FFCCCII Launches 2nd Short Form Video Comp for "Operation Barrio Schools"

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. or FFCCCII just recently announced their 2nd TikTok Video Competition with this year's theme: A Classroom For Every Dream (How FFCCCII Barrio Schools Have Improved Lives). 

The occasion was attended by FFCCCII President Victor Lim and his fellow FFCCCII officers Mr. Jayson Size, Mr. Peter Mangasing (Co-Chairman of Youth Integrated Committee), Mr. Reynold Sy the FFCCCII Vice President, Mr. Eddie Cobankiat (Chair Public Information and Media Committee) and Kamuning Bakery Owner and Journalist Wilson Flores. 

After the successful contest last year, they're gearing to get more people to join in this 2026 edition. For those who don't know, the organization has already built over 6,500 since 1961 and have been able to help countless students to finish their studies in different regions across the Philippines. 

This is open to Filipinos, 13 yo and above. Entries should be 1-2 minutes short, shot vertically with English Subtitles featuring FFCCCII Barrio School experience, impact or topic. You may upload this privately or through QR codes then tag @FFCCCII.official and use the hashtags #FFCCCIIBarrioSchools on May 5 - 15th this year. Total cash prize amount to 850,000 pesos and the Grand Prize is Php 120,000!

Mr. Victor Lim says "We at FFCCCII would like to encourage Filipinos especially the young ones to join our competition. Our organization's flagship project Operation Barrio Schools is part of Filipino Chinese tradition and we hope to showcase these to spark hope and see progress in communities."

The competition will be set in 2 categories #MyFFCCCIIBarrioSchoolJourney and #TheFFCCCIIBarrioSchoolsStory. Deadline for entries is on May 15th. So if you are a budding content creator or story teller, you've got to join this on the black app! Category A will be for currently enrolled students, teachers and school employees. Category B will be for content creators (pro or non pro, please scan QR for complete mechanics).

Here's the press conference on video, please enjoy!

Green Tools From MIMI and ME

Do you care about mother nature? Like how much? Can’t measure it? Have you done something solid to support that claim? Don’t worry, I’m not here to point fingers. Actually, I’m here to tell you about how you can help be in that zero waste state you’ve always wanted. It starts with the small things.

The Status

The Philippines is one of the top countries named as a source of plastics dumped in the oceans. This body of water is a source for food, a tool for tourism, you’ll be amazed how much flora and fauna we have - and being an archipelago we are pretty much in the middle of everything (dubbed as the center for biodiversity). It’s pretty sad to see our country contributed to the 14 Billion pounds of plastic that are being dumped in the ocean each year and a lot of sea creatures die from it (recent studies show 40% of sea turtles die). Now let me ask you another question, are you doing enough to prevent that from happening?

The Zero Waste Movement

Today there are tons of organizations and individuals who are campaigning for zero waste and live to tell about it. It’s basically a philosophy of using a material again so it won’t end up in incinerators or landfills. I met a young woman a few days ago at the co-working space ROOTS in Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.

She’s Julia Camille Chiong, founder of Mimi and Me, a green tools company. This is her passion, she wanted to make others aware that there are products out there which can be environmentally friendly, little to less carbon footprint to make and still have the same quality of lifestyle using it.

She showed us a couple of things which we can use instead of the usual plastic wastes (like the ones you order from fastfood places, fork, spoons, the packaging too). These are things that are reusable and safe.

This reusable SPORK is so good for those always dining out. Imagine the spoons and forks you use from fast food places, now you can use this instead. It's handy as it folds in half so you can store it away after washing.

Reusable wipe cloth for removing your makeup, comes in 12s and very cheap. Just clean with soap and water afterwards.

The bamboo toothbrush comes in regular bristles or the one with activated charcoal.

This is the Bamboo Straw, it comes with the cleaning tool so you can spruce it up after use. Don't let it get molds, carry it around dry and use it again on your next drink.

Mimi and Me means her monicker (Mimi) and Mother Earth. This thing is inspiring, I actually am now opting for reusable things when I dine out. I don't even ask for straws and plastic spoon and forks anymore when ordering fast food. Now imagine how much a difference that would make if ALL OF US started to do the same. Makes sense?

These green tools from Mimi and Me are made by communities from Palawan, Rizal and nearby cities in Metro Manila. Even the packaging is sourced and made by organizations that help small scale industries in the Philippines including women empowered to do these odd jobs without leaving the comforts of their own home. Right now Julia is opting to have these sold online through partner sellers and at ROOTS in Katipunan Avenue (Right in front of Ateneo and the same building with Yellow Cab). They also are selling this through BeautyMNL, so if you need more information about their products go to their Facebook page via https://www.facebook.com/mandmgreentools/. 

You should make an effort, you should do the deed before it's too late. These green tools can make you start somewhere so check out their channels if you wish to have one. I'll tell you about her sister too who is equally passionate about their business soon.

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PWD Farmer Plants Seed and Goes Global

Let's change the mood a bit and read some good news. See the photo above? You're looking at a very inspiring and determined man. His name is Donald Carpo, a man who works as a maintenance guy from SM City Rosales in Pangasinan - a province in Central Luzon. Just like the rest of us, he's got a family too. He's trying to make ends meet, trying to use the little things he earns so he could feed the people at home.

You see, Mr. Carpo suffers from a congenital indisposition in his limbs. He's got his left hand and legs in this predicament but this doesn't stop him from striving hard to provide for his family. So when the opportunity for training arrived, he immediately grabbed it. There, he learned to grow, plant, harvest and sell crops like papayas. His profit went to the welfare of his family, so they could live a comfortable life. The training was sparked by the Committee on Disability Affairs under SM Cares. SM Cares is the mall company's CSR arm. Words seems to have spread of how this program helped Mr. Carpo, so when SM’s project and efforts were recognized by the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, they sent Mr. Carpo as a delegate - and finally made him go to Bangkok, Thailand.

The 2 day workshop was sponsored by United Nations. It focused on Building and Enabling PWD's. Donald says "Even in my wildest dreams I didn't know that I would be able to go to another country. I thought it was impossible because of my condition, but because of SM I was given the opportunity to not only step in foreign soil but also come to a seminar that I didn't think I would even be invited to. We listened to fellow PWD's who talked about how they improved their harvests. I also shared them my experiences here. I also went to learn from different seminars there which I could use further improve the yield of my own crops and share them in my community. I feel so confident now that I'm earning much better every month. Because of SM I have been able to get a decent job. I have been able to get a life changing experience because of them and I won't hesitate to do the same with my fellow PWD's!"

Mr. Donald Carpo definitely feels like he's accomplished a lot. He's been given a lot of opportunities despite of his condition, he has steadfastly proven that hard work really pays off. He's not just going to harvest the fruits of his labor but also share it with his fellow men. Now that is something that we Filipinos must always try to learn from. No matter what the future brings, what ever challenges we see, there's always hope if we are given the chance, the opportunity. I hope other corporations would follow suit and hire more PWD's and help integrate them into the workforce. It's a good thing.

For more information about their organization:

Official SM Cares

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Visit their official website

http://www.smcares.com.ph/