UNILAB and Mercury Drug Celebrate 80 Years of Quality and Care with ALAGANG SUKI FEST 2025

8 whole decades is a long time, and that's exactly how long UNILAB and Mercury Drug has been providing quality and care for Filipinos. To celebrate with a bang, they got some of the hottest acts and personalities in the country to headline their show entitled "Alagang Suki Fest 2025". People were just shocked how they were able to combine the Koolpals, Jolina Slaydangal, Robi Domingo, and artist Belle Mariano, world dance champs Legit Status, hot band Mayonnaise, pop prince Darren Espanto, chart topper Maki, Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano, and the country's PPOP girl group BINI.

The venue was packed and they started the show with a few games with the audience to break the ice. 

Jolina was not just the momshie, but a generation that reminded us of the 90's, and how good it was til it lasted. Same with Robi who taught us how to take care of our tummies. Belle Mariano was the surprise of the evening, she was fun and had folks standing up, and went to the audience area because she really just wanted to have fun during her performance. She was really entertaining!

Belle really knew how to work the crowd, and she sang a few 80's and 90's hits, which really made us sing along with her. Her set was fun!

Legit Status showed us why they are world class. With jumps, tumbles and crump moves, we just watched knowing how difficult it is. That's passion personified.

Mayonnaise sang their hit songs, and thought to surprise us with JOPAY at the end of their set. Folks thought they wouldn't sing it but they did!

Darren and Maki really had the young ones mesmerized by their songs (and dance for Darren). Maki had a different sound, it appeals to a lot of folks. Though I haven't heard some of it, I am impressed. No wonder he's always in the mind of international acts who've heard his songs. He's really good! Darren on the other hand has performed his hits, and some of his newly released singles which were loved by many.

Highlight of the evening was Mr. Gary Valenciano, when folks thought it was going to be ballads, he comes completely bonkers with the Maneuvers. He didn't just wear the Mr. Pure Energy moniker, he became it. With high energy moves, songs, he got everyone off of their seats to dance and sing along with him. He brought us to church, he made us stars in our own seats, and that says a lot for a world class performer like him. Super love the evening because of that!

The nation's PPOP Girl Group, BINI made the crowd crazy. With their hit songs, and surprise number in the end, we were all just thankful how our dreams came true courtesy of UNILAB and Mercury Drug Corporation. Thank you for letting us be part of this wonderful celebration of your 80 years. Here's to more in the next few years because I'm sure you'll try an even bigger one right?!

If you want to watch the concert, head on to my TikTok account @kumagcow because I've managed to take videos of it in several parts. 

Thank you for the quality, for the care and the love you bring for Filipinos!

DAIKIN Introduces New Products and Air Solutions Shop

Daikin is one of the leading brand of air conditioners in the country. It's the world's number 1 and without question because of it's outstanding quality, research and advanced technology that can only be found with a Daikin. Their goal of perfecting air has been a really good selling point as they continue to grow their threshold in homes, offices and hotels who has been using their products for several years. 

During lavish ceremonies at the Grand Ballroom of Grand Hyatt Manila Hotel in BGC, they showcased the latest products they offer for residential spaces to keep your indoor air fresh and clean. The New D-Smart King FTKZ-WVM has Daikin proprietary Streamer Technology and built in wifi to easily manage usage of it. The New D-Smart Queen FTKC-AVA on the other hand banks on power efficiency, a Gin-ion filter to break down bacteria and viruses plus a Breeze Mode feature so you keep air good in cold nights. They also showcased a New Air Purifier MC30YVM-7 which you can use for small rooms as it includes the Streamer Technology that is tested to work agains COVID-19 and other harmful viruses.

For those in commercial spaces, they think about you too as they implement technologies like VAM Heat Reclaim Ventilator that improve air quality. They also have new streamer duct chambers, MERV-8 Filters and Streamer Cassettes to make sure you get extra indoor air quality filters, a way to eliminate viruses and bacteria and a portable way to upgrade units with cassettes.

Takayoshi Miki the President of Daikin Philippines says "We are introducing new products for different industries in the Philippines and reducing power consumption in all spaces. The skill of air conditioning technicians is essential to put more of Daikin products nationwide. We have 400 authorized dealers nationwide, all trained and developed even more to be ahead of the competition. This is why we have air conditioning, solutions for air quality. This is what we have for our customers, the Daikin Air Solutions Shop. We have RCGA Enterprises, Hope Genesis Enterprises, PVS Air Conditioning Services, Quickserve Advanced Technical Solutions Co Ltd, AirconEx Philippines, Inc. to make sure you have energy efficient solutions, centralized solutions and individual air controls, control systems, indoor air quality solutions and fast, reliable delivery and installation in your homes and businesses. We want 100 percent customer satisfaction."

A tall order but they have done it here and in other parts of the world. Make sure to visit daikin.com.ph or Daikin Philippines in social channels online.

AUDIOFLY Lands at Digits Trading and Beyond the Box Stores

We traveled all the way to Makati City the other day to get the chance to get to know a new brand that's about to join the premium products that Digits Trading has to offer. They're called AUDIOFLY, an audio accessory brand whose expertise lie in building and designing headphones. They've lived up to the expectations of international artists and local musicians in Australia and they're bringing it to Philippine shores so we could experience more. I guess we deserve the best too.

Their philosophy in design tells a lot how they want the quality of their products to turn out. Even though they're sticking to classics, they don't bat an eyelash when it comes to pushing boundaries, to innovate and achieve superior detail when it comes to these devices. Vintage products is something that they wanted to get used to, something that has stood the test of time, durable and tested. This is included in their design process, they thought about different industries and produced tons of designs to find the right one. They wanted quality to be the prime reason YOU would buy an Audiofly.

The markets in Asia are the biggest and they're excited to have the presence at Digits Trading and Beyond the Box where this will be exclusively sold first. The musical experience in these devices have been done with professional musicians. It's based in Australia but they have been included in various expo's around the world because they know with Audiofly, every detail counts. 

This is ideal for public places as it also has sound isolation technology and just recently, local musicians and artists have also tried and tested the earphones and monitors on live gigs. It went pretty well and one of them said that you can totally zone out and concentrate on your songs. A young lady performed during the launch and we did see her enjoy the small run because she's got Audiofly on her ear. It's clear, crisp, every note has insane detail because this is what the brand stands for too, the ultimate clarity of music. 

The AF33 has a custom voiced dynamic driver, noise isolating silicon tips (for the ear plugs), you can also use it to make calls and control music with it.

The A45M has almost the same features with the exception of the custom voiced drivers, the AF33 uses 9mm while this one uses 11mm. This one uses Audioflex cables too, a tough one that could withstand everyday wear and tear.

The AF56 is one of their nicest in-ear earphones with a 13mm dynamic driver. It promises outstanding clarity, making every track you hear rich and detailed. This would be perfect for meticulous composers who plan to make more music.

The AF78 uses a combination of technologies, uses hybrid dual drivers. You'll get that sophisticated sound you're looking for in this set. It's got machined anodised alloy bezel with precision laser cut venting in the back for acoustic greatness, something you'll never find in designs other brands.

As for me, the AF45 is already sufficient for what I do at work. If I needed to arrange interviews and transcribe material, this would be fine. I also compose music and create melody for some of my friends. This is already professional grade so for that function alone, it's on a different league!

Audiofly is exclusively available in Digits Trading affiliated stores and Beyond the Box stores. You can take advantage of these high quality audio accessories that are affordable for what it's worth. A thing that's already tested by musicians, designed with them in mind says a lot for what Audiofly is capable of. Experience it in these stores today and try it on for size, you'll find what will fit your lifestyle!

For more information about their products:

Digits Trading

Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://www.audiofly.com

Jessy Mendiola, Matteo Guidicelli for Line Premium Calls

 It was a nice afternoon to see some really cute things on the lobby of Makati Shangrila in Makati City. Brown the bear and Cony the rabbit were spreading fun as they were about to launch something big in the Philippines. It's time to get connected in a great way by using another service from Line, the number 1 messaging service app in the world! 

The event was hosted by Joyce Pring, popular MYX VJ and all around artist. She announced that LINE is finally going to have their own PREMIUM CALL SERVICE and they are going to have some of the world's cheapest call rates as provided to and by LINE. It's still free to have it when using LINE to LINE calls but if you wish to call cellphones and landlines, you now have the choice to get superb high quality calls through LINE's Premium Call Service.

 

Greg Kim, Senior Manager of LINE Corporation was happy to tell us that they are continuing to strenghten global leadership and they still remain #1 across 69 regions. He also adds "We'll keep making new features for the app. Selfie stickers, line camera, animation stickers, line deco to decorate your phone, find alumni (so you can find school mates), line weather, hidden chats, line news with inquirer and rappler, line webtoon (comics in web), line games and more." They want to be considered as an app which will be beyond smartphones. They are not going to limit themselves with just smartphone users, that's one of the reasons why they give services to non smartphone users too. They also are connecting to more offline partners soon. They will also now release Line Premium so you can call mobile phones and landlines at a very great rate and promises the cheapest compared to normal calls. 

Stephen Kang, Senior Manager for Business Development Division of Line Plus Corporation says you can use your existing numbers, and still make high quality calls. Calls cost are also going to be displayed on the screen so you know how much you are spending (even in pesos). They did various tests for quality control in Korea. They are number 1 in Japan now and being recommended by various magazines as shown in some of his slides. You can even try it out yourself by just sending the word LINE on the Official Line Philippines account and you'll instantly get 300 credits so you can make those premium calls now.

They even brought their Quality Assurance Testing Equipment into Philippine shores. It even has given us a first person point of view on how they do it real time after receiving a call on the test subject. Would you believe this thing costs around 200K dollars? That's how dedicated they are to make this premium service the best there is in the business. Now, how can you beat quality audio calls plus a cheaper rate? I don't know... but it looks like LINE is going to win this one.

Is it Quality or Quantity?

My photos are important and I have them all archived for copyright purposes. For any photographer, it is important to keep records of your shots to protect yourself and your clients. I have been a little skeptical about my ability to do this on my own. I don't even have the capability to do this on a large scale. Data is important in my line of work too and I have more than one backup hard drive apart from media that I have in storage. I can't be too sure in this day and age because when all else fails it's the important documents that could save me. I previously have some that I stored in CD and DVD disks but they all went bad after getting left on the dashboard. I can't rely on cheap media and not think about quality first. This is much like what CQ Duplication and Multimedia has! They might not be the least priced out in the market but they never sacrifice quality. This is one trait that makes them impressive in my dictionary. How else would you keep customers coming back for more of your services if you stay sub standard.

Most services on Video to DVD - Queensland has are great. Others don't think about what consumers would say after they get home and use the discs themselves. I personally have experience with this when I was giving away gifts for a wedding. The music and video kept skipping and there were a lot of complaints from my clients too. I know it was a little humiliating to just stand there and watch. It was one of the few moments when I thought about getting professional services for these things because a good company that would be able to produce superior quality Film to DVD - Queensland copies is surely going to be better than just purchasing cheap sub standard ones. Thanks to people who care about quality over quantity you'll know how important it is to only go for the best when your products are out. The China made ones are cheap but every time you make them you sometimes have to pray hard that nothing ever goes wrong with it (no pun intended; I'm just keeping it real!).

Is it quality or quantity? Which one would you choose?! Let me know!

Never Sacrifice Quality

I was watching hour's worth of You Tube Videos this weekend because I was one of the millions of people who never got over the SUSAN BOYLE defeat in Britain's Got Talent Show. I never knew she could be beaten by a bunch of kids from London when in fact that was really not a fair comparison, like apples and oranges. If they saw their dance act and compare it to Philippine All Stars who recently won the world championships; that would really be a better way to do it. They would probably concede at the sight of that.

Now with the millions of people who were appalled by the decision, not to mention the hundreds who stayed vigil at her hotel that day... it talks about one particular criterion that judges should have been looking at. This is quality. One tough word to accomplish and one concern that each of us should think about as humans. In this world where consumers take a bigger role in the world market, we should never forget that quality should always be a priority. What you buy and take home for your family no matter how expensive it is reflects how you care. The big question here is; would you want anything less for your loved ones? Would you go the extra mile to get yourself the best thing your money could buy? Of course we do! This is our inalienable right as free people because at the end of the day, we all deserve what we worked for. The hard earned money in a time where markets fall abruptly and financial crisis creeps over economies should be worth every cent. No more, no less.

Watch how these people who made this VistaPrint Video go to the extremes in testing the quality of their products. I know you will like this one!

Now that’s quality!

The Need to Look Good

I passed by a kiosk I usually go to when I pass by the mall. I almost got most of their earrings already and I've amassed almost every design they have too. I was only planning to buy the silver cleaner which I often use for my necklace and studs but I saw a new one on their shelves. I don't want to sound blasphemous but I got the one which looked like a cross. It was also oxidized which made parts of it black. I would probably get that paired up with another set of earrings because I usually wear different ones for the left and the right.

I try to look good at this day and age because I would probably need to do so because my wife might leave me if I looked like a Dad already ha-ha! I'm not that well dressed as much as I want to be but I try to at least look presentable. That’s why when I can wear fashion jewelry, I do it as much as I can. That also includes formal occasions because even if I wear a suit I would probably need a silver stud and a rock to slightly glisten when people look at me.

I’ll clean my other ones too so when I wear something next week I’d be able to cope with my attire. I will have to think of something new and better so I wouldn’t look rubbish come February. That’s the time I’ll be spending on dates and dinners of course! For the single ladies out there, you better check out http://www.qualityfashionjewelry.com/ because they have the latest. Don't say I did not tell you alright?!