SM intensifies vaccination
SM’s vaccination efforts have intensified in solid support of national recovery with about 94 percent of eligible SM employees vaccinated to date.
Previously, SM ordered over 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for its employees and for donation to the National Government.
SM’s vaccination program is a joint effort of all the SM companies, including SM Investments Corporation, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., SM Retail, Inc., BDO Unibank, Inc., China Banking Corp. and portfolio companies such as 2GO Group, Inc., Atlas Mining & Development Corp and Goldilocks Bakeshop.
BDO was among the pioneers in the private sector to source vaccines. BDO provided vaccines through a tripartite agreement between the national government, vaccine manufacturers and the private sector led by Go Negosyo.
SM malls teamed up with Go Negosyo to open shared vaccination sites for around 300 MSMEs with more than 170,000 employees as part of Go Negosyo’s “A Dose of Hope” program.
Over 3.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in 69 malls around the country that have been used as vaccination hubs by various local government units (LGUs).
SM facilitated vaccination of its third-party stakeholders and MSME partners in coordination with their respective.
Balloon Payment Plus
Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has introduced Balloon Payment Plus, a refreshed financing solution made exclusively for TMP by Toyota Financial Services Philippines that makes ownership and driving experience more affordable with lower monthly payments, prepaid periodic maintenance service and flexible end-of-loan term options.
Balloon Payment Plus offers up to 28 percent lower monthly payments compared to regular financing.
The low monthly payment comes with periodic maintenance service from the dealership where the car was purchased. Balloon Payment Plus covers a range of models and variants.
GrowSari execs
GrowSari, a tech-enabled B2B platform that helps the Philippines’ sari-sari stores, has proven to be a hub for global talent.
GrowSari is led by three new executives who come from some of the world’s biggest companies.
Maimai Madrid-Punzalan, chief growth and marketing officer, served as the head of Marketing for J&J Philippines and regional director for Baby Care in Southeast Asia for Johnson & Johnson. At GrowSari she leads a team handling demand generation and growth and brand marketing for FMCG and E-Services.
Sandeep Bhalla, GrowSari’s lead advisor for Financial Services, joins GrowSari as the lead advisor of the financial services team (Finserv). He has over 20 years of experience in consumer financial services. At GrowSari he leads the efforts to develop the financial services vertical.
Leandro Alea joins GrowSari as the operations lead. Prior to GrowSari, Alea was the head of supply chain at Lixil, which makes pioneering water and housing products.
Reymund “ER” Rollan, the platform’s co-founder and chief executive officer, is also a veteran in some of the world’s biggest companies. Rollan started his career in Singapore, where he held a variety of roles at P&G.
Extensive HMO
MyMaxicare is the most respected health maintenance organization (HMO) plan for individuals and families alike.
It is a full-risk, full coverage healthcare plan that offers a comprehensive coverage, with the widest network of hospitals, clinics, and providers in the Philippines.
MyMaxicare is available for individuals and their dependents as young as 15 days old, and as old as 60 years and five months old.
MyMaxicare provides the following benefits to its clients : inpatient benefits like room and board, physician fees, anesthesia and oxygen administration, laboratory procedures; outpatient benefits such as regular consultations, minor surgeries, diagnostic procedures, speech therapy, and therapeutic procedures such as chemotherapy and dialysis; emergency care such as emergency room access; access to Maxicare Primary Care Centers; preventive care like vaccination for tetanus and animal bites; annual check-up and; value-added benefitsin partnership with Assist America Asia Ltd. and; dental care.
Cebu Pacific flies over 10M vaccine doses
Cebu Pacific has transported 10.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses across the country since March, reaching another milestone in its cargo delivery efforts.
Over the past two weeks, CEB airlifted vaccine doses to 19 provinces namely: Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilio, Kalibo, Legazpi, Ozamiz, Pagadian, Roxas, San Jose, Siargao, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga. Siargao and Pagadian are the newest addition to the CEB roster.
CEB has also carried COVID-19 vaccines to other destinations, specifically: Bohol, Boracay, Cauayan, Masbate, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, and Virac.
“We know how integral these vaccines are in safeguarding the health of Filipinos during the pandemic. That is why we are honored to assist the government in ensuring the safe delivery of these life-saving vaccines, and we look forward to carrying more across our widest domestic network,” said Alex Reyes, chief strategy officer at Cebu Pacific.
The airline has also transported over 16.5 million vaccine doses from China to the Philippines since April 2021.
Best For The World
Generation Hope Inc. (HOPE), the pioneering social enterprise and makers of the bottled water brand Hope in a Bottle, and the first Certified B Corp in the Philippines, was recently honored as a Best for the Worldâ„¢ B Corp.
This recognition is administered by B Lab, the global nonprofit organization that certifies and mobilizes Certified B Corps, and awarded to organizations in the top 5 percent of B Corps in its size group worldwide for their sustainable business practices.
Certified B Corps are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. HOPE became the first Filipino company to be recognized as a Certified B Corp in 2017. All profits generated from selling HOPE’s products go to building public school classrooms, mostly in geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas in the Philippines. The company also provides agriculture interventions and creates carbon sequestration projects for smallholder farmers in Mindanao.
To date, HOPE has built 116 classrooms through the sale of HOPE products, impacting over 15,000 students. Its agriculture program has distributed over 100,000 coconut seedlings to over 10,000 farmers, providing opportunities for increased income to their communities.
First Halal certification body
Prime Certification and Inspection Asia Pacific Inc. was officially awarded as the first local Halal Certification Body (HCB) accredited by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB).
With the accreditation, Prime is able to strengthen the country’s Halal industry and allow Philippine companies to tap into the lucrative global Halal economy estimated to reach $3.2 trillion by 2024. This enables Philippine homegrown businesses producing and developing Halal products as well as services to competitively penetrate the international market.
Prime became the first HCB found to be in adherence to the requirements of PAB, and was granted accreditation to ISO/IEC 17065:2012 – Conformity Assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes, and services, in addition to the Philippine National Halal Certification Scheme (PNHCS) of 2018. This permits Prime to Halal-certify food products, beverages and food supplements.
Prime is the only local HCB accredited by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, which also follows the requirements and standards of the Organization of Islamic Countries. The company is, likewise, an accredited and approved HCB by the governing authorities of the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Qatar, and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Grab expands food delivery service
Grab Philippines continues to widen its geographical footprint as it offers its food delivery service to more cities and municipalities in Bulacan (Meycauayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Malolos, Baliuag, San Ildefonso, San Miguel, and Pulilan), Cavite (Tagaytay, Maragondon, Amadeo, and Gen Emilio Aguinaldo), and Laguna (San Pablo, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Sinoloan, Mabitac, Famy, Pakil, Pangil, Paete, and Magdalena).
With GrabFood now available in more areas in Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna, more consumers can now easily discover new and exciting F&B concepts within these areas, or simply order from a wide range of popular fast-food chains.
As GrabFood’s way of thanking consumers for their support, new GrabFood users can enjoy FREE DELIVERY + P20 OFF when they use the promo code TRYGRABFOOD.
GrabFood’s expansion into these new areas will create much-needed livelihood opportunities for the local merchant- and delivery-partners.
DivinaLaw lawyers named best in PH
Five lawyers from leading law firm DivinaLaw were once again recognized in this year’s list of the Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers, as compiled by the Asia Business Law Journal, a Hong Kong-based magazine covering the legal industry in the region.
In its article published online this September, the magazine named the firm’s managing partner Atty. Nilo T. Divina and senior partners Atty. Alden Francis C. Gonzales, Atty. Estrella C. Elamparo, Atty. Enrique V. Dela Cruz, Jr., and Atty. Danny E. Bunyi as part of what is considered to be the A-list of the country’s legal profession.
“This is the fourth time for DivinaLaw to have its lawyers in theAsia Business Law Journal list…I am especially proud and honored because we are the youngest among the major law firms in the roster, having established ourselves only 15 years ago,” he enthused.
The annual list is a product of Asia Business Law Journal’s extensive research and nominations made by clients, in-house counsel, partners at international law firms, and professionals working in local and global companies
