recently announced that it will support Smile Train to raise awareness about the problem of cleft lips and palates across the globe. As part of her homecoming, newly-crowned Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach met with Smile Train in the Philippines. 

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach shares,

“Through the partnership between Miss Universe and Smile Train, I am proud to continue helping children born with cleft lip and palate, giving these children and their families’ new smiles and new lives.” 

The new charitable partnership between The Miss Universe Organization and Smile Train the world’s largest cleft charity, will help raise awareness of the issues faced by children living with unrepaired clefts in the developing world. The new relationship will provide opportunities for the reigning Miss Universe and international titleholders to get involved with Smile Train’s global initiatives in the 85+ countries where the charity helps children.

“Smile Train is extremely proud of our partnership with Miss Universe. We hope that this partnership will help us reach more children around the world in desperate need of cleft surgery, a simple surgery that, not only creates a new smile, but also a new chance at life,” said Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Country Director for Smile Train in the Philippines. She adds, “It is a bonus that the current Miss Universe is from the Philippines, where there are close to 5,000 babies born every year with clefts.”

To learn more about the partnership, please view the recent announcement here:smiletrain.org/about/press-releases/the-miss-universe-to-support-smile-train.html

For more information about Smile Train's global efforts and to make a donation, please visit smiletrain.org. 

Follow Smile Train Philippines on Twitter and Instagram @SmileTrainPh.

Need a wingman on Valentine’s Day? Takatack and PayMaya can get you the best gifts in town

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With Valentine's Day just three weeks away, Filipinos may still not be sure of what to get for or how to spend that red letter day with their loved ones. Luckily for them,Voyager Innovations and PayMaya Philippines, the digital innovations units of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), have the ultimate wingmen for them.

Shopping discovery platform Takatack and digital payments mobile app PayMaya can help Filipinos ace the two most challenging parts of this special day - gifts and dates.

Takatack has all the traditional gifts you may want to give your special someone, such as chocolates and sweets. And with over 400,000 products, the site should also be your go-to destination if you want to choose a more unique gift, such as a new camera for the budding photographer in your life or a baking set for your favorite chef.

Rebecca Ricalde, Assistant Vice President for Digital Commerce at Voyager Innovations, believes that the wide range of products at Takatack makes it the best place to choose your Valentine’s Day gift.

“Let’s face it: Gift-giving, especially on Valentine’s day, is not easy. You want to choose the right gift for your special someone, but it’s a tall task to run around a crowded mall, shuffling from store to store. With close to half a million products, Takatack makes this process easier by allowing you to find the perfect item, all just a click away,” said Ricalde.

Once you find the right gift, you can have it delivered directly to your special someone for a one-of-a-kind, doorstep surprise, which Ricalde feels is a nice touch for the occasion.

“Much of what makes Valentine’s Day exciting is anticipation. You look forward to February 14, knowing that you’ll be able to spend quality time with your special someone. Sending them a gift via Takatack communicates this excitement to them in a way that nothing else can. A gift says that you are thinking of them and are counting the hours until you can celebrate the holiday together,” she said.

Takatack also feels that romance doesn’t need to be expensive. Beginning February 1st and ending on the day of Valentine’s itself on February 14th, Takatack will offer a selection of special gifts from partner merchants that come with a discount. As these have all been curated by Takatack, customers will find it easier to choose a great gift for their special someone. The categories in this curated selection include: For Him, For Her, and Love Wins.

Takatack will also offer several other promos. From February 1 to 12, a coupon code will allow users to get 500 pesos off a minimum purchase of 2000 pesos, so long as the items are fulfilled by Takatack. From February 1 - 5 and again from February 8 to 14, a coupon code will be revealed at 2:14 each day and expire at 2:14 the next day that will give new users a one-time 15% off discount for items fulfilled by Takatack for a maximum discount of 2000 pesos.

Once you’ve ordered the perfect gifts from Takatack, you still need to actually celebrate Valentine’s day on Sunday, February 14. Unfortunately, many of the one-of-a-kind experiences you would want to share with your special someone on that day may require a credit card, and fewer than 5% of Filipinos own one. What, then, is the hopeful lover supposed to do?

For them, there is PayMaya. Launched late last year, PayMaya is a free digital payments mobile app that gives you a unique card number so that you can pay online without a credit card. 

Getting PayMaya is easy, fast, and FREE. To get your online payment details, all you need to do is download the PayMaya app, which is available on both the App Store and Google Store, and sign up with your mobile number. You are then issued a Visa card number, its expiration date, and a security code. PayMaya functions like a prepaid card - you can load it up at any 7-Eleven, SM Business Center or Robinson’s Business Center and then shop online or sign up to subscriptions wherever VISA is accepted.

In addition to serving as a free online payment app, PayMaya also offers a physical card that you can use to pay at brick-and-mortar stores wherever Visa is accepted.PayMaya is powered by VISA and is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to ensure all your transactions are secure.

You could, for example, take your Valentine’s Day date to watch a concert that you booked on TicketWorld, before ending the evening at your home, ordering delivery from foodpanda and watching a romantic comedy on recent Philippine arrival, Netflix.

Of course, you could splurge even further and choose to book seats on Philippine airlines and a stay at an exotic AirBNB in another city or country even, all courtesy of PayMaya. Now how’s that for a Valentine’s day to remember?

DepEd, Albay ink MOA for 2016 Palarong Pambansa

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The Department of Education (DepEd) signs an agreement with the provincial government of Albay—the host of the2016 Palarong Pambansa in Legazpi City—stipulating the duties and responsibilities of both parties to ensure a well-managed and professionally-run annual national sporting event.

DepEd Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said this year’s staging of the Palaro will have many “firsts.” “I want to highlight that this is Albay’s first ever hosting of the Palaro. This is also the first time that 18 regions will take action -- not the usual 17 regions --because of the participation of the Negros Island Region,” he explained.

Luistro added that this is also the first time that the Palaro will be conducted following very specific provisions of the law.”

Based on the Republic Act No. 10588 also known as the Palarong Pambansa Act of 2013, the elementary level would have to compete in 15 games and the secondary with 17 games and four (4) demonstration sports, namely Futsal, Wushu, Billiards and Wrestling. In addition, four special games will also be conducted for our special athletes.

Participated in by elementary and secondary students from public and private schools nationwide, the annual sporting event will be held at the Bicol University, Legazpi City from April 10 to 16, 2016.

“We are institutionalizing this sports program to ensure that we are developing athletes that are of international caliber,” Luistro pointed out. Together with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the provincial government of Albay, DepEd will see to it that the standards are at international level and that the coaching staff, the technical officials as well as the playing venues conform to international standards,” the education chief said.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda responded by stating the province’s readiness and eagerness to host the Palaro.

“We want to show that it will be a joyful Palaro. It's something that celebrates the spirit of national unity, especially in Albay. Siguro kung mayroon isang bagay to define Albay, it is our resiliency or ability to recover from adversity—na kahit may bagyo ngayon, paggising mo kinabukasan, ni-isang pirasong kahoy wala kang makikita sa daan. Gusto naming ipakita na ang isang bayan, no matter how modest, no matter how limited its capacity, will still have the unity and ability to host the Palaro,” Salceda shared.

No more ‘burning of midnight oil’ for studes in Misamis Oriental

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Thanks to free solar-powered lamps, hundreds of learners in Misamis Oriental can now extend their study time without burning the midnight oil.

Under the “Ilaw ng Pangarap Mo, Sagot Ko” project, the Department of Education (DepEd) Misamis Oriental Division has generated enough funds through various activities to provide solar-powered lamps in 368 homes that are either un-energized or are in remote and off-grid areas in Misamis Oriental.

According to DepEd Misamis Oriental Schools Division Superintendent Cherry Limbaco, division personnel and teachers organized a rummage sale and sold second-hand clothing and products. They also offered fresh vegetables and fruits at the Schools Division Office and at various schools. This fundraising campaign has lasted from October to December 2015.

The said project by DepEd Misamis Oriental Division is an offshoot of DepEd’s “One Child, One Lamp” campaign, which seeks to raise funds for the purchase of solar lamps that will then be distributed to students in off-grid areas.

Through the collective efforts of DepEd Misamis Oriental Division personnel and teachers, students in the community received solar-powered lamps to help them study at night.

“One Child, One Lamp” is a component of LightEd PH Campaign, an umbrella campaign also by DepEd, which provides solutions through conventional and alternative sources of energy to schools that have no power.

“Students in off-grid barangays have limited time to study at night. Providing them electricity or solar lamps will help them extend their study time, thus increasing the chance to improve their academic performance,” said DepEd Undersecretary for Partnership and External Linkages Mario Deriquito.

As of School Year 2013-2014, there are at least 1,101,051 students who have limited access to technology due to unavailability of electricity 

“The health of these students is also at risk from using kerosene lamps that emit harmful fumes, which is the only means for them to study at night,” Deriquito added.

‘Christmas gift’

The “Ilaw ng Pangarap Mo, Sagot Ko” project benefited 76 learners in Impadiding, Claveria; 38 learners in Lacbangan, Claveria; 101 learners in Malunsagay, Claveria; 92 learners in Kamansi, Lagonglong; 40 learners in Gumpot, Balingasag; and 21 learners in Lapu-lapu, Balingasag. In total, 368 solar-powered lamps were purchased with the profits from the said campaign.

Gracey Faith Masisti, a grade six pupil from Malunsagay Elementary School, said that she could now extend her study time until during the night because of her new solar-powered lamp. She expressed that it helps not only her schooling, but her family as well.

Masisti added that she is even more excited to study at home because it is brighter now with the help of the solar-powered lamp. 

“Salamat kaayo sa solar-powered lamp, isipon nako ug sa akong pamilya kini usa ka Christmas gift, amo gayud kining ampingan. Daghan kaayo salamat (I am very thankful for the solar powered lamp; my family and I think of it as a Christmas gift, and we will really take care of it. Thank you very much).”

Ramer Tangkal, another grade six pupil from Impadiding Elementary School said that, “mas ma-inspire pa gayud ko karon sa pag-study kay hayag na ang palibot ug mas maningkamot pa gayud ko aron makatibawas sa pag-skwela aron pud makatabang ko sa ako pamilya (I'm even more inspired now to study because it is brighter and I will work harder to improve my schooling so that I can help my family).”