The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) launched last July 19, 2022 the annual Mandaue Business Month (MBM), happening this August, with the theme “Ushering the Great Reset: Riding the Tailwinds of Change”.

MCCI aims to encourage Mandaue businesses to look forward and find ways to jumpstart economic recovery.

“Someone said, we find ourselves at a historic crossroads managing short term pressures against medium and long term uncertainties,” MCCI President Kelie Ko said during the media briefing on the upcoming Mandaue Business Month 2022.

“Today we are given a window of opportunity to shape the recovery of our society making it better, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. It is time to usher the great reset,” Ko added.

The chamber, he said, hopes that their small efforts and advocacies, the planned activities will create awareness on how to make things better. “These efforts may just be a drop in the bucket but we need to start somewhere,” Ko said.

MBM 2022 chair Mark Ynoc called on the business sector to join the MBM 2022 activities and become part of the MBM 2022. The series of events will showcase Mandaue’s business potential, world-class businesses and industries that continues to contribute to the city’s economic development.

“We invite you to join our various events and let’s all together push that reset button in here Mandaue and ride the tailwinds of change and opportunities,” Ynoc said.

The various activities included the Mandaue Expo 2022, which will be held on August 5, 6 and 7 at the Mandaue Sports Complex; Trees Brew for Life on August 6 at the Umapad Green Park; Executive Forum – Situational Approach to Leadership Makes the Difference on August 12 at the City Sports Club; Duwa: Cebu Children’s Festival on August 13 and 14, and August 20 and 21 at the Oakridge Business Park; MCCI Business Summit on August 18 at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel; Mandani Bay Dragon Boat Regatta 2022 on August 20 at the Mandani Bay; and Mandaue Investment Forum at Mahogany, Executive Lounge, Oakridge.

The Mandaue Expo 2022 is a weekend market that will showcase various products of Mandaue City. The event chair is Girlie Garces, Communication Officer of San Miguel Brewery. Her co-chairs are Amado Go, president of Cenapro Chemical Corp. and Michelle Co-Lin, CTBC Bank Vismin-Business Center Head.

The Trees Brew for Life is a tree-planting activity in partnership with San Miguel Brewery Inc. and is also chaired by Ms. Garces.

The Executive Forum is in partnership with Blanchard Philippine Partner, CMC Business Solutions, Inc. will conduct a 4-hours brief introduction to SLII for interested MCCI Board and members. The maximum capacity for this program is 50 participants. The chair is Marvey Alcantara, general manager of Uratex while the co-chair is Margo Frasco, creative director of MDF Productions Inc.

(L-R) Marvey Alcantara ( Event Chair of Executive Forum & MCCI Fellowship), Beverly Dayanan (Event Chair of Investment Forum), Walter Ong (Event Co-Chair MCCI Business Summit), Adrian Lee (MBM Co -Chair & Event Chair, MCCI Business Summit), Kelie Ko(MCCI President& Event Chair Duwa: Children Festival),Mark Anthony Ynoc (MBM2022 Chair & Event Chair of Mandani Dragon Boat Regatta ) Calvin Gothong (Event Co- Chair of Mandani Dragon Boat Regatta), Girlie Garces (Event Chair of Mandaue Expo) , Bambi Gothong (Event Co Chair of Investment Forum), Michelle Co- Lin (Event Co-Chair of Mandaue Expo)

The DUWA Cebu Children's Festival, which is organized for children, will provide various experiences for children to encourage their innate curiosity and creativity. The activities include Bakunawa Bridge, Kareton Race, Filipino Games Tourney, The Sorting Cube, workshops and performances. Ko, general manager of KGK Management Inc. will chair this event while the co-chair is Sam Lao, president and chief executive officer of Realty Options marketing and Consultancy Inc.

The MCCI Business Summit 2022 will feature top caliber speakers to share their expertise and knowledge. They will include Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president and chief executive officer of Ayala Corp.; Asian Development Bank senior economist Mateo Lanzafame; Unionbank executive vice president and chief digital channel officer Ana Maria Aboitiz-Delgado; and Cherry Pua-Africa, a transformational coach. The event chair and co-chair are Adrian Lee, proprietor of Ngohiong Express, and Walter Ong, chief finance officer of Worldwide Steel Group Inc., respectively.

The Mandani Bay Dragon Boat Regatta 2022 is a first in Mandaue City and in support of the Philippine Accessible Disability Services Inc. (PADS). Ynoc, vice president of Prime Movers Total Logistics Inc., is the event chair while Calvin Gothong, president and chief operating officer of Carlos A. Gothong Lines. Inc. is the co-chair.

The Mandaue Investment Forum is chaired by Beverly Dayanan, president and chief executive officer of Contempo Property Holdings Inc., and co-chaired by Bambi Gothong, president and chief executive officer of A.D. Gothong manufacturing Corp.

Organized in  partnership with the Cebu provincial government and Mandaue City, the MBM aims to promote sustainable and socially responsible entrepreneurship and position Mandaue City and Cebu Province to be an attractive destination for business and investment.

MBM 2022 forms part of the 53rd Charter Day Celebration of Mandaue City this coming August.

Schools teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas and support service providers are currently preparing for the return of more long-staying students pushed by the pandemic to return to their home countries. Cebu welcomed last week its first post-pandemic batch of foreign learners, a group of over 50 high school students from Nagoya, Japan.

The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) Osaka and its other foreign offices in partnership with the Philippine Consulate in Nagoya are now facilitating the arrival of more students for English studies in the country. Another group of over a hundred students from Japan are expected in Cebu within this month. 

The DOT- Central Visayas (DOT7), in collaboration with the DOT Office of Product and Market Development, has beefed up support for the education tourism sector. 

A Master Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certification Course will be facilitated for 200 teachers from June to July this year. The 120-hour online course equips teachers for global competitiveness with current and appropriate teaching methodologies. Graduates will be registered with the American Licensing Authority of International English Language Teaching. 

LEARNERS: Students of various ages, and their parents, from different Asian nations and other non-English speaking countries, are returning to Cebu to study English and enjoy the island’s modern conveniences and off-hours rest and relaxation facilities. Top photos show a group of learners from Japan arriving at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport for a seven-week English as a Second Language (ESL) program, the first batch to come to Cebu post-pandemic.

The development of a framework for ESL will be started by the Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the DOT this year paving the way for further growth of ESL as an education tourism product.

The Online Education Fair to be staged in December will bring education agents from all over the world and Philippine-based service providers onto a common platform.  The event will provide the latter with updated and relevant information to guide promotions initiatives while allowing schools, colleges and universities offering ESL courses to showcase programs, campus facilities and out-of-classroom cultural and social immersion.

The Philippines is a global leader in English language teaching. It holds 10th place worldwide in the Test of English for International Communication, the highest in Asia.

Cebu is the preferred destination for English language learning and holds the distinction of being the ESL capital of the country. Students and their parents are attracted to the island’s quality lifestyle, reliable infrastructure and a wide array of choices for rest and relaxation.

Cebu’s 110 ESL schools and other similar institutions in the country, however, had to suspend operations in the midst of a phenomenal industry boom in 2020 as pandemic-induced lockdowns were ordered. Over 6,000 employees lost their jobs.

Central Visayas picks up where it left off with the strengthening of education tourism through industry enhancement and promotions efforts.

MANILA, Philippines, April 11, 2022 – Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), the Philippines’ leading developer of master-planned integrated tourism estates and a subsidiary of Megaworld, posted consolidated revenues of P5.0-billion for full-year 2021. Meanwhile, the company’s total net income increased by 15% year-on-year to P1.5-billion from P1.3-billion previously. The company’s income attributable to parent company’s shareholders likewise grew by 21% year-on-year to P1.3-billion from the previous year’s P1.1- billion.

Real estate sales contributed the lion’s share of revenues, registering a 3% increase to P3.7-billion as compared to the year before, in line with the expansion in construction activity. Real estate sales for the fourth quarter of 2021 alone came in at P1.0-billion, 49% higher than the same period last year.

Twin Lakes Hotel in Tagaytay

In 2021, GERI continued to bank on the strong demand for leisure developments, with reservation sales growing by 25% year-on-year to P17.2-billion. Boracay Newcoast led the company’s property sales with P4.1-billion worth of projects sold in 2021. This was followed closely by Eastland Heights and Alabang West, which registered sales amounting to P3.6-billion and P3.4-billion, respectively. The rest of GERI’s offerings also registered strong demand with Arden Botanical Estate, Southwoods City, and Twin Lakes combining for P5.0-billion in sales during the year.

“For 2021, we continued to capitalize on the strong demand for properties in the provinces. Aside from the intrinsic attractiveness of owning a place that allows you to commune more closely with nature, the past couple of years also highlighted the potential of owning real estate as an investment. In fact, the underlying land values for our offerings continued to appreciate at a brisk pace in spite of the pandemic,” says Monica T. Salomon, president, GERI.

On the other hand, the company’s leasing revenues declined by 34% year-on-year to P409-million as consumer confidence remained subdued for the majority of 2021.

Revenue from hotel operations also declined by 27% to P146-million in 2021 from P201-million in the previous year as a result of prevailing travel restrictions. However, the relaxing of restrictions in the fourth quarter of 2021 led to a resurgence in bookings, resulting to a 231% increase in quarterly hotel revenue to P78-million versus the preceding quarter.

“The increased economic activity in the last couple of months of the year has really been a boon for us. Furthermore, the relaxation of travel requirements will help sustain the ramp up in operations of our hotels which rely a lot on leisure and tourism-related activities,” adds Salomon.

Today, GERI has eight (8) integrated tourism developments across the country covering more than 3,300 hectares of land namely: Twin Lakes in Laurel, Batangas (1,200 hectares); Southwoods City in Biñan, Laguna and Carmona, Cavite (561 hectares); Alabang West in Las Piñas City (62 hectares); Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island, Aklan (150 hectares); Sta. Barbara Heights in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo (173 hectares); Eastland Heights in Antipolo, Rizal (640 hectares); and The Hamptons Caliraya in Lumban- Cavinti, Laguna (300 hectares); and Arden Botanical Estate at the boundary of Trece Martires and Tanza in Cavite (251 hectares).

Prince Warehouse Club will hold its 6th Sari-Sari Store Festival this July 29, 2011 8am-5pm at the Cebu International Convention Center - CICC. Mandaue City. This year's theme is "Sari-Sari Store Festival 2011: Malambuong Negosyo ug Kagawasang Pinansyal."
Prince Warehouse Club also plans to make it more fun-filled with its sub theme: "Prince Warehouse Club Sari-Sari Store Festival 2011 Goes Green."
With its yearly success in this event, Prince Warehouse Club once again invites you to take a peek at what's in store for this year's greener and more entertaining Sari-Sari Store Festival.

Prince Warehouse Club is a retail warehouse club chain with four branches in Cebu located in the North Reclamation Area, Old MCWD building, Danao City and Minglanilla. It provides exceptional value in both wholesale and retail for neighborhood stores, restaurants, institutions, resellers, and households. Prince Warehouse Club has also prescenes outside Cebu within Visayas Islands.

Prince Warehouse Club President and CEO Robert Go emphasizes that the Sari-Sari Store Festival is their way of expressing their gratitude to the members for their continued support in sustaining and advancing their vision. Fabulous Prizes will be raffled off during the Festival. The organizers is thankful for the support that they get from their Sponsors for this year's Sari-Sari Store Festival.
Sari-Sari Store Festival 2011 at CICC by Prince Warehouse Club posted at Cebu Events Blog

Plantersbank define its framework for a tripple bottom line approach by Combining Profit, Social Returns, and Environmental Management and Fair Practices on Equal and Equivocal terms.

Plantersbank Promotes to Cebu SME Ethics and Values Speakers Series
Plantersbank, the country’s lead bank for Small and Medium Enterprises SMEs, once again brings the SME Speaker Series to the Queen City if the South for this year’s second leg of the SME Speaker Series. The events takes place last August 26, 2010 at City Sports Club(fronting Cebu Marriott), Cebu City.
Help guide for Entrepreneur in making their business Grow and Prosper
Now on its third year touring the key cities nationwide, Plantersbank has been advocating SME enablement by getting renowned motivational speakers to talk about cutting edge ideas in management and entrepreneurship to help keep SMEs abreast with developments that may impact their decision making process and the way they managed their business.
The Cebu leg of SME Speaker Series brings one o f the country’s most sought-after motivational speaker, Anthony N. Pangilinan as guest lecturer, to talk about the importance of business values and how it can be a big factor in helping business a achieve greater productivity and financial gains.
This years theme: SME Ethics: Adding Values to your Business
Heeding the new administration’s call for “change”, the Plantersbank SME Speaker Series will tackle business values that can help guide entrepreneur in making their business grow and prosper, thus the theme, “SME Ethics: Adding Values to your Business”.
Eliminate the opportunities for corruption, long term financial gains for SMEs
“In the previous years, we talk about how to manage a business during a difficult times and how to thrive despite the tough times. Now that most businesses are already showing signs of recovery from the economic downturn, we thought it best to promote good governance and instill good business values among our entrepreneurs. We believe that if we can eliminate the opportunities for corruption, our SME’s can benefit a lot because this could mean greater productivity and long term financial gains,” according to Plantersbank chairman and President Ambassador Jesus T. Tambunting.
The Cebu leg of SME Speaker Series is being presented in partnership with Bayan Business
Plantersbank Promotes to Cebu SME Ethicss Speakers Series posted at Cebu Events Blog

This First-ever Trade Exhibit showcasing the World-Class products of leading companies from the two countries Philippines and Russia is a major component in this year’s Philippine Russian Business Forum (PRBF) which will be on Oct. 21-24, 2010. It will be open for public view at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City. Factory Visits and Trips to Northern and Southern Cebu is scheduled on October 23 and 24.

“We hope to generate more trade opportunities and strengthen relations between Russia and the Philippines through this exhibition,” Garcia said. “This will be a good entry point for the Russians not only to the Philippine market but to the ASEAN and even the rest of the world, and vise versa.”
Lined up for exhibition are products and services related to tourism and wellness; trade promotion and development; mining and energy; education and culture; labor, placement services and outsourcing; and retirement facilities and real estate development.The various aspects of both Filipino and Russian education, as well as culture, will also be featured in the trade fair, including English language training and arts and crafts.
Among the highlights of the Philippine Russian Business Forum and Trade Exhibition is the one-on-one business matching and meeting between exhibitors and investors/buyers which is instrumental in the procuring of trade.
Russia, world's largest reserves of Mineral, Energy Resources and Timber 
Russia is known to have the largest reserves of mineral and energy resources in the world and is the world’s leading energy superpower, the visiting exhibitors are expected to bring in new ideas and current trends on the Russian energy market.It also has the world’s largest timber reserves and may likewise promote its wood furniture industry, along with its food products, toys and housewares, jewelry, fashion and accessories, and industrial goods.
Exhibits for Tourism and Wellness will showcase M.I.C.E. facilities and Destinations, Tourist Attractions, and health and wellness products as well as medical tourism-related services.
Unveiling of Leo Tolstoy bust at the Sugbo Cultural Center
THE bust of famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy which will be mounted at the Sugbo Cultural Center on October 21, 2010 as the main highlight in the opening ceremonies of this year’s Philippine Russian Business Forum (PRBF).
This was announced by Honorary Russian Consul to the Visayas Russia Armi Lopez Garcia, who said the Tolstoy bust arrived along with the paintings of celebrated Russian painter-sculptor Gregory Pototsky.
Tolstoy is regarded as among the world’s greatest of novelist. His famous works include the masterpieces “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace,” which is one of the greatest novels ever written.
The 2009 movie “The Last Station”, starring Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren, was based on Tolstoy’s final year. Tolstoy died of pneumonia at Astapovo station in 1910 at the age of 82.
Pototsky paintings at the Philippine Russian Art Show
Pototsky’s paintings will serve as the Russian delegation’s main attraction in the Philippine Russian Art Show, which is among the PBRF’s major components along with the Philippine Russian Trade Exhibition and Philippine Russian Photo Exhibit.
Investors, Real Estate Developers, Businessmen, Exporters, Importers are expected to attend.
Investors, real estate developers, businessmen, decision makers, exporters, importers, national government agencies, and local government units from both the Russian Federation and the Philippines are expected to attend the four-day Philippine Russian Business Forum.
About 2nd Philippine-Russian Business Forum.
The four-day 2nd Philippine-Russian Business Forum is organized by the Philippine Russian Business Assembly (PRBA), Embassy of the Russian Federation, and the Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp. (PETCO).
It is being held in cooperation with the Province of Cebu, City of Mandaue, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Tourism, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Business Club, and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The 2nd Philippine-Russian Business Forum posted at Cebu Events Blog.

Shop now!
At the 5th Sari-Sari Store Festival 2010 as pioneered by Prince Warehouse Club, July 23, 8am-5pm at the Exhibition Hall of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City. Prince Warehouse Club is a retail warehouse club chain with four branches in Cebu located in the North Reclamation Area, Old MCWD building, Danao City and Minglanilla. It provides exceptional value in both wholesale and retail for neighborhood stores, restaurants, institutions, resellers, and households.

This festival aims to bring together sari-sari store owners from the North, the South, and all over the Province by way of an exhibition, a variety show, and helpful discussions on entrepreneurship, micro-finance, and sari-sari store best practices & success stories. It is designed to encourage and further support their local businesses, to help them grow and in turn, grow the local economy as well.
It has currently over 10,000 members who are mostly sari-sari store owners from all over the province of Cebu, from the Northern part in Danao, to the southern part in Minglanilla. It serves its members in their respective localities with remarkably low prices on grocery goods to resell for their sari-sari stores.
With its membership base growing in the grassroots level, it annually holds an event called the Sari-Sari Store Festival.
Prince Warehouse Club President and CEO Robert Go emphasizes that the Sari-Sari Store Festival is their way of expressing their gratitude to the members for their continued support in sustaining and advancing their vision.
Prince Warehouse Club Chief Operating Officer Rhea Go also reveals that during the festival, they're gonna be launching The Customer Loyalty Program for Sari-Sari Soceity Members to get rebates and points via Smart Card that is swiped everytime they purchase from the store. Another plus for the event also is their MicroFinance Program vernacularly termed as "Pampuno-puno" aimed to add capitals on current sari-sari stores to grow. Priority for this program are those small scale stores only.
Fabulous Prizes will be raffled off during the Festival. A minimum purchase of Php500 from any of the Prince Warehouse Club Branches entitles a customer one coupon for the raffles. Those who will apply for PWC Sari-Sari Society membership at the CICC will get freebies from the Organizers and Sponsors.
5th Sari-Sari Store Festival 2010 at CICC posted at Cebu Events Blog.