28 solo mothers in the Municipality of Cordova successfully completed the ICT and Life Skills Training Program of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry(CCCI),  and the New Zealand Embassy Manila in collaboration with the CCCI Cordova Chapter, the Local Government Unit of Cordova, and the Department of Information & Communications Technology Visayas Cluster 2 office, on April 8 via Zoom.

As the last site of the ICT and LIFE SKILLS Training Program for Solo Mothers, the training took a setback last December when Super Typhoon Odette left a hair-raising memory which brought destruction to homes, properties, livelihoods at a time when everyone were already facing the societal and developmental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amidst the challenges, 28 resilient and empowered solo mothers finished the course with high hopes of finding opportunities with options either to join the workforce or continue their entrepreneurial stint in baby steps. 

The graduation ceremony was graced by the New Zealand Embassy Aid Programme Manager, Ms. Dyan Mabunga Rodriguez and Cordova Mayor, Hon. Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho. CCCI Cordova Chapter President, Engr. Sam Augusto, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the New Zealand Embassy and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce for engaging the chapter and capacitating them in implementing the program.

In his message, CCCI President Charles Kenneth Co encouraged the solo mothers to remain hopeful and inspired to overcome each obstacle in life. VP for Membership/Chamber Growth, Atty. Tomas Riveral closed the program with emphasis on the importance of a strong support system in helping a person overcome hardship and looking at the bright side of everything, especially for solo mothers. 

The ICT and LIFE SKILLS training program was made possible with the untiring support and patience of Ms. Claire Fernandez and Engr. Royden Rusiana as Lead and Co-Trainers, respectively, with Mr. Alexander Vincent Ruñez of AXL Trainings as the Life Skills trainer who generously shared their knowledge, expertise, support and encouragement to the solo mothers.

CCCI also extends its appreciation and gratefulness to Mr. Cesar Munez, President of San Roque College de Cebu, for providing the venue and internet access to the trainees. 

Special awards and commendations were given to six (6) exemplary graduates: 

• Joy Therese Baguio, Best in Curriculum Vitae 

• Mary Mayrene Lamis, Best in Google Presentation- 

• Alma Dungog, Best in Graphics Design Facebook Cover 

• Justine Dela Cerna, Best in Graphics Design - Facebook Post Template 

• Anna Jane Inoc, Most Popular Facebook Page and

• Karren Kay Cano, Best in Facebook Quote Story

MANILA, APRIL 11, 2022 - The continued unrest of the Taal Volcano forced over 1,000 Filipino families to evacuate to nearby communities in Batangas last March. With Alert Level 3 still in place, these families continue to spend their days in evacuation centers across the region.

As part of its commitment to better the lives of the underserved, Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, partnered with several brands and charity organizations to provide aid for Taal evacuees.

Shopee Philippines Director Martin Yu said, “As we remain steadfast in our commitment to be a force for good, especially in times when Filipinos need it the most, Shopee will work closely with our partners to help provide immediate relief to the evacuees. Our thoughts are with those affected and we hope that the situation in Taal will recover soon for these families to be able to return to their homes.”

Together with Shopee, partner brands such as Universal Robina Corporation, Colgate, and Monde Nissin, donated essentials such as drinking water and food items to affected residents. Through the help of its Shopee Xpress fleet and volunteers, Shopee transported and coursed donations through the ABS-CBN Foundation for the latter’s ongoing on-ground efforts.

These Shopee Xpress volunteers also helped collate and distribute potable water donated by the Luzon Clean Water Development to evacuation centers in Batangas.

Shopee also invites users to donate to those affected by the taal eruption and other emergencies through its partner charities found on the app. 

Users simply need to:

  1. Head to the Shopee app homepage

  2. Click Load, Bills, and Travel

  3. Click E-vouchers 

  4. Click Charity

  5. Choose and purchase the e-voucher of their preferred charity

Users can also contribute to the ABS-CBN Foundation’s on-ground efforts through Shopee’s Scan-to-donate feature. Just scan ABS-CBN Foundation’s QR code, choose the donation amount, and donate via ShopeePay.

Download the Shopee app via the App Store and the Google Play store today. 

About Shopee

Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia & Taiwan. Shopee connects shoppers, brands, and sellers across Asia and other fast-growing markets, empowering anyone to buy and sell anywhere and at any time. 

Shopee offers an easy, secure, and engaging experience that is enjoyed by millions of people daily. It offers a wide product assortment, supported by integrated payments and logistics, as well as popular entertainment features tailored for each market. Shopee is also a key contributor to the region’s digital economy with a firm commitment to helping brands and entrepreneurs succeed in e-commerce.

Shopee is a part of Sea Limited (NYSE:SE), a leading global consumer internet company. In addition to Shopee, Sea’s other core businesses include its digital entertainment arm, Garena, and digital financial services arm, SeaMoney. Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology.

A new “traDigital” company backed by the 917Ventures Retirement Fund is set to revolutionize the Philippine entertainment industry with the launch of KROMA Entertainment Inc.

KROMA brings together passionate content and experienced creators, the best talent, and innovative technology to produce fresh and engaging entertainment for the Filipino audience. KROMA offers entertainment for all across screens and formats, be it high-quality films, series, TV shows, music, digital content, or events.

The Globe Group is going full-scale into entertainment with KROMA, expanding its earlier venture into live events, production, publishing and music with what was then called Globe Entertainment (GENT).

Likewise rebranded, Globe Studios has spun off its businesses: ANIMA continues to produce award-winning and critically-acclaimed films, series and podcasts, while SECRET MENU, a full-service production house, creates branded content and television commercials.

KROMA likewise takes charge of music label PARADISE RISING, in partnership with international label 88Rising, to champion Filipino talent on the global stage. KROMA’s video-on-demand platform UPSTREAM has been home to the latest films, series and events for Filipinos everywhere.

NYMA focuses on pushing talent growth across the company's network of partners and clients. PIE, a partnership with ABS-CBN and BEAM digital television network and supported by 917Ventures, is a multi-platform, real-time, interactive entertainment channel. It provides memorable and rewarding experiences, prizes and connections for and with Filipinos.

Rounding up the KROMA roster are Wonder, a pop culture and style platform, and FreebieMNL, everyone’s destination for the latest news and deals on food and lifestyle.

Globe supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, highlighting the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. It is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributing to 10 UN SDGs.

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.

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.

MR.DIY, your one-stop-shop for home improvement, is with the entire globe in celebrating April as Earth Month!

This month-long celebration encourages the public to learn and practice sustainability to make the world a better place, and MR.DIY has exciting items to offer for Filipinos who are looking into contributing to this ongoing cause for the environment.

Glass Storage Jar

Glass Storage Jars have become a symbol for zero waste movement, and for all the good reasons. These glass jars from MR.DIY are incredibly useful, a great eco-friendly alternative from single use plastic containers, and can be used as storage for your everyday food items.

Need to get into a tight spot to clean? MR.DIY's bottle brush set is the perfect zero-waste tool for the job. Great for tall bottles, baby bottles, and even coffee pots.

Bottle brushes are essential because they can reach deep into the bottle of deep objects such as non-dishwasher safe glassware. This helpful item can help you clean a variety of bottles, from small baby containers to tall tumblers.

Whether you’re storing pantry staples or leftovers, food containers from MR.DIY will be perfect for any occasion! Food containers play the most crucial role in ensuring food safety. They protect the food from contamination, improve the shelf life of the product, and maintain the freshness of the food items. 

MR.DIY's kitchen towels are ideal for achieving your waste-free cooking area. This reusable towel is a fantastic alternative to disposable paper towels and is a great sustainable housewarming gift for a friend's new home. These cloths can also be used as hand and face napkins.

Dustbin and Eco-friendly Garbage Bag

Having dustbins and garbage bags in the corners of your house keep your home cleaner and safer for the family! Garbage bags are useful for messy or wet trash, such as food waste, and they can also be used to wrap garbage in order to reduce odor. And with MR.DIY’s eco-friendly material, your zero-waste lifestyle continues.

These five items, among many others that can help you continue your zero-waste journey, are now available at MR.DIY’s stores nationwide!

To learn more about MR.DIY and its products, visit www.mrdiy.com/ph. You may also follow /mrdiyPH on Facebook, and @mrdiy.philippines on Instagram and Tiktok for updates and upcoming promos.

 About MR.DIY

MR D.I.Y. is the largest home improvement retailer with more than 2,000 stores across Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Cambodia, India, and Europe in Turkey and Spain. The home improvement retailer has dedicated itself to making a positive difference in the lives of its valued customers by offering convenience at all its stores nationwide.

All MR. D.I.Y. stores are managed directly and the company often works in collaboration with other mass merchandise retailers or owners of malls or shopfront properties. MR. D.I.Y. stores offer a wide selection of — approximately 18,000 SKUs — across 5 major categories, namely hardware; household and furnishing; electrical; stationery and sports equipment products; and others (comprising amongst others toys, car accessories, jewellery, and cosmetics).

The company strives to put customers first by operating an innovative business that is flexible when it comes to providing a wide variety of products, good quality, and value-for-money, holding true to the Company’s motto of “ALWAYS LOW PRICES”.