Jollibee kicks-off the earliest, longest Christmas season with 20th #MaagaAngPasko launch

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Jollibee celebrates the 20th year of Maaga ang Pasko, a merrier and longer Christmas happenings awaits kids across the country.

To set the early Christmas mood, Maaga ang Pasko caroling events were held in different Jollibee branches featuring celebrities and chorale groups to officially launch the campaign. 

The Christmas spirit was definitely in the air as Jolly Toy Scouts and customers trooped to the stores to listen to all-time favorite carols and drop their toy and book donations. 

The Voice Kids’ winner Lyca Gairanod, and finalists Darlene Vibares and Juan Karlos Labajo led the  Maaga ang Pasko donations at Jollibee Greenmeadows.

At Jollibee Greenmeadows in Quezon City, The Voice Kids Top 4 finalists Lyca Gairanod, Juan Karlos Labajo, and Darlene Vibares performed their trademark songs and joined the Singles for Christ choir in singing the Maaga ang Pasko jingle. The young talents were also introduced as the newest endorsers of the Jollibee Kids Club, together with their fellow finalist Darren Espanto. ( Jollibee Kicks off 20th Maaga ang Pasko with The Voice Kids winners )

Jollibee joins Nadine as the Cheesy Bacon Mushroom Yum ambassador drops her donation at the Maaga ang Pasko box in Jollibee Mabalacat.

At Jollibee Mabalacat in Pampanga, young sensation Nadine Lustre brought her own family to take part in the gift-giving campaign. “Our family has been supporting Maaga ang Pasko even before I became a Jollibee endorser. I feel blessed because as an official member of the Jollibee family, I can now do more and influence more people to share what they have and make kids happy this Christmas.” The actress also serenaded her fans with songs from her debut album, as well as joyful Christmas jingles with the Lumen Anima Chorale. 

Original Jolly Toy Scout Aga Muhlach makes his Christmas donation in the Maaga ang Pasko box during the launch in Jollibee Canlubang.

Jollibee then paid tribute to long-time ambassador and original Jolly Toy Scout Aga Muhlach at Jollibee Canlubang in a similar caroling activity. Together with members of the Jollibee marketing team, the seasoned actor gamely joined the Lumen Anima Chorale in a more upbeat rendition of the Maaga ang Pasko jingle. 

“Maaga ang Pasko came from a very simple idea but a genuine desire to make kids happy on Christmas time. No matter what they may be going through in life, a kid’s face lights up whenever you give them a toy. I approached Jollibee because I know they can help me expand that into something even bigger and more impactful,” shared Aga.

“I could not be any more grateful to Jollibee for bringing Maaga ang Pasko to where it is now, as the longest-running and biggest campaign of its kind in the country that has reached hundreds of thousands of children across the country.”

The celebrity guests each led the gift-giving ceremony by making their own toy and book donations together with members of the Jollibee Kids Club. Jollibee customers showed their support by lining up to drop their donations in the Maaga ang Pasko boxes. 

“For the 20th year of Maaga ang Pasko, we’re targeting to bring the magic of toys and books to the most number of children in the history of the campaign. We are once again counting on the support of kind-hearted Filipino families from all over the globe to make this year the ‘pinaka-maaga, pinakamahaba at pinakamalaking Pasko’ for our Filipino kids,” said Jollibee Vice-President for Marketing Harvey Ong. 

Aside from dropping donations in Maaga ang Pasko boxes in Jollibee stores nationwide, anyone can also take part in the campaign by making online donations at www.jollibee.com.ph/MaagaAngPasko.

Early Christmas shoppers can also buy and directly drop their donations in all Goodwill Bookstore and Toy Kingdom stores. 

Globe sets new standard in retail as it opens its Generation 3 flagship stores simultaneously in Manila and Cagayan de Oro

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Globe Telecom opens a wonderful era, as it sets new standard in retail with the opening of brand new Gen 3 stores in SM City North EDSA simultaneously with Limkatkai Mall in Cagayan de Oro City. 

With the new Gen 3 stores, Globe transforms the digital lifestyle of Filipinos who enjoy their favorite smartphone, tablet, and social media among others to get the best out of living. 

As I witnessed the Gen3 stores launch yesterday, December 15, 2014 at the Globe Telecom, 4th Floor, Annex Bldg, SM North City EDSA hosted by Bianca Gonzalez and in CDO, Matteo Guidicelli.

The very first live simulcast party featuring DJs Bad Kiss, Mars Miranda in Manila and DJ Callum David and Eric Capili in Cagayan de Oro.

Joe Caliro, Globe Head of Retail Transformation and Management, first shares an excitements for the #TheNextAct. “Exciting, unexpected, and experiential are the words to describe our GEN3 Stores. The concept and design of the GEN3 Stores have undergone intense research and consultation with the world’s top-notch designers and architecture experts. We are inviting customers to explore and be inspired by the stores’ four zones—music, entertainment, productivity, and life so they can fully enjoy a wonderful world,” said Joe Caliro.

“Globe is proud to bring to Filipino consumers another world-standard differentiated experience. Our passion for our customers inspires us to end the year on a high note by bringing innovation a notch higher in our stores, one of our key customer touch points, allowing us to truly empower our customers' digital lifestyles,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO. 

The Globe Gen3 stores will further engage and delight customers by fueling their passion in the areas of music, entertainment, productivity, and life. With the opening of the GEN3 Stores, Globe has topped some of the iconic stores in the US and around the world.

The Globe GEN3 stores are home to various lifestyle zones with stories and exciting features for customers to experience and enjoy. These zones feature latest trends in product, people and even in business. Various lifestyle vignettes illustrate mobile and broadband technologies as connected solutions—featuring the latest devices, apps, digital connectors gadgets and services that contribute to the total interactive customer experience

The lifestyle zones will also highlight the stories of brand ambassadors every quarter. The store is a platform for the introduction of must-watch personalities who are blazing new trails in their respective Art, Community and Technology spaces. For the first quarter of 2015, with Music as the main theme, Globe GEN3 will feature four of the coolest DJs of this generation: DJ Badkiss, Callum David, Mars Miranda, and Eric Capilli - who all have inspiring success stories in their chosen career. In the coming months, it will also feature the aspiring story of JR Dela Paz, a Globe myBusiness ambassador and owner of fast-rising restaurant chain Size Matters. 

The Globe GEN3 Store will also serve as a venue to introduce the latest products, devices, and services offered by Globe. To start, it is the first retailer in Asia to introduce and carry Google Cardboard, the fold-your-own virtual reality headset. Consumers can definitely expect more exciting products rolling out in the next quarters. 

Apart from reconfigured store displays, customers can also check out the Play Bar to explore the different featured apps and sit through one-on-one service consultations. Self-service tools are available that allow better interaction with customer representatives through a video hotline.

At SM North EDSA unveiling the new Gen 3 stores designed by renowned designer Tim Kobe.

The Globe GEN3 Stores are designed by Tim Kobe, founder and CEO of Eight, Inc. His most famous work is the Apple Store in New York.

On his design plan for GEN3, Tim Kobe shared:

“The space is dynamic. It changes with new stories and experiences that support different events and moments. We have elements that move and reconfigure, the way entertainment venues support great concerts or shows.”

Tim Kobe also shared the importance of functionality in the Globe GEN3 Stores, saying “Retail is one touch point where brands build relationships and sell products and services. It is important today to have a place to demonstrate what you stand for. More than 50% of the reason why someone engages with a brand comes from word of mouth. Interestingly, 80% of word of mouth comes from direct experience. Designing the experience is critical to building brand advocates.”

Leading up to the launch of the GEN3 Stores, Globe collaborated with homegrown Philippine artists who took part in one of the telco’s biggest transformation projects to better serve its customers. Led by multi-awarded artist Ross Capili, the artists turned their design inspirations into live art galleries, showcasing murals exhibiting Globe’s brilliant vision, complementing the look, feel, and experience of its GEN3 Stores.

By 2015, Globe is set to convert more of its existing stores into GEN3 Stores to bring the world-class telco retail experience to more Filipinos.

Pre-Fab Modular Homes can be stylish, energy-efficient and income-earning too

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Do you know “pre-fab homes”?

Pre-fab homes today are practically custom-built, beautifully designed, sturdy, long-lasting, energy-efficient, and ready to meet the challenges posed by the elements. Although built in quick time, no compromise has been made on its quality or integrity.

Some says "pre-fab" thought of soldiers’ barracks, temporary shelters or low-cost houses that the government put up for mass housing in the 60s and 70s. But prefabricated homes have come a long way. Whether its purpose is to be a family home, a vacation getaway, or a home that one can use for business, one can now find a trendy modular home to cherish and be proud of because it looks good and performs superbly as a dwelling unit too.

New homes that use this fast and flexible building technique have also been hailed for using sustainable, recycled, low-energy materials and fixtures that result in functional, space-efficient, eco-friendly design.

Aluform PreFab Construction and Consultancy, makers of office buildings and technoparks, has brought stylish modular housing to the Philippines to meet the needs of young families, investment-seekers and upwardly mobile professionals on the lookout for homes that are ready for occupancy within a shorter waiting time. The modular dwellings are convenient to construct, flexible in terms of space usage and cost much less than a conventionally built home.

Classy looking and stylish, Aluform Pre-Fabricated Homes come in two designs: Country and Zen. Both are airy, with their respective charm and appeal, are spacious and energy efficient, and make good use of available light and ventilation to lower energy bills by as much as 20%. The energy savings of up to 20% is due to good insulating roof and wall materials, plus sufficient air ventilation that keeps the stylish home in a comfortable 28 degrees Celsius zone at high noon!

The façade is made of wood-like planks of finished materials, while the actual panels are reinforced with pre-cast concrete filled with insulation materials for total thermal, moisture and acoustic protection. These give the homes their energy-saving properties.

Designed for both luxury and function, strategically placed windows and doors allow natural light to enter the home. The windows use a certified double-glazed system that insulates the house from external noise and other kinds of pollution. Louver features below the roof keep the ceiling well ventilated at all times.

The houses have a floor area of 135 square meters and have a multi-purpose Lanai, which is one of the best features of Aluform Pre-Fabricated Homes. The generous space opens up the home investment to many possibilities. The lanai area can be used to make a bigger dining room, if desired, an entertainment area, a bigger garage. Or even to open up a business space like a home office, a mini grocery, barber shop, parlor, snack shop, kitchenette, or other enterprise that can make the home earn additional income for its owners. 

Built to withstand the elements, Aluform Pre-Fabricated Homes are easier to put up than conventional on-site constructions. One can have a home built in 60 days or less that is immediately livable because furnishings are already in place within that period. Highly versatile, they are also good for export and are transferrable to other locations in the future, if desired.

“Aluform Pre-Fab Homes are highly desirable during these times when more and more families and individuals lead an active lifestyle and are discovering their entrepreneurial spirit. They can be lived in as simple residences, but can also make good home offices or the site of income generating ventures. Enterprising owners can make them places where they can “live and earn”. There are infinite possibilities,” says Ritchie Catalan, Marketing Officer of Aluform Industries, Inc.

Aluform Industries, Inc. supplies the materials for the homes but would-be owners can engage their own contractors if preferred. They can also avail of Aluform’s services for the house construction.

For more information and dealership inquiries, call (0917) 828-8189 and (0917) 891-1088. Or email modular.creation@gmail.com.

Edsa Shrine: Filipino legacy, faith continue to live on for 25 years

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Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue or popularly known as Edsa is a famous landmark that left an indelible mark in the Philippine history as a bastion of power that emanated from the people to oust an oppressive dictatorship.

At the heart of this cradle of heroism is a shrine that was consecrated and dedicated on December 15, 1989 to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, who miraculously interceded to bring down a tyrannical leadership and restore the country's democracy through the peaceful and bloodless People Power Revolution in 1986.

The Edsa Shrine that came into being since then has become a living monument of praise and pride for every Juan. 

"And that has developed from a small, thriving community into a full-grown, practically huge one that is not only serving the Church, but serving the people who come here to fulfill their spiritual needs," said Rev. Fr. Nilo Mangussad, rector of Edsa Shrine.

While others think of it as a parish, the priest reiterated that it's merely a "quasi-parish" welcoming individuals and families of faithful, forming 23 ministries and serving multitudes of people from different sectors. 

Simply, its vision and on-going mission is to become a vibrant community of Christian servant-leaders that advocates love, peace, truth and unity, inspired by Mary, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Edsa.

"So, it is indeed a conglomeration of a lot of different people from different dioceses," Fr. Nilo said. "Historically coming from then Cardinal Sin and Archbishop Socrates Villegas, it is trying to become a community that will show that unity is possible; prayer to love problems is possible; a community that loves, understands, forgives is possible; and that truth, freedom is possible not by powerful means or force, but by prayer."

Although the Shrine has constantly grown as a community for the last 25 years, he conceded that still it has been faced with a lot of challenges and yet "the essence of the spirit is continuing up to now that the community growing with that spirit is not only keeping to themselves, but going upwards to let the people experience it at the way we experience it here inside."

"The Shrine is growing bigger and bigger that the space is no longer enough to contain the organizations, the ministries, and the various groups that want to come here to experience it. And we are now exponentially going out," he stressed.

As the Edsa Shrine turns silver this year, it is but apt to relive its glory with a big bang revolving around its theme,"EDSA Shrine @ 25: Truly Alive!"

Kicking off the jubilee celebration was the unveiling of its logo last October, followed by the Bayanihan Clean-up activity by the different ministries of the EDSA Shrine last month, and a series of talks on the Art and Architecture of the EDSA Shrine. 

Leading to the inception date itself, Novena Masses to Our Lady, Queen of Peace are now ongoing until December 14, at 5:30 pm on weekdays and Saturdays and 6 pm on Sundays. Different bishops and beloved priests preside, among which, no less than His Eminence, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, who will celebrate with the community on the ninth day.

The ceremonial mass of the 25th Anniversary of EDSA Shrine will be on December 15 at 5:30 pm to be officiated by His Excellency, Socrates B. Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan and incumbent CBCP president. 

A grand celebration concert dubbed "Edsa Shrine @ 25: Truly Alive!" shall follow at Meralco Theater at 8 pm. This free concert is produced and participated in by many volunteers of the Shrine to look back at its humble beginnings and where it is headed to. Performances from the various ministries and members of the community as well as surprise guest artists are lined up.

DepEd reiterates “No Collection Policy” in public schools

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The Department of Education (DepEd) reminded all public school authorities that collection of any fees for school activities and celebrations is strictly prohibited.

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said that contributions in public schools should be voluntary. He added that while Parents-Teachers Association may be authorized to collect financial contributions from its members to enable it to implement programs and projects (such as Christmas parties) for the benefit of the students, the fees should be voluntary and agreed upon by the members in a general assembly.

Luistro urged the PTAs to minimize the amount of contributions for ceremonies and extra-curricular activities in consideration of the many expenses that parents incur in sending their children to school.

He said, “The payment of such contributions shall not be made a requirement. Non-payment of voluntary school contributions shall not be made as a basis for non-admission, non-promotion, or non-issuance of clearance to a student—including the withholding of school cards.”

Luistro urged all schools to keep celebrations such as Christmas parties simple yet meaningful.