Recent earthquakes have jolted the country and crippled a lot of lives in Northern Cebu. While the government addresses relief efforts, the private sector also took some of the chores to make sure everybody gets the help that they need. The folks from B!ing0P|us in Cebu (employees) took potable water, packed food and needed medicine to roughly 56,000 individuals in places like Bogo, Medellin, Daanbantayan, San Remegio, Borbon and Tabogon communities as they partnered with LGU's and other private entities in the region.
B!ing0P|us Foundation treats this as a call to action which is why they immediately took 6 million funding to affected folks in Cebu. Through their Bayanihan P|us program, it took them a while to get to these areas but committed to the cause. They were met with aftershocks, heavy rain and transport challenges, but they didn't fret because they knew how much help the folks need including a 5.8 Richter scale aftershock that they experienced too.
Their teams from Manila and local Cebu offices took to the streets together with the AFP engineering brigades to deliver help to far flung areas in Northern Cebu, also doing it house to house including PWD's in the community via PADS (Philippine Accessible Disability Services).
It might be a long recovery process, but they will not hold back helping this part of the country. They plan to monitor and partner up with even more organizations to make sure Cebuanos, Filipinos would get access to supplies at the most trying times. If you want to know more about their efforts, follow their social channels by searching for the foundation name on FB and other channels.
Certainly, this year's Miss Asia Pacific International pageant felt so different. Last October 8th, Cebu Coliseum became the venue for the crowning of this year's queen, Isabela Fernandes of Brazil. Her advocacy on education and sustainability proved to be a huge factor in her gaining the crown.
1st Runner Up went to the Philippines very own Anita Rose Gomez while 2nd, 3rd and 4th Runner Up posts went to Bowomrat Maneerat of Thailand, Jana Jannsens of Belgium and Delilah Almira Wildboer of the Netherlands. These ladies showcased not just their culture, but the individual causes they support in line with their own stories and the event's theme #HERStoryAblaze. These ladies also competed for their National Costume, Swimsuit and Evening Gowns. The special awards went to Bowomorat Maneerat representing Thailand for the National Costume, Anita Rose Gomez of the Philippines for the Best in Swimsuit and Isabela Fernandes of Brazil for the Evening Gown. They gave the Miss Photogenic award to Danube Kangjam of India and the Peoples Choice to UK's Anne Gomes.
This year also marks a new set of women representing the best of the regions, they're named Continental Queens. For the Americas, Michelle Whilar Lazarte of Peru won it. For Asia Aisyah Amini of Indonesia got it. For Europe Delilah Elmira Wildeboer of the Netherlands got the crown. For Africa, it went to South Africa's Bejandri Lourens while for Oceania was awarded to New Zealand's Hannah Leigh Cross.
A Heartfelt Advocacy
All 43 delegates have experienced the 6.9 magnitude earthquake in the province of Cebu (Bogo City). Instead of the usual fanfare, the queens took part in relief efforts and took to streets and shelters, joined several partner NGO's, private entities to make sure they got to comfort those ravaged by the calamity. They were also in the Operation Smile gala when it happened, and it was heartwarming to see them helping during that time. They're definitely beauty queens with compassion, took their gloves off and cared for those in need. That made it all different this year, the pageant had lux and elegance, but it was being human that mattered most. Seeing that was certainly precious!
It's been a while since I've last seen Daniel Padilla, one of the most sought after actors in the country. Life certainly happened, but we got news that he's going to renew ties with Cebu based coffee brand Don Macchiatos Philippines. Honestly, it's the first time for me to hear about them, but learned how they've managed to thrive as an SME, slowly grown even when the country was battling through the pandemic. They're nothing short of a miracle, and now has more than a thousand branches across the country.
Would you imagine, they all started from a small street side kiosk that had one goal, to provide quality but affordable coffee and beverages for the common folk. I entered the event area seeing one of their kiosks on the side of the venue where they were serving some of their top drinks. One thing caught my attention, the price posted said 39 PESOS on it. The event was graced by Don Macchiatos Don Macchiatos CEO Nickie San Juan, their COO Marc Anthony Abangan and their General Manager Ariel Alegado. We asked them about the business and reasons why Daniel Padilla gets top choice for their brand ambassador.
Ms. Nickie says "We are really excited to renew our partnership with him because he's been with us since day 1. When we planned to cover Luzon to expand, Deej is someone who really had it in him. He really helped us big time in brand awareness while we were expanding here in Luzon.
GM Ariel Alegado adds "DJ is very talented, very humble, just like Don Macchiatos, we came from very humble beginnings, but now we are available nationwide. Aside from that, Daniel's team was such a breeze to work with. He's also very approachable so we didn't have problems working with him. No other endorser would be able to do that but him."
Mr. Abangan says "You will expect an even bigger campaign with Daniel, more collaborations, and even more product innovations. We are also announcing our efforts to go GLOBAL. Our first project is to reach UAE/Dubai, the city of gold. Please wait as we reveal more of our plans in the coming months."
Daniel was very excited about this partnership and says "I wasn't much of a coffee drinker in the past but only learned while doing INCOGNITO because we start shooting at 4am in the morning. We live a soldier's life out there and I'm not used to sleeping early and waking up at that time. Tito Ian and the rest of the cast really influenced me to appreciate coffee then. I also drink a lot of water and get so much energy from it. I'm more of a mocha person or prefer the classic Americano."
He adds "Sir Marc and Ms. Nickie was such a breeze to work with. That's what I look for these days, it's the relationships that becomes important for me. The time we've spent together, we've become really good friends rather than me just being an endorser for their products. That's what's important for me these days. They trust me and I'm very thankful for that. I'm happy to be part of this family."
Here's the press conference on video:
Asked how they were able to make the prices low, COO Marc Anthony Abangan explained they only purchase much of their products locally and even do it by bulk which gives them a lot of room to sell their drinks at a really affordable price. Their model is certainly unusual, but so far, they've managed to do it and replicate their practices wherever they put branches. They're still looking for more franchisees, so if you're interested just message their social channels so they could hook you up with DON MACCHIATOS. Daniel is even quite excited because he believes in the business so much that he also has opened branches of his own (lest not divulge where!). He's also excited how he would be able to continue helping them grow, and is optimistic to help local businesses like theirs be even bigger in the coming years.
I'd like to say congratulations and here's to more branches to DON MACCHIATOS, I hope to see more of you in Manila because those that I've tried at the event that afternoon were really nice.
