REMITLY Expands to More Countries

It’s 98 days before Christmas and of course Filipinos around the world are thinking of their families in the Philippines. With the way things are, they of course would want you to make this another year to remember and get that festive spirit and dinner taken cared of. I remember the time my Ninang sent me 20 dollars each Christmas and how happy I was to get my toys and stuff, but sometimes it gets stolen in transit for one or more reasons. 

These days we’re more than happy to use remittance services that are affordable, easy to understand and super safe. Honestly there’s no better opportunity to send money home than now where the exchange rate is very high. I’ve met some of the executives of REMITLY (an online money transfer company) as they start partnering with a local tech brand as they expand their services in the country. 

Matt Oppenheimer “I started Remitly to disrupt the 500 Billion remittance industry. With mobile growth we now have something scalable, we believe that we put the customer first to transform hundreds and millions of lives, serve and deliver on their promises. We’re just getting started.”

In 2011 they launched in the Philippines with a service US to the Philippines only. They didn’t launch in other countries until they mastered the service. They acquired Talio and got a tracking system in place to send text messages, emails so you know where your money is anytime of the day. They also got scholarship grants for 500 students, got their feedback, improved the system even further. Now they have other 11 European countries, Canada, Australia and even cruise ships. They also donated money for disaster relief and saved 900 Million dollars in transfer fees because it was easier for them to pass on the company earnings to customers easing their ability to send money home. 

They are doing Geographic expansion, Product Expansion, even established a Manila Office with 400 employees (and is still growing). For those who don’t know Kuya Kim Atienza is their endorser, in his words “Being the face of Remitly is like giving back, I am here in the Philippines and spend enough time with my family but tons of Filipinos are abroad working, living alone, it’s not easy. This is how countless Filipinos do it. Initially I didn’t know what it is all about, I realised what good this is doing with Filipinos, thank you Remitly.” He even said the weather during the event! Hahaha!

Transactions according to them is 100% safe and their promise is to get you that money online in 5 seconds or less. They offer a very competitive rate for senders, no add on fees. There are tons of Filipinos around the world and this will be a good venue to send money from abroad. You should give this a try because their first transaction is completely FREE. Would you believe that?

Send money to me too if you’re not busy! LOL

KUMAGCOW 

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Luigi Revilla for TRES

This is my first time to meet Luigi Revilla, the brother of Jolo and Bryan. He's the son of Senator Bong Revilla and Lovely Guzman. Albeit coming from different moms, he was never treated as such and so when TRES was pitched for production they knew it had to include this guy. According to him, if his Dad says he's got to do this film, he will do it. It was so nice to see him in good spirits. 

Luigi says "I am doing a part of the movie called "AMATS", thank you for being here. I was studying so I wasn't around that much in showbusiness so I concentrated in my studies. I finished entrepreneurship in Enderun College. Right now I am learning the ropes of a few businesses I do with my wife. In AMATS, it has double meaning. It either has to do with dru9s or women. He's an addict, Assunta's character got him into the circuit. She's like a cougar, and I also am battling it out with Ronwaldo Martin's character here. My love interest here is Myrtle Sarroza, he fell in love and tried to get back on track. We feel these stories are apt for the third installment of TRES, and our directors have different styles but we all get along especially while we were doing this episode. What I want to tell you is that we all have something to give, I wouldn't say being a blackbelter would be an advantage, it's more of a strength and I hope people would love it."

He adds "AMATS is different, 72 hours is Bing Revilla esque, my brother Bryan is dark and his acting comes out. AMATS is more millennial, not much explosions but fast paced moves utilizing my skills. I always go to him and talk about the scenes, I like his style because we get to be inspired by music we also use to motivate actors on the scenes. I had a scene here with Markki Stroem and he lost his tooth when I kicked him in the face, props to him he was so professional and it was accidental. It was one big fight scene and that happened, unfortunately."

On his brothers he says "We first saw each other during the wake of my grandma, I think it was God's plan that we meet in Boracay and every Sunday since we get together, I am so blessed that even Tita Lani accepted me from day 1. She never made me feel out of place, I love Tita Lani and I am blessed they accepted me in the family and now we are so close. My wife and Tita Lani are also very close, I am so happy that happened."

Luigi is a young Dad, he wanted to have a son early. He wanted to be a family oriented guy so he could spend time with family, he wanted to become like his Dad and the type of person he is. With this movie, he hopes to get that it opens up doors of opportunities for him and his brothers so they could make more films and help people behind the scenes too. He prays that his Dad continues to be strong, he doesn't want him to be free so he could be with all of them and make up for the years that he hasn't been able to be there because of circumstances. He's thankful for the opportunity to work with his brothers and until now he feels he is dreaming.

I hope the industry accepts them with open arms so they could enjoy something they love to do, acting. They would gladly do the legwork, his Dad is very hands on from the people who are doing this film and he wants to one day work with his Dad, hopefully soon. 

Good luck Luigi!


KUMAGCOW
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Be Ready For Gabay Guro 2018

This is ther 11th year and they will not stop. 1,500 scholarship grants, 400 classrooms, more partner schools, several topnotchers, thousands of teachers from different provinces in the Philippines who benefited in this PLDT Smart Foundation led project. Training, livelihood, scholarships, computerization and innovation to help teachers get other sources of income so they too can be leaders in their own schools. Now there are wifi hotspots in schools, educational facilities, even in calamity stricken areas they are now present. Now students are getting quality education they deserve and even teachers get proper training and other courses so they can cope with technology and skills that come with it. The event also has become one of the biggest in the country and they want to bring this to other parts of the country. There is also a Gabay Guro App so news and features are communicated wherever they are. They also want to get teachers to start their own livelihood, so they have other sources of income, building the nation one teacher at a time. This they say is very important so they are doing this for all our educators.

Mother, wife Shay Cabalo Revilla says “We would like to invite you all on September 23 at the MOA Arena, Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, Randy Santiago, Gabbi Concepcion, Sharon Cuneta, Gary Valenciano, his kids, Martin Nievera, Pops Fernandez, Andrew Wolf, Jona and a lot more (surprise love teams!). They will be raffling off a car, a house, motorcycles, a van, equipment, TV’s and GC’s all for teachers. PLDT SMART will also be giving broadband kits, cellphones and groceries. There are tons of private companies that helped chip in to make this the biggest event ever.”

Recently they have been able to receive a grant of 57,000 USD from Stanford University and this will go to scholars and facilities in different parts of the country. She added “We were shortlisted from different NGO’s and charities, and this is just over and beyond what we imagined. We help put up structured educational facilities in crisis areas and that will be prioritized like recent typhoons.”

They have already done different events in different provinces and we have been able to give the same entertainment as we will also have here. We will be providing connectivity, mobile libraries, computers, so it could go out to far flung barangays and give access to people. This is an opportunity to help kids, teachers, and they connect with partners so they could earn more with their time. They are already running out of tickets and this is why they will also bring Gabay Guro to their own areas.

Gabbi Concepcion took the stage and said “My mom is a teacher and I know how important they are in our lives. We got to see teachers and just seeing them happy is enough for me. I enjoyed the tours in the province and I advise kids to love their teachers as they act as their second parents. If ever I will sing with Sharon I am okay, I am really waiting for that to happen. We haven’t talked about it yet. I will support Gabay Guro as much as I can.”

So teachers make sure to be there on the 23rd, this will be big!

KUMAGCOW

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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.

KUMAGCOW
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