WWF-Philippines, Ayala Malls, and partners launch #AyokoNgPlastik movement to work towards a future without harmful plastic

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World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, Ayala Malls and other partner corporations, united under the call to end plastic pollution and work together for a more sustainable future for the Philippines, officially launched #AyokoNgPlastik movement at Glorietta 2 Activity Center last October 16, 2018. 

With eight million tons of plastic ending up in oceans every year, the Philippines ranks as the world’s third plastic polluter of oceans. The #AyokoNgPlastik movement hopes to address these alarming facts by bringing together companies, individuals, and other sectors to minimize and eventually put a stop to single-use plastics such as straws, bags, bottles, and cups. Refusing these is a simple yet strong first step that individuals can take to commit to a sustainable lifestyle, especially since the harm that these materials cause directly affect humans. 

“Plastic pollution is a serious threat not only to marine life but to human life as well. Plastics don’t completely degenerate and just break down into small pieces ─ microplastics ─ which are ingested by the fish that we eat. The possibility of plastics ending up on dinner plates is a serious concern and a health hazard,” said Joel Palma, WWF-Philippines President and CEO. 

The movement is one of the major projects of WWF-Philippines this year. Initiated by its Next Generation Council (NGC), the goal is to raise awareness and encourage individuals to live more consciously and for businesses to operate more sustainably. Introduced during the event, the NGC is made up of young movers and shakers who heeded the call to spread WWF-Philippines’ conservation thrusts. Headed by The Net Group Chair Raymond Rufino, members include television host and columnist Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi, Philux COO Stephanie Kienle-Gonzalez, Magsaysay Transport and Logistics COO Jesse Maxwell, Teach for the Philippines CEO Clarissa Delgado, The Moment Group Co-Founder and Creative Director Abba Napa, and former WWF-Philippines National Youth Council Chairperson Alexa Cancio. 

"Driven by deep concern, every member of the NGC is volunteering time, energy and resources to reduce single-use plastic pollution in the country. The challenge is daunting but we are determined and committed," stated Rufino. 

Mariana Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Malls Deputy Head

Ayala Malls, one of the biggest shopping mall developers in the Philippines, has also expressed support for the movement. As part of the Ayala group of companies (recognized by the United Nations as a sustainable development pioneer), Ayala Malls is committed to driving sustainable business and living practices across their many developments. 

“Sustainability has long been a priority for Ayala Malls and we’re especially proud to have the chance to continue the momentum with WWF. We launched our initial campaign in 2009, with the aim to bring focus to the importance of sustainable living, and last year we established our intent for no plastic shopping bags across Ayala Malls. We are thrilled to have found a partner in WWF for #AyokoNgPlastik campaign, as we work together for a more sustainable future for the Philippines,” said Mariana Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Malls Deputy Head. 

In addition to Ayala Malls, other official partners of the #AyokoNgPlastik movement present during the event include National Geographic, Bellevue Hotels and Resorts, Bo's Coffee, Corkcicle, Coffee Project, Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort, Puerto Pension Inn, foodpanda, HSBC, Impact Hub Manila, IVO, The Lind Boracay, The Moment Group, Toby's Estate, CIBO, and CNN-Philippines. 

“We’re very grateful to have a number of companies join the movement this early on. With their involvement, it makes it easier for Filipinos to veer away from plastic and choose a sustainable alternative instead. We’re hoping to get more partners to participate in this cause,” Palma remarked. 

WWF-Philippines National Ambassadors Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez, who hosted the kickoff event, both stressed the importance of every Filipino’s participation in the movement and how this can contribute to positive environmental change by stating how cleaning up oceans and coastlines is essential in restoring marine life and reiterating the importance of preventing pollutants from entering the oceans. 

“We’re very happy to see the growing number of people interested in beach cleanups. Now the challenge we must all take is to go beyond the beach and do whatever it takes to reduce our own carbon footprint,” Fernandez said. 

“The amount of trash being collected during cleanups is just unimaginable. Everyone needs to realize that our trash is never actually gone and just ends up somewhere else. We need to be responsible travelers and consumers and avoid single-use plastics and recycle what we can,” Nelson added. 

If production and usage of plastic remain unchanged, experts predict that there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. Everyone is invited to take part in the #AyokoNgPlastik movement and can find more details through WWF-Philippines’ social media pages or the official #AyokoNgPlastik Facebook group, which now has almost 3,000 members since its launch 2 months ago. 

WWF National Ambassadors Rovilson Fernandez Iza Calzado and Marc Nelson wearing #AyokoNgPlastik shirts, which are available from October 16 to 21 at Trinoma and Glorietta 

Be a Play Champion! Unilab Foundation and partners invite everyone to be part of this year’s ‘Play Advocacy Week’

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Every child should have access to play. Be it disaster or disease, children are exposed to different situations where they become vulnerable, and they are forced to put their childhood on hold. They may already be suffering from trauma and distress, and there is often no space or opportunity for them to play.

Unilab Foundation believes that play is essential to a child’s holistic development, which is why Play It Forward (PIF) was launched in 2012. All of PIF’s activities are designed to highlight play and its significance to the mental health of children, especially in vulnerable situations. Play It Forward uses therapeutic play to provide psychosocial support to pediatric patients and to children in post-disaster or disaster-prone communities. 

This year, PIF takes play further with Play Advocacy Week 2018, a week-long campaign to encourage everyone to take play seriously and to explore how play can be integrated in today’s society. Happening from November 18 to 24, Play Advocacy Week 2018 aims to make the public recognize the importance of play in a child’s holistic development.

Play is not “laru-laro lang” (it’s just play and it’s not important). According to Dr. Bles de Asis of the Mindfulness, Love and Compassion (MLAC) Institute for Psychosocial Services, “Play is not just important for the child’s healthy and total development—it is essential.” Play can allow children as well as adults to rise up from challenges and regain the strength to live a full life. 

Play It Forward has enabled access to play for thousands of children by facilitating play sessions in hospitals and communities, therefore providing them with safe spaces they need to release stress and build resilience. “Play It Forward hopes to reach more communities and organizations through Play Advocacy Week. We invite everyone to join our cause,” says Lilibeth Aristorenas, Executive Director of Unilab Foundation.

Companies, organizations, families and individuals can all become Play Champions to help make play happen for Filipino children, for a healthier Philippines. Be part of the Play Advocacy Week celebration by organizing your own activity in your respective communities and groups, or spreading the word through social media. 

Play Advocacy Week is led by Unilab Foundation's Play It Forward and endorsed by the Council for the Welfare of Children. This activity is supported by the Department of Education, UNICEF, World Vision, City of Tacloban, City of Valenzuela, City of Malabon, DepEd Ilagan, Isabela, Municipality of Atimonan, Quezon, DepEd Marinduque, DepEd Surigao City, DepEd Bicol, Gawad Kalinga, Fundlife International, Ateneo Bulatao Center for Psychology Services, Miriam College, MLAC Institute, The Mind Museum, PETA, Fe Del Mundo Medical Center, Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Rizal Medical Center, National Kidney Transplant Institute, Capitol University Medical Center, Our Lady of Peace Hospital, Dr. Arturo Pingoy Medical Center, Lariosa Clinic and Hospital, Southern Philippines Medical Center, Tebow Cure Hospital, Metro Davao Medical & Research Center, Inc., National Children’s Hospital, HealthServ, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, My Brave Little Warrior, Metrobank Purple Hearts Club, Cherubs Therapeutic Massage Therapy Advocates, Inc., Kythe Foundation Inc., World Surgical Foundation, Unilab, Gurufirm, Philippine School of Interior Design, Philam Foundation and ComCo Southeast Asia.

For partnerships and more information about the Play Advocacy Week, please contact the secretariat at (+632) 858-1000 local 8163 or email partnerships@unilabfoundation.org. You may also visit www.facebook.com/PlayItForwardPH and www.unilabfoundation.org.

Mondelez Philippines Joins with Rise Against Hunger , Providing access to fresh food for families

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Mondelez Philippines, Inc. has partnered with Rise Against Hunger Philippines, an organization working to end hunger, improve food security and reduce food wastage. Together, the two organizations help bring Mondelez Philippines’ delicious and nutritious food products to families in danger of hunger. 

In the Philippines, undernutrition is a big problem. According to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 31.2% of children aged 5-10 years old are underweight (2015). This means that almost a third of children do not get the right nutrition for their growing minds and bodies. 

With this challenge in mind, Mondelez Philippines works to help provide access to fresh food to children in need. Most recently, it has partnered with Rise Against Hunger, an organization focused on helping end hunger, improve food security and reduce food wastage. 

“Our initiatives include feeding programs for schools in locations nationwide, community food donations and the Good Food Grocer,” shares Jomar Fleras, Executive Director of Rise Against Hunger Philippines. “The Good Food Grocer is the first food bank social franchise in the Philippines.” 

A food bank is a place where stocks of food are supplied free to people in need. 

“Located in Taguig City, we accept donations of food from companies and individuals. We then provide these to families in need. We also provide livelihood programs to develop food products, establish community gardens as a source of fresh food and provide nutrition education classes to help improve cooking and eating practices,” Fleras continues. 

As a global food company, maker of the world’s favorite snacks like Tang powdered beverage, Mondelez Philippines is committed to the same cause as Rise Against Hunger. 

“We have similar goals of helping families and communities to receive good nutrition and avoid hunger,” explains Shanahan Chua, Head of Corporate and Government Affairs of Mondelez Philippines. 

“Together with Rise Against Hunger Philippines, we hope to extend our well-being efforts to more Filipino families and help address the issue of malnutrition. We are extremely excited about this partnership since it’s a great extension of our Joy Schools community program.”

Since the start of the partnership between Mondelez Philippines and Rise Against Hunger, 3,400 children and 700 families have benefitted from the initiative. 

Mondelez Philippines also implements the Joy Schools program. Established in 2011, the program aims to provide a daily nutritious meal to undernourished public elementary students. To date, 4,500 children have benefitted from a daily 9-month feeding program, helping improve their nutritional status, attendance in school and academic performance. 

About Mondelez Philippines, Inc. 

Mondelez Philippines has been creating more moments of joy by providing consumers with delicious snack products since 1963. Its product portfolio includes: Tang powdered beverages, Eden cheese, mayonnaise, and sandwich spread, Cheez Whiz spread, Oreo cookies, Tiger energy biscuits, belVita breakfast biscuits, as well as Toblerone and Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates. The company employs about 450 people in the Philippines, with a manufacturing facility in Parañaque City. 

All Toby’s Sports Stores Now Accepts GCash-Alipay

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Toby’s Sports constantly evolves to keep up with the times. When it comes to store design, features, merchandise, and staff, Toby’s Sports maintains their stronghold and continues to push the limits of the sports retailing industry. 

Today, the largest sports retailer in the country has more than 150 brands and showcases more than 60,000 unique items in 56 branches nationwide. Thirty years later, far from their small beginnings, Toby’s Sports continues to serve millions of Filipinos and igniting their passion for sports. 

“We are looking forward to the incorporation of GCash-Alipay as a payment method in our physical stores nationwide. This partnership with Globe is definitely in line with our efforts to continuously innovate, improve overall customer experience, and to make it easier for everyone to pay for products they shop at Toby’s Sports, as well as in our two other retail chains—RUNNR and urbanAthletics,” said Toby Claudio, President of Quorum International Inc. 

GCash-Alipay is now accepted nationwide in all branches of Toby’s Sports, RUNNR and Urban Athletics. New GCash users can use the referral code GOTOBYS and get One Hundred Twenty pesos (P120.00) when they register to GCash and Scan to Pay! 

“With the joint GCash-Alipay QR, all stores of Toby’s Sports, RUNNR and Urban Athletics can now accept payments from GCash users as well as Chinese tourists who are Alipay users. We are committed to make the shopping experience more convenient through our Scan-to-pay technology which allows for an easier payment transaction via the QR code. This partnership is part of our drive to offer more merchants where our users can use GCash,” said Anthony Thomas, CEO of Mynt. Mynt if the company which operates GCash. 

Paying via QR code is now available in all Toby’s Sports, RUNNR and urbanAthletics branches in the Philippines. For GCash users, they can pay via the scan to pay feature in the GCash app, through very simple and easy steps. A customer with an iPhone or Android smartphone only needs to download or update to the latest version of the GCash app, register an account, and fund their GCash wallet at any of over 16,000 GCash partner outlets nationwide. Once done, the customer just needs to tap on “Scan QR,” point the phone’s camera at the partner’s QR code and pay.

Pan-Asian insurer FWD with partner Humanity & Inclusion celebrated the beginning of the Forward Together project to help hundreds of young people with disabilities in Asia find employment

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Pan-Asian insurer FWD and non-profit Humanity & Inclusion to help hundreds of young people with disabilities in Asia find employment

FWD Life Insurance, the most exciting insurance brand in the country, together with its partner Humanity & Inclusion (formerly known as Handicap International, an independent international aid organization), celebrated the beginning of the Forward Together project, helping young people with disabilities find employment opportunities in the Philippines and beyond.

Through the regional partnership initially announced by the insurer in the first half of 2018, both organizations will work towards advocating equal opportunities and empowering people with disabilities in Asia. With FWD Group investing USD 1million, the Forward Together project will train at least 380 youth with disabilities in the Philippines and Indonesia and help them secure sustainable employment or business opportunities.

“FWD Life Philippines aims to end the stigma that disability corresponds to inability,” FWD Life Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Grimes said. “Through our partnership with Humanity & Inclusion, we hope to provide a platform for people with disabilities to showcase their strengths and abilities. We want to encourage everyone to help create a future with a difference for people with disabilities with opportunities to become valuable and equal contributors to the community.”

“Developing countries are encouraged to invest in youth, but unfortunately, young people with disabilities are usually overlooked in employment and entrepreneurship opportunities,” said Bryan Andrew Marsalis, Humanity & Inclusion Regional Operation Coordinator. “That is why we are very delighted to have such strong support from FWD Group in our advocacy of improving the lives of youth with disabilities. Through this project, we will work with selected employers – including FWD Group – across the two target countries to improve their capacity to employ youth with disabilities.”

FWD Life Philippines Head of Marketing and Community Care Country Lead Roche Vandenberghe

“At FWD, we are committed to promoting social inclusion and active participation of persons with disabilities, and are very excited to kick start our work with Humanity & Inclusion,” said FWD Life Philippines Head of Marketing and Community Care Country Lead Roche Vandenberghe. “With the Forward Together project, we are enabling businesses and organizations such as ours to become catalysts for quality job creation.”

FWD Life Philippines and Humanity & Inclusion celebrated the beginning of its Forward Together project with a media event, an interactive visual language activity, and escape room challenge participated by volunteers from both organizations as well as members of the media, held on October 17, 2018 at Century City Mall in Makati City.