Melco Resorts (Philippines) Foundation Corporation to construct PSG Station Hospital

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The foundation of City of Dreams Manila is committed to implement and fund projects for environmental and health programs

Signing the Memorandum of Agreement are, from left: Melco Resorts (Philippines) Foundation Corporation’s Corporate Secretary Marissa Tomacruz-Academia, Foundation Vice President Armin Raquel Santos, City of Dreams Manila’s COO Kevin Benning representing Foundation President Clarence Chung and Secretary of National Defense Delfin N. Lorenzana. Witnessing the signing are Jose Memorial Medical Center’s Chief II Emmanuel Montaña, Jr., Antonio Mariano Almeda, Department of Health Undersecretary Herminigildo V. Valle, former Presidential Security Group Commander Brig. Gen. Lope C. Dagoy and the Department of National Defense’s Acquisition, Installations and Logistics ASEC Jesus Rey R. Avilla and Chief of Legal Affairs Service Norman Daanoy.

Melco Resorts (Philippines) Foundation Corporation (MRP Foundation, the foundation of City of Dreams Manila) signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of National Defense for the construction of the Presidential Security Group station hospital in the vicinity of Malacanang Palace. The hospital will be constructed by MRP Foundation in support of PAGCOR’s directive to the integrated resorts to implement and fund projects for environmental and health programs.

Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana signed the agreement with MRP Foundation’s Kevin Benning, chief operating officer of City of Dreams Manila representing Clarence Chung, president; Armin Raquel Santos, vice president; Marissa Tomacruz-Acadamia, corporate secretary. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Brig. Gen. Lope Dagoy, until recently the Commander of the Presidential Security Group; Department of Health Undersecretary Herminigildo Valle; Jose Memorial Medical Center’s Chief II Emmanuel Montaña, Jr., Antonio Mariano Almeda; and from the Department of National Defense, Jesus Rey R Avilla, Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions, Installations and Logistics, and Norman Daanoy, Chief Legal Affairs.

At ceremonies celebrating the PSG’s 121st anniversary recently, PSG Commander Col. Jose Eriel Niembra presented plaques of appreciation to MRP Foundation President Clarence Chung and PAGCOR Chair Andrea Domingo for their continuous support of PSG’s various programs.

MRP Foundation President and Chairman Clarence Chung (center) with AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Carlito G. Galvez Jr. (left), and PSG Commander Col. Jose Eriel M. Niembra (right), after awards ceremonies on the 121st anniversary of the PSG.

The support for the construction of the PSG hospital is also part of MRP Foundation’s long-term and sustainable corporate social responsibility undertakings to support environmental and health programs. Last year, the foundation upon the agreement with PAGCOR committed to a monthly donation of P1 Million or a year’s donation of P12 Million to the government of Parañaque City’s health program to procure medicines, medical supplies and equipment for the city’s government-maintained hospitals.

On a broader perspective and to complement the MRP Foundation initiatives, City of Dreams Manila upholds its long-term commitment to contribute primarily to the communities in which the luxury resort operates its business. This responsibility to create a positive impact in society is deeply ingrained in every employee through active volunteerism. More than 4,000 of its employees or 80% of its workforce have participated in the resort’s sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. Various CSR activities are held at least twice a month during which employees regardless of rank work hand in hand to help those in need and conserve the environment.

City of Dreams Manila’s year-round outreach programs include providing for basic needs, social and learning activities for orphans and the elderly; annual blood donations for Red Cross; donating relief goods for those affected by disasters, and participating in tree-planting and coastal clean-up drives. The various undertakings are aptly named “Spoonful of Dreams” for the care of orphans and street children, ”Connecting Dreams” for the special time spent with the elderly, “Headful of Dreams” for educational sessions for children and elders, “Hopeful Dreams“ for hospital visits to indigent patients, “Growing Dreams“ for environmental protection and “Building Dreams” for the repair of beneficiary shelters and schools and volunteering for construction work in select communities.

Globe LIVE with Elements Music Camp to take OPM global

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After bringing and staging world-class musicals in the country, Globe Telecom, through Globe LIVE, is set to revitalize the local music industry by partnering with Elements Music Camp, a platform that develops talented local singer-songwriters for global audience.

Joe Caliro, Globe Senior Advisor for Creative Marketing & Multi Media Businesses, said that the value of Globe is to ensure that the partnership with Elements Music Camp will produce talents that will cater to the global market.

Joe Caliro, Globe Senior Advisor for Creative Marketing & Multi Media Businesses

“The Philippines is full of musical talents and we should discover and prepare them globally. The world has become smaller because of the Internet.  Music distribution has evolved from record bars to online music streaming distribution such as Spotify, YouTube among others and this is where Globe comes in,” Caliro disclosed.

The project will establish Globe’s music arm, which aims to discover, develop, and promote new and quality musical talents in the Philippines. This is part of Globe Live’s plans for this year to highlight and contribute to the overall music strategy of Globe.

Globe partnership with Elements Music Camp  held the launch with the media conference held at Discovery Suites, Ortigas on July 2, 2018

Caliro added that Globe LIVE will bring in five multi-awarded and world-renowned record producers for this year’s Elements Music Camp, who, along with five local mentors, will choose the next global Filipino record artist.

Among the international record producers involved in the camp are Bernard “Harv” Harvey, who’s produced tracks for Justin Bieber; Bassie Blue Hamilton, who’s also worked with Usher, Justin Bieber and also Bruno Mars; Steve Lillywhite who’s produced for U2 and Dave Matthews Band; Def Jam Records SVP Head of A&R Ernest Clark, who has produced for Big Sean, Nicki Minaj, John Legend, and also Justin Bieber; and EDM pioneer Ferry Corsten, who has worked with Benny Benassi, DJ Tiesto, and Armin van Buuren. Also back are veteran Elements mentors Ebe Dancel, Gabby Alipe, Quest, Jungee Marcelo, Jimmy Antiporda, Thyro Alfaro, Jay Durias, and Audie Gemora.

The support for Elements Music Camp shows Globe and its original production arm, Globe LIVE's active involvement and dedication in helping develop talented local artists in the music industry, and as leading entertainment provider in the country, the only brand that provides the tools to support obsessions and superfandoms to “Create. Unstoppable Love.”

“We want to create the venue for talented local musical artists to showcase their craft, assist them, nurture and curate their creative products, and help them bring their music out to the world and hopefully, discover the next great, big thing in Original Pilipino Music,” Caliro explained. “We’re excited to leverage our association with Spotify for Elements.  As the biggest ad-supported music streaming service in the Philippines, Spotify is one of the best platforms for new artists to be discovered and showcase the 10 songs that will be produced at the camp.” 

The Elements Music Camp was founded by Twinky Lagdameo, acclaimed composer Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, and businessman Julio Sy Jr. in 2010.

Previously the camp focused on three important aspects: technical, creative and business with the mentors belonging to the top tiers of the industry. The mentors talked about a wide range of topics including Philippine music history, music theory, lyric writing and musical arrangement.

“This year, we’re going to take the next step and level up. We’re focusing on the technical aspect of creating songs and help the inherent talent of the Filipino singer-songwriter and move it to the level where we feel we could make it into something that is with universal appeal,” shares Ms. Lagdameo.

The 5-day training and development workshop will include an on-site practical teaching and application in mobile recording studios and includes lessons from some of today’s best local music artists: singer-songwriter Clara Benin, known for songs including “Tila,” and “Closure;” singer-songwriter and visual artist Reese Lansangan; and independent composer and musician Bullet Dumas, among others.

With Globe at the helm and co-presented with FrontRow, the artists and producers will get leverage through Globe’s partner platforms such as Spotify, Facebook, and YouTube, so more people can experience the content and the music created through the camp.  

“We are thankful that Globe came in through Joe (Caliro), who readily agreed to provide support after a talk with Audie Gemora, who is an Elements mentor for Performance,” said Ms. Lagdameo.

Lagdameo said that what’s going to be different about this year’s camp is that it will be bigger and better—a level up on what they used to do. Compared to previous camps, the focus is now on the technical aspect. Before it was about the ability to create, to perform. Now it’s a camp where, if one has a good song, has the opportunity to share it to a worldwide audience thanks to Globe and its partners.

This year, ten aspiring music artists will snag a chance to get into the Elements Music Camp. Selection is open for all musicians/songwriters nationwide (aged 21-35), including previous Elements alumni.

Before being selected, applicants will go through a rigorous screening process after which, the team of ten highly-rated, multi-awarded record producers—five local and five international—will select the final ten campers. Campers will then be mentored and closely taught in a 5-day music camp, using sophisticated mobile studios.

To kick-off the celebrations, there will be a reunion concert featuring past mentors and campers such as Ben & Ben, Bullet Dumas, Ebe Dancel, Joey Ayala, Nyoy Volante, and many more, on July 21, 2018, at the UP Theater. Fans should also watch out for a series of videos by Globe Studios following this year’s campers as they go through the mentorship program.

For interested, aspiring, and/or unsigned singer-songwriters, they can submit a demo and fill out the application form at glbe.co/jointhecamp. Application period is from July 5 - 31, 2018.

For more about Globe Telecom, visit www.globe.com.ph.

Globe Telecom sets up new company for tower assets

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Company takes initial step to operationalize divestment of tower assets 

Globe Telecom has taken a step forward to fulfill its plans to divest its tower assets. This is in line with the company's thrust to continuously improve internet connectivity in the Philippines.

On Thursday, July 5, Globe disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that it began the process of incorporating a separate tower holding company. As soon as it gets approval from the SEC, this will operationalize the divestment of all or part of its tower assets through a separate company. Early this year, Globe announced that it has initiated talks with independent third parties for its tower assets.

“As a major industry player we understand what this country needs to improve the internet experience of our customers. Putting up more towers based on global standards within strategic areas will make spectrum use more efficient. We should work together and find all means to supplement the build for towers – either through telcos or tower companies. This in turn will bring us closer to first world internet connectivity," said Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe Telecom.

The company has been pushing for the establishment of tower companies similar to those found in other developed countries. "This initiative will help accelerate the deployment of more cellular towers in the Philippines and foster competition," added Cu.

With the proposed tower holding company, any player can do outright lease of the towers using standard, non-discriminatory commercial terms. The lack of cellular towers has long been identified as the greatest barrier to seamless mobile internet connectivity with no viable short term solution due to permitting issues.

"We remain open to collaborate with new and existing players in the interest of national development,” said Cu. 

The Philippines has one of the lowest tower densities in the world with under 20,000 towers serving 100 million people. Approximately 50,000 more towers should be built in order to serve current voice and data traffic that continuously grows exponentially every year.

AirAsia Guests Get Special Discounts at SM Stores

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AirAsia and SM Stores ink Fly & Shop partnership

AirAsia guests get as much as 10% discount at select SM Stores starting today until 31 December 2018.

Caption (L-R) AirAsia Philippines Director for flight operations Captain Gomer Monreal, AirAsia Philippines Commercial Director Gilbert Simpao, The SM Store SVP Eugene Saw and The SM Store VP Quennielyn Cua.

AirAsia executives led by the airline’s Director for Flight Operations Captain Gomer Monreal and Commercial Director Gilbert Simpao made the special “Fly & Shop” promo announcement during the partnership signing ceremony held recently in Pasay City with SM management represented by The SM Store Senior Vice President Eugene Saw and Vice President Quennielyn Cua.

Captain Gomer Monreal said, “Traveling is a great time for family bonding and group trips and we are making the experience more enjoyable with promotions, discount packages and treats from our mall partners who are all equally committed to deliver only the best quality service and products to our guests. SM is a home grown brand and it brings us so much pride to be working with them.”

Under the agreement, all AirAsia guests may avail of 10% discount on all regular priced items in participating SM Stores located in Mall of Asia, Clark, Telabastagan, Pampanga, Cebu, Seaside – Cebu, Iloilo, Delgado, Davao, Lanang and Puerto Princesa upon presentation of their AirAsia boarding passes and single-receipt purchase from as low as P2,000 only. The promo will run today until 31 December 2018.

The SM Store Senior Vice President Eugene Saw said, “Shopping and traveling goes hand in hand and we are delighted to partner with AirAsia, a global brand, to bring The SM Store shopping experience to their loyal guests.”

Aside from offering promo discounts, SM Malls nationwide also accept payment for AirAsia flights via payment partner option available at www.airasia.com.

Cybersecurity in APAC: The art of simplicity and being on the right side of history - Michael Montoya, Chief Cybersecurity Officer, Microsoft Asia

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We all have “a-ha” moments when that lightbulb above our heads is just too bright to ignore. One came to me when I was in a previous IT operations role. It happened on a day when I had two meetings: first with an endpoint agent team and another with a security operations team.

The endpoint team gave me detailed guidance on the possible performance degradation and alerts we could expect from another agent we were placing on user devices in the pursuit of greater security. Later, the security operations team asked for more resources to address an increasing number of incoming alerts caused by our large security footprint.

The irony raised by these back-to-back meetings struck me, and so I asked myself: “How many security tools do we have to protect our environment?”

Finding the answer was not as simple as I had hoped. But when I was eventually told the approximate number, it was clear to me that we had a problem – and I was part of that problem. People like me have been in the industry long enough to have dealt with server sprawl and application sprawl. Now, we were witnessing security sprawl.

It seems very logical in this world of rapid digital transformation – where businesses and organizations face constant and evolving digital threats – to deploy as many defenses as possible to ward off cyberattacks. The more barriers in place, the more protected you are, right?

Well, I don’t believe I am alone when I say that it is a logical fallacy to think that having more security tools means better security. In fact, they could have the opposite effect, according to new research by IT analyst firm, Frost & Sullivan.

“Understanding the Cybersecurity Threat Landscape in Asia Pacific: Securing the Modern Enterprise in a Digital World” surveyed 1,300 respondents from 13 countries. This Microsoft-commissioned study drilled down into how organizations in our region view, approach, and practice cybersecurity.

One facet of the Study examined the experiences of organizations with different levels of security in place. What it found might, at first glance, seem counter-intuitive: Those that had gone to a lot of expense and trouble to put a wide array of security measures in place often encountered more security incidents than those with fewer defenses.

Moreover, they often took longer to recover from attacks. Of the surveyed organizations set up with more than 50 cybersecurity solutions, only 23% said they had been able to bounce back within an hour of a breach. For the organizations with less than 10 cybersecurity solutions, the figure was 40%.

The truth of the matter is simple: The number of security solutions you have won’t necessarily guarantee the safety of your data or protect your business reputation. The reasons can vary, but often over-complicated layers of complexity can make cybersecurity issues too hard for some companies to handle effectively.

These are just a few of the things that can open the door to threats, including the four this Study identified as being high-impact in Asia Pacific: 

• fraudulent wire transfers; 
• data corruption; 
• online brand impersonation, which is when a cyber fraudster creates a bogus webpage or a social media account, either to harm your brand or simply to gain the confidence of your trusting customers; 
• and data exfiltration, whereby cybercriminals use various malicious ways to copy, transfer, or retrieve data from computers or servers. 

Most of the Study’s respondents knew about the dangers out there and regarded them as real threats – with 59% saying cybercrime threats had hindered them on their digital transformation journeys. But it is problematic to learn what many were doing, or not doing, to manage the risks and why.

Firstly, let’s look at the reasons why the organizations surveyed thought it was a good idea to have a cybersecurity strategy in place. Only 20% regarded cybersecurity as a powerful enabler of digital transformation and the key to future business growth and success. In contrast, 41% simply cited traditional and tactical reasons, like protection from attacks and differentiating themselves from their competitors.

Most also said that when it came to creating new projects, security issues were usually considered after – not before – launch.

In this regard, the Study supports an uncomfortable notion that many of us know to be true: Many business decision-makers in our region still cling to outmoded ways of managing risks, and this is leaving them ill-informed and unprepared for mounting cybersecurity challenges that can ultimately erode their growth prospects.

Digital transformation has made the need for safe and trusted technology a front-and-center factor for business success. But too many organizations still regard security as an add-on, or even an afterthought. Some businesses resist the need to tackle security issues – even as cybercriminals become more sophisticated and as traditional IT boundaries disappear with new devices, apps, and data entering the workplace.

To succeed and thrive as digital enterprises in the years to come, organizations must make security part of the natural flow of their business processes and cycles. And, to ensure security, privacy, and compliance, the protection of company data requires a new approach.

That is why Microsoft has a platform that looks holistically across all the critical end-points of today’s cloud and mobile world. It acts on the intelligence that comes from our security-related global threat monitoring and insights. And, we have a vibrant ecosystem of partners who help us raise the bar across the industry – helping to securely enable our customers’ digital transformations.

Finally, there is the need for cultural change. The boards of too many companies still pick up most of their information about what is happening in cyber from what they read in the media. That’s just not detailed enough to inform them of their specific risks and the mitigation strategies they should be supporting. Increasing the dialogue on this topic amongst board members and IT executives is critical for businesses to thrive in the era of digital transformation and the inevitable consequences of cyberattacks.

The value proposition of cyber defense is changing. Traditionally, it has been regarded as a cost. Now it should be seen as an asset, simply because customers are demanding a level of security and trust. The more companies digitize, and the more an economy becomes digitally led, the more cybersecurity becomes a business enabler.

As security professionals, our jobs continue to get more complicated and vital to our company’s survival. Use this study as a reminder to ask you yourself two questions: How many security tools do I have to protect my company? And, what role should security play in my company’s digital transformation?

As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella so eloquently states: “right now Microsoft is probably on the right side of history”. Well, I believe we security and IT professionals are also on the right side of history.