A Selfless Act: CEO Uses Wedding Fund To Save Employees Work During Pandemic

Everybody wishes a grand wedding. It's a celebration of love, and couples really spend a lot for it in the Philippines because it's a union. It's when both your families, your closest friends and loved ones and well wishers come celebrate with you. It's also expected to be a feast as lunch/dinners are time for bonding for both families, it's a huge expense by any standard as it includes a lot of people. Still, it's something worth every cent because nothing beats a memorable wedding day.

The pandemic has all caught us unaware and nobody predicted the casualties to the economy. Business were hit hard, some fell on bent knees, closed, and thousands lost their livelihood. Health and beauty brand Aqua Skin's CEO Jeff Geronimo almost became a part of that statistic. He was supposed to get married to Trish on March 18, 2020 when the worldwide health crisis hit the Philippines. Both decided to postpone their wedding at a later date as it became a struggle to do so at that time. Needless to say, they also found themselves in the midst of slump. Their sales was at an all time low, they couldn't source materials for their products as ports and businesses (their suppliers) closed. It was a sure test of his leadership, as funds from the business became scarce, and later depleted. With negative figures in his account, Jeff thought more about his employees and their families. He knew they needed to still provide for their household, put food on the table while the world was healing.  

 

Jeff says "I know nobody wanted this pandemic to happen, I need to make sure that they're all well and safe. I used my own savings (money he had to finance their wedding and dream home) to help them first, then create more SKU's for Aqua Skin products to get the business running.  I wouldn't want to see them become unemployed/retrenched at the most difficult time. We had to start from scratch, I couldn't give up because I felt responsible, they and their families were counting on me."

From a small office for 5 people, they now have a big one and more employees!

 

True enough, they were able to survive that stage and started growing even more.  His employees showcased hard work, dedication and trust with the brand, him and the company. He felt it was all well worth the sacrifices they made in the past few years. He says "The pandemic taught us a lot, I owe it all to our employees. This has also made us focus more on solutions and become pro active in addressing business problems."

Today, they have been able to start building their new home, a new office and fulfill the dream wedding they've wanted all these years. His awe inspiring story is just one of many success stories in his company today, and in our books, well deserved. Someone should pat him in the back right now, cheers to more successful years!

Contact Islands '21: Re-igniting Growith in the new Business Environment

Just got off the CCAP Contact Islands '21 virtual conference supported by PLDT Entertprise and I've learned a lot of things. The theme this year is "Re-igniting Growith in the new Business Environment. The first day discusses Customer Service in the time of COVID. True enough, we're all stuck at home covering this but things are pushing through.


Bea Lim, Managing Director for TeamAsia stood as host. During the opening remarks, Jojo Uligan the President of Contact Center Association of the Philippines says "We're excited to have the Contact Islands 2021 event this year. From the CCAP members, government members, and our allies, welcome to the event. Last year, 6-700 people attende this event last year despite conditions, but this year we're going to have almost 1000 people to join us. We are celebrating our 20th year, our founding annivesary. We started in 2001, and we promise to celebrate in a big way. When we started, employee accounts to about 2000 people, but now we're close to a million employees in this industry. Now we have 20+ members, so please join us by celebrating this in 2021, we will invite all of you before the year ends. The volcanic eruption, earthquake, typhoon and the pandemic has challenged us, we're inviting industry leaders so we could learn how to navigate the business in this session. This is a whole week of exciting topics and discussions on how we could grow this industry and get through all these challenges. You can visit the sessions, look at our lobbies, talk to one another in our networking sessions, you can take advantage of who our partners are. We hope to be more interactive in Airmeet, this will also allow you to engage with other delegates and do networking. We have companies sharing their stories, best practices, showcase what they have in their company and our exhibitors to show you what they have that could help us. In behalf of CCAP, we thank you!"

Benedict Hernandez, Chairman of the Board of Contact Center Association of the Philippines says "We had a really successful conference last year and we want to take advantage of that now. The last 18 months have been challenging, it's been a period of uncertainty, confusion, frustration, but still have determination. We keep moving forward, we embody resiliency, we want to have a rebound in the contact center industry, we see growth, the Philippines is still growing faster, our ability to expand is our secret, we outpace others, we have had incredible cooperation with the government. We are an essential part of growth and continue to lead in creating more jobs and helping the Philippines to have uninterrupted year on year growth despite the things that are happening today. We are a durable sector, the global IT BPM services market has rebounded in 2021, and this is just a tipping point that we need a digital ICT industry to induce growth. We continue to have growth in the global market forecast, while others struggle. There's no one better than us. If you think about the impact of 20 years of employment growth is huge, that's 1.3 Million, in highly skilled and highly paid careers. We have size, scale, we have the ability to grow. The pandemic has devastated other industries, but we continue to lead in job generation and economic recovery. We continue to prioritize the health of our employees, coordinate with government agencies for vaccination so we get herd immunity. Our capacity to layout fiber in homes were ramped up, there's a lot more to catch up still. This enables our people to be productive at popup sites, even at home. This pandemic made customers realize the need to digitize, to do work from home. We're still learning, in a sustained manner, as a hybrid model. We have discussions on the business environment in the future sessions (on Friday) and we look forward to see that, hope you get inspired how to do a rebound, to help the Philippines get back on its feet."

 

Customer Service Management at the time of COVID

 

The IT BPM industry has bounced back from reduced productivity levels. To get you a picture of what has happened in the CXM services, data was presented by Shirley Hung of the Everest Group.

Shirley Hung, Business Process Services for the Everest Group says "We are a global market research firm focused on global trends. The global economy has shrunk 4% but the CXM Global Market has continued to grow at 4.8%, recovering by late last year. This is eyed to continue in the next few years. It shows a great bounce back, growth has been seen even this year in Contact Center Services showing resiliency in these hard times without any major incidents. They worked on AI based customer inquiries while they prepare agents for remote work. Banking, Health Care, were all set in home environments without compromising security. Companies prioritized customer experience, set changes in business models. This is called new generation services. Outsourcing are low, but gorwing fast for service providers. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, in our last report we had 40 services providers, some winners, some are losers. Some grew and expand during these times, did growth by expanding, successfully leveraging digital work at home solutions. Revenues are grown faster, enablers, growing dependents for their CXM services. Some are hit the hardest during the pandemics, losing clients, laying off agents, now they are re-calibrating for their growth in the future. There is still a long line of providers that are also losing market shares. These are being set conservatively to 3-5% on growth rather than previous 5%. Fast paced adoption from specific industries along with digital CXM and WAHA models are driving CXM market growth. The final driver has to do with streaming, gaming, fintech, CXM including vaccination and health drives. In addition there is exponential growth in the retail sector because of online sales. As the economy recovers, we will be sharing market trends in detail in the future. Over the next 3-4 years, the WAHA model would be normalized and some industries are still going to be very strict in security especially for banking and health sectors. In the coming years, there will be some who will return in offices. The number of organizations doing AI, digital transformation has doubled during this year. We are seeing fantastic cases marrying digital and personal CXM plans, to hopefully inspire you and include it in your business plans next year."

How is the business world doing?

Rakesh Agarwal, Partner and head of Supply Chain and Enterprise Transformation KPMG Singapore and Indonesia says "Disruption is going to be a new reality. The financial crisis, terrorist attach, market crash, they happen every two years and businesses should be more agile. COVID happened affected businesses late 2020, organizations looked at finances and see how they could conserve revenue, what they need to do in order to keep their investments. Lights should be on, customers should be served, it was challenging and CEO's have tons of stories that are interesting especially in the supply chain and how they were able to keep their production on despite challenges. They were confused, have less morale, organizations faced a lot of issues. Leadership challenges was significant. How could one manage a company remotely, but later realized it could be done. Now they need to adapt into a new business model. With the support of digital tools and collaborations, it was done. Organizations encountered management disruptions during the first few months of COVID. Working capital, workforce, loss of revenue, they also needed to understand how they would continue their operations. Companies regained balance within 6-12 months after, demand then has come back and supply chains have been ready. They might not have seen multiple waves of COVID, but they evaluate things how critical supply should be not in a distribution risk by talking to worker unions and organizations in the industry. Today they need to ensure to continue to be productive, talk about planning, results, but need to talk about supply chain risks, how they could be apt for digital transformation. Working at home posed a lot of security risk, there's also a need to reduce cost, and supply chain delays has been also an issue. Deliveries are struggling, but have since then settled. Despite that, consumer spending has normalized quite fast as what was expected. Reasons for this are fiscal assistance, working normally, supported job losses, technology also played a big role so a lot of people can work at home. There's a lot of ways businesses can leverage from. Business model and operations will have permanent changes. Growth prospects are keen in the next three years. "

Consumers want more sustainable, more climate friendly products. There's a huge demand for it. It's important to bring this when consulting organizations, on how they would be aligning with it in the next few years. Digitalization though is highly critical, businesses should go more into this. It's not about "being" but "doing". Forecast the demand, and plan ahead but talking to stakeholders ahead of time.

As organizations become more comfortable in outsourcing, companies are going to leverage that even more. Growth is seen beyond next year, and hopefully, we'll all become normal (of what is normal). What's vital in the Philippines is building resliency, having business continuity despite political, health, or other disruptions that may come up. This is key. Thank you to CCAP and PLDT Enterprise for having us in the event, I learned a lot and I hope I got to share the important things these experts shared during the first day of Contact Islands 2021.

The BISTRO GROUP Got Fully Vaccinated

 

The Bistro Group is one of the biggest restaurant chains in the country. They've got over 18 restaurant concepts which includes TGIFRIDAYS who's got pretty good burgers and ribs, ITALIANNI’S who served lovely pizza and pasta, TEXAS ROADHOUSE for the best steaks, DENNY’S who serves all day breakfas, WATAMI for Japanese cuisine, HARD ROCK CAFÉ who serves American comfort food (yes I mean those cheesy macaroni!) and live entertainment, plus the Spanish cuisin that Las Flores, BCN, Tomatitos and Rambla's offer and more. As of now, they've got over 80 branches nationwide and employ a lot in the food and beverage industry.

Recently, they announced that ALL their restaurant staff have been FULLY VACCINATED. That's a huge feat especially when Chef's, cooks, servers are protected, it'll be safer to dine in or receive delivery from these establishments. Of course, we still have to observe protocols and do our best to get vaccinated too but knowing this alone, brings a sense of security that they're taking the threat of the virus seriously. Their staff will be wearing their vaccination pin proudly so if you're looking forward to dine in (on a limited basis based on government restrictions) a Bistro group restaurant is a must! The Bistro Group President and COO Jean Paul Manuud says "We support all efforts in vaccination drives. We also want to bring the economy back to life and make dining options safe for all stakeholders."

In a nutshell, it's reassuring and as they say, a JAB well done! You may order from them via the Food Panda app, the Grab app and the Bistro Delivers app which is available in the Google Play store and the App Store on iOS.

A Talk On "The China COVID-19 Experience"

YILING Pharmaceutical held a talk on the topic "Learning from the China COVID-19 Experience Control and Surge Prevention" hosted by Philippine Archipelago International Trading Corporation.


Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr of the Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed us and said "It is my pleasure welcoming you to this webinar. With over 4 Million deaths, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that we need to learn more. No one is safe unless everyone is safe, we need to work together. I understand scientific competition, but timely information is essential in defeating it. The PH and China has cooperated including in kind and sharing donations. They were battling the virus still, but now has made return to work in almost 100% now. Our partnership made us feel we're not alone, thank you China from the bottom of my heart."

Mayor Benjamin Magalong the current PH Vaccine czar says "It's been a year already since the WHO declared this pandemic. Our usual peak season had to stop, we could have risen if we didn't take steps and done targeted action. We are working towards low and manageable level and doing a gradual re-opening activities in several provinces including Baguio. The population testing and contact tracing has continued and we're doing an equilibrium for health safety and economic recovery. It's a complex dance in keeping infections rate low and to avoid overwhelming our health facility. We need to curb the onslaught of the virus on our city and country. We put a premium to a feedback mechanism and adjust our decisions when it is deemed necessary. We advocate transparency, leadership in the community level and it will only work when majority of the population would work with us. Public health is a priority, for the long haul we will have a concerted effort to beat this disease with the use of digital tools, engagement with private sectors as vaccination sites. We need to gather feedback for the people we serve. The pandemic had us transform into a smart city and will happen on 2022. Use this as support system for the city and we have technical partners for our service delivery, government efforts, public safety, and connectivity will be the backbone for this challenge and perhaps put up an LGU managed city broadband network. This is our experience, and we hope this would be something that others would learn in responding to adversity and become resilient."

Secretary Vince Dizon the Chief Testing czar and BCDA head says "We were not prepared for this, but China helped in equipment, medicines, provided by public and private organizations. We got it in control compared to others who have been struggling, this is a whole nation approach and we got assistance. Despite delays in delivery, we have vaccinated a few million and hope to have more in the next few months. Hopefully we have ample amount of doses soon as no one is safe until everyone is safe."

Master Physician of Eastern  Medicine Jzhia Zhen Hua says "Viral disease has been a great threat and we've been battling a few over the years. There will be a reduction in efficacy, we need to have an effective way to battle this disease and in the last year the Chinese government placed strong measures against COVID-19 and has made Chinese medicine part of it. We have rich experience in combating the disease. Lianhua Qingwen has played an important role in prevention and control of influenza A H1N1 virus, it also inhibits SARS Cov 2 replication, inhibits inflammatory reaction and reduces lung injury in animal tests (mice). It is also suggested to be used for people who have mild to moderate symptoms."

 

 

Philippine Archipelago International Trading Corporation President Ms. Olivia Limpe-Aw says "We need earlier intervention, the comprehensive rehabilitation and treatment, the combination of Eastern and Western medicine. They stressed cooperation, of people from all walks of life, involve all sectors of society to battle COVID. We pray for ample amount of vaccines, thank our speakers for their support and the offices who have made this event possible. We hope to soon have normalcy in our lives so our economy can get back on track." Lianhua Qingwan is available in Mercury Drug, Rose Pharmacy, Southstar Drug and Watsons. This is a prescription drug so make sure you have consulted your doctor if you plan to take this.

Productive Things To Do During Lockdown

Image courtesy of Austin Chan @Unsplash

If you’re anything like me, I consider walking to the refrigerator an exercise. However, for many active individuals, the lockdown implemented in some parts of the world is what some people might refer to as a living nightmare. Everyone is bored due to the lockdown, especially since social events such as parties and festivals are out of the question. On the plus side, you can spend your free time at home picking up new hobbies and trying out new things. Don’t worry, I won’t stop you from binge-watching on Netflix but if you do wake up one day finding yourself wondering what else is there to do, this article is the sign you’ve been looking for. 

Clean your living space. Thoroughly.

What with assignments and work, when do we even have the time, am I right? On busy days, I’m lucky to even come home to a neatly made bed assuming I made time to do that before heading out (I usually don’t).

There are many changes and additions you can make to achieve a homier vibe. If you have no clue on where to start, enter Pinterest. Rustic, minimalist, bohemian, mid-century modern, so many to choose from. After all the research you’ve done, who knows, some of your friends might like your design so much that you can help decorate their space too! 

Earn some side income online

Although times are tough for job seekers, there are still ways to earn some extra money on a more flexible schedule. The possibilities are virtually limitless with the internet. If you have an eye for designing, copywriting or content creating, utilize it by finding freelance jobs on Facebook groups, Workana or any website that provides jobs for freelancing.

If you’re an aspiring baker or chef, share those skills with the community by holding virtual classes. If you want to turn a hobby into a small business, why not do just that! Sell homemade jewelry, paintings, clothes and all that jazz. With a minimal capital, you can get started on all these ideas from anywhere at any time.

 

Exercise

Sure, looking good after a workout is a bonus but what’s more important is feeling good. Boost your confidence before a virtual presentation or have a virtual workout session with your best buds. Trust me, after a long day at your desk, doing even a short workout will do wonders for your mood and productivity.

Go with the flow. If you’re into bicycles, ride your bike around the parking lot or your neighborhood. As for the best brand of bicycle, we highly recommend Polygon which is an Indonesian bicycle manufacturer based in Sidoarjo, East Java. If your body just wants to stretch and relax, Yoga With Adriene has been my go-to but if you want to work up a sweat, Daisy Keech or Chloe Ting have posted many different workouts on YouTube that will help you reach your goals in no time!

Spend time with your loved ones

We had no idea we'd be confined to our houses for so long. This period, however, has provided us with the opportunity to rekindle and improve the relationship we have with our family. Because of the hectic pace of our lives before, we rarely had time to sit with our family even for a meal.

The lockdown has allowed us to return to the days when family time was the most important part of the day. Get to know them again, play a board game, cook together or dress up your pets because as once Madeleine said “We love our bread, we love our butter but most of all, we love each other.” 

Become a bookworm

Does your daily reading consist of reading tweets, Facebook updates or the comic behind your favorite cereal box? Well, put down that cereal box and pick up a real book!

Why, you may ask? Books teach you how to stay calm, how to understand people, how to improve on vocabulary and communication, how to deal with problems and obstacles that you may face in life and expand your knowledge. As for me, reading has given me the opportunity to explore my imagination and open up my mind to new possibilities without leaving my room. To get you started, here’s a list of my recent personal favorites.

●    The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

●    The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi
●    Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
●    Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
●    One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
●    After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
●    Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
●    When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
●    Shades of Magic Series by V.E. Schwab
●    The Institute by Stephen King
●    Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty
●    Beach Read by Emily Henry
●    The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

 

Final thoughts

This lockdown has shown us that there’s more to us than we realized. We just didn’t see it before due to our busy schedules and hectic social lives. So, get moving! However you decide to spend your free time during this time, remember to be safe and grateful for this life you get to live.

Before Going Out, Protect Yourself with Airqueen

 

Having been a designated "ALAY" in my home means I would be the only one to go out and buy groceries, food, medicine, government offices and other essentials during this pandemic. I strictly follow government and health agency protocols including the wearing of masks which has proven effective during the previous lock downs that the government has imposed. I choose my weapons wisely so if one of the requirements to go out is a face mask, I get the best one in the market. The most popular shopping app in the country is Shopee and Airqueen Philippines distributes quality South Korean developed washable and reusable nano-fiber filtered mask. These are commonly known as N94 or N95 masks which are primarily for good for everyday use. It's what I absolutely need because it filters out 95% of fine airborne particles and keep what I breathe in quite safe.

In South Korea, I've seen several KPOP and KDrama stars wear this Black SOOM LAB Hyper Purifying Breathing Mask. What I like about it is that, I think it's way better than the ordinary surgical mask often worn by many outside. This is designed well, provides much coverage which I'm very comfortable with to wear when I go out and do errands. You can purchase the black one here which I actually did last night so I have supplies for the next few weeks. If you prefer a white one, you can order the SOOM LAB Hyper Purifying Breathing Mask here. They also have the CleanWell KF94 Respiratory Nano Mask available in different colors here which means you can pretty much mix and match which doesn't sacrifice quality, style and for what it's worth, I look pretty good in the Red Wine color too. Best of all, they're making sweet deals of up to 72% discount on your favorite Airqueen masks this Shopee 5.5 Brands Festival (which means it's the best time to get one!).

Now I don't know about you but if cases go low on certain days we are asked to wear masks, I call it a good thing. It's not just to protect yourself, but your family, your friends, who might not have the same health condition like YOU. During these times, it pays to be considerate. We should have all the things that could protect us from the dreaded virus who has claimed the lives of millions of people. It's cool because I can get it off Shopee, so if you don't have that yet, make sure you install it from the Google Play Store or App Store.

I'm making my family protected with Airqueen today.

Some Good Discoveries with VIVO Y31

Life hasn't been easy and while we scour to find and make a living, we seek refuge at home, to ultimately enjoy the time we have for our family, less likely perks of this pandemic.Everyday we find ways to entertain ourselves, to watch videos off the internet and learn a new language, or something to cook, plant, or build inside our homes. You discover things with yourself, and sometimes it's amazing!

The vivo Y31 has 128 GB of space to fill with your memories, and an expandable microSDXC slot if you need more. The apps you use need a lot of these so you can watch all day, work and play without the need to get it from a different device, wouldn't that be good? 

Streaming A Lot!

The age of KDramas, Asian ones, BL YouTube series, Netflix, HBO Go, Apple TV and iFlix suddenly have had a surge of watch hours and yes, it can all be streamed in your phone. The portability, the way you put it up your face and fall down several times while you're in bed, but still didn't stop watching your favorite titles at home. You simply couldn't imagine your life without it, and all you post on social media suddenly have had activity, you find your kindred souls and talk about it all on your timeline. Then you go on and ask a few more things, your library didn't stop growing and you learn a lot about crying in scenes because they're just that good. If you knew it could handle all that content, your phone can do more.

Suddenly Shopaholic

The way we shop suddenly stopped; but lo and behold the growing E commerce industry answered our prayers and got several online shopping and delivery apps improved our options to safely do it in our own homes. Opening your cart or the app itself needs a better and faster OS, hence Android 11 with FunTouch 11 on the vivo Y31. Now it's the better option to get your necessities like groceries, food, things you need for the office since we all work at home. Heck I even bought a table and ladder online and they delivered in less than a week which means it's that convenient. Food can be sent to your house in hours even without cooking, you can actually survive in this day and age. Pretty cool.

Bond Over Gaming

You miss your friends and family. You can't go to their house physically, and what better way to bond over but online games. The bouts in third person shooters, or MMORPG games, is now easy and can be handled by mobile phones. Like the vivo Y31 that's sufficiently equipped with the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 662 octa-core processor. Whether data or WiFi, you can connect with your family and friends easily. In it, you can talk, plan your wars, cooperate in skirmishes and win together. It's something that is so good to have during a time when we're all confined in our rooms. 

 

It makes us all feel we exist, while we may sometimes never have enough to snack on but hey, this just seem to make technology so endearing. It got us connected through tough times and made the supply chain exist, and handle the pandemic better compared to (if) we were not that way. It's a good thing to know that at least, you find yourselves appreciating what phones can do these days. The vivo Y31 is equipped with a 48-megapixel camera, so you can take really nice photos, take nice videos so you can share them through messaging apps. Aside from that, the phone also lasts long because of its battery life. You can see more about the vivo Y31 at www.vivoglobal.ph/phone/vivo-Y31. You can also see more of it on the vivo Philippines Facebook page, Twitter and IG account. You can also get them online via the vivo official store in Shopee and Lazada.

It's a nice discovery, life changing in fact and we've all witnessed that during this time. 

 

Diabetes Management During the Pandemic

There have been a lot of things that have been worsened during this pandemic and one of them is the onslaught of diabetes, heart ailment during lockdown and COVID (which makes matters worst).


In Italy, EpiCentro reported that diabetes has accounted for 30.5 percent of comorbidities (of which hypertension and cardio-cerebrovascular disease is included) among COVID-related deaths.The Philippines on the other hand has 77% of COVID-related deaths of the same according to the World Health Organization report.

According to Dr. Jeremy Robles the current President of the Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism "The presence of diabetes can defintely make one’s COVID infection worse. Controlling it will be up to the patient because it is on how they would adhere to doctors adivse as this is both chronic and a lifetime disease."

His advise? He calls this "Apat Dapat", which is 4 simple ways to manage diabetes:

Proper diet
Exercise
Regular medication
Regular check-ups

All of which, actually makes total sense. Eating healthy makes your blood sugar normalize. So does working out because it makes your body have less insulin resistance. Medication is vital to make sure you don't get complications with uncontrolled blood sugar. Regular visits to your doctor can make those tests understandable so you know when you are making progress. They can also prescribe if you need changes in your medicine, so you won't be too hard for your kidneys. So make sure to take care of yourselves even during these times. 

/*This particular article has some components from the Kontrolado Ko, Diabetes Ko campaign by MSD in the country. They are pushing for patient adherence to medication and treatment especially with diabetes patients in the PH.

Re-opening The Economy with “Ingat Angat” Campaign

You can join jumpstart the economy and it starts with this mega campaign by both public and private sector, they call this INGAT ANGAT. Honestly, I can't get over seeing different competing brands in one campaign and how they set aside pride and business to help the Philippines back on its feet.

This is a critical time for the government and private companies to get together amidst the pandemic. This is their initiative. Business has been greatly impacted, people are slowly opening up again, Filipinos are resilient and hopefully business is slowly gonna go back to normal.

Sec. Ramon Lopez DTI says “This is done in Bayanihan spirit. This has damaged our country, we feel it is difficult to bring back consumer confidence but it is important to have safety and economic movement at this time. This will help shift focus in balancing health and economy, a balancing act, manage the risk and help the revival of the economy. We continue to buy local, to rally everyone to go back to the new normal, still have health protocols, and DTI will be there to help and support this cause. Buy local!”

IATF Against Covid-19 Head Carlito Galvez Jr. says “This is our third phase, the government is keen on opening up our businesses. We need an equilibrium of both health and economy, to make it safe for everyone to conduct business and sustain our economic recovery. We need to work as a team, to lower our active COVID cases, to ensure we fully recover 100%. To increase capacity on public vehicles, doing it to ensure safe transport of our workers and earn sustainable incomes. The cases are declining in NCR but we should never let our guard down, we need to work together even further. Ingat tayong lahat!”

Sec. Harry Roque says “The Filipino Spirit of Bayanihan is there. We have medical equipment, testing, donations poured by private sector. Ingat Angat is important to inform people we must not leave in fear, and the President is appearing in advertisements and support the cause. This Monday we will have a cabinet meeting, to talk about how to save people from poverty. To allow the economy to recover, with safety in place. We need to open and improve the transport sector. Thank you to the private sector’s help! Mabuhay po tayong lahat!

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala “Good morning! We have very tireless organizers. In the worst crisis, we saw everyone work together. The virus is the enemy, we need to work on health and the economy. Thank you to the Secretary for bringing the private and public sector together. The private sector has found our citizens who have confidence, moving together to create it with others. Together we shall revitalize our country together, to help us all move forward, to restart the economy. It is a pleasure to work with you all. The strong partnership between the public and private sector is important and we support you all, thank you!”

George Royeca of Angkas “Buhay or Hanapbuhay, this pandemic has cost a lot for our economy. Businesses have closed down, thus Taskforce T3 to test, trace and treat to become a stronger and resilient Philippines. The goal is simple, to equip government to reduce the risks, building facilities and increase capacity. We all should be cautious, recognize how to live with the virus, rebuild but keep safe. Teach Filipinos to co exist with the virus and get our lives back on track. Thank you for your undying help. This time, we need to Teach, trust and Transform.”

Margot Torres the SVP For Marketing of McDonalds says “Thank you to our partners from government, thank you for making time for this. I am excited Taskforce T3’s campaign and the help of different brands, even competing ones by volunteering their time and expertise to make sure our message comes across. We all want a resilient Philippines and the need for consumer confidence is essential. Recently, the government launched their campaign, by tomorrow we are launching this one. This is to address the need for consumer confidence, to make learned helplessness to empowered vigilance. Brands will serve as backdrop to real message, should not be a multi brand preso, or a hardsell branded effort. They should be inspired of the Filipino resilience and cautious optimism to move forward with our lives. We have produced 3 industries, restaurants, mobility, shopping and leisure. All brands will share these online videos and materials, in all their assets. This will be in multiple screens on October 9.”

Melvin Mangada “The campaign is going far from being fearful and anxious, to remind everyone we will get through this too. We will be vigilant and safe. To jumpstart the economy with consumer confidence. The ad test results show strong emotional connection, Ingat Angat will be launching this video. The campaign is not just about the most loved brands. We needed to thank them for allowing us. Eat out and keep safe. Go out and do what they need to do, but keep safe. Encourage people do things they like to do outside, safely too. We already have ready social cards where competing brands are in one post, we also have radio ads, partnered with Viber to have downloadables so companies can put these on banners, billboards, mall presence, celebrity videos, use #ingatangat on all posts. Thank you to all our partners who made this all possible.”

The entire world is facing this challenge, what sets the Filipinos apart is our resilience, when we all come together. These efforts to battle the pandemic is a call to restart the economy but not undermine health protocols to keep us all safe. Visit ingat-angat.com, FB and YT who will host the videos, viber for information dissemination and engagement platform for the campaign too. This is a campaign that will continue until needed.

Ingat Angat, Tayong Lahat!

/* Please be informed, quotes may have been edited for brevity.

Spiral Re-Opens Doors this October

The pandemic has brought upon tremendous pressure in establishments especially the hospitality industry in Manila. Tourists have stopped coming in because of health restrictions which is understandable. At this time, even at limited capacity, all health protocols should be in place and I'm glad to hear Sofitel is opening the iconic Spiral again. 

Accor, the world leading hotel group which Sofital Manila belongs to has launched the ALLSAFE Cleanliness and Prevention Label. It is a signature set of global cleanliness and prevention criteria developed with and vetted by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspections, and certification. This has also been integrated with national and local government guidelines, all in all to make you safe. 

Dining in on Spiral will be a little different. Seating capacity is currently limited and there will be one-meter spacing between guests. Transparent dividers are installed in reception desks and culinary ateliers. The private dining rooms are available for more exclusivity. Staff, chefs and  reception are equipped with safety gears, face shields and masks. Floors have signs for demarcation and a one way route. Each single plate will be served by the chefs from their respective ateliers putting in a one-dish-per-plate policy to prevent cross-contamination. 

For those with special orders or arrangements,  order numbers will be provided for guests to claim later on.  Beverage orders will be done via QR code on each table too. They currently have contactless payment in place including GCash, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and GrabPay too. This is in accordance with government protocols. Guests below the age of 21 years old and above 60 years old though are not permitted to dine in on any restaurant during General Community Quarantine (GCQ) which is still in place in Metro Manila. 

Spiral is starting this arrangement during the first three weekends of October. Please do reserve on Thursday dinner, Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday brunch. Their rates are set at Php 2,850 for lunch, Php 3,500 for dinner and Php 4,350 for brunch. Call them at (+632) 8832-6988 or email H6308-FB12@sofitel.com.

Are you hungry? I am, but I'm glad to see Spiral is open with these protocols in place. 

That's reassuring!