The top executive of Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. (BAVI) has been cited by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association for helping farmers join the local poultry industry through a broilers grower program.
BAVI president and general manager Ronald Mascariñas received the 2019 UP Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award in Entrepreneurship and Employment Creation from UP President Danilo Concepcion, during ceremonies at Ang Bahay ng Alumni at UP Diliman in Quezon City.
BAVI president Ronald Mascariñas with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in Entrepreneurship and Employment Creation.
Joining Mascariñas as Distinguished Alumni awardees were Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri (Enterprise Development in Renewable Energy) and Associate Justice Marvic Leonen (Law and Judiciary). The Most Distinguished Alumnus Award was given to former Finance Secretary and Ambassador Edgardo Espiritu.
Also cited “for being a successful ‘rags-to-riches’ businessman in the country’s highly competitive food sector”, Mascariñas graduated with a degree in agriculture from UP Los Baños in Laguna in 1982. He started BAVI’s operations in 2002 and led it to become the country’s top chicken rotisserie chain with retail brands Chooks-to-Go, Uling Roasters, and Reyal.
BAVI president Ronald Mascariñas poses with Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and wife, Audrey Tan Zubiri during the awarding ceremony.
In 2004, UP Los Baños also named Mascariñas as Most Outstanding Alumnus in Entrepreneurship.
On September 9, users can look forward to 24 rounds of Flash Deals with discounts up to 90% off.
Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, celebrates 9.9 Super Shopping Day by offering All Day Sitewide Free Shipping ₱0 minimum spend on September 9. In addition, consumers can look forward to flash deals up to 90% off, 100% cashback and discount vouchers, and amazing prizes to take home fromShopee’s₱1 Game.
Ruoshan Tao, Head of Marketing at Shopee Philippines, said, “We are thrilled with the overwhelming support from all our users since the launch of our annual 9.9 Super Shopping Day. This year, Filipinos can expect even more exciting offers, including no minimum spend Free Shipping, hourly flash deals, and vouchers released throughout September 9. We hope to have everyone join us in celebrating 9.9 Super Shopping Day.”
Get Ready for This Year’s 9.9 Super Shopping Day
On September 9, users will be
treated to 24 hours of non-stop promotions and deals. Key highlights are:
All
Day Sitewide Free Shipping with ₱0 Minimum Spend: Users can avail sitewide free shipping for 24 hours
during 9.9 Super Shopping Day.
24
rounds of Flash Deals: Users
can look forward to an upsized session of flash deals to score their favorite products for
as low as ₱9.
Top celebrities to host Shopee Quiz and Shopee Live: Users can tune in to the
Shopee app to see Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richardson September 9.
Stand a chance to win 9 smartphones on ₱1 Game: Users can play Shopee’s ₱1
Game for a chance to take home an Apple iPhone XS Max, Vivo X21, and ASUS
ZenFone Max Pro M2 for only ₱1.
Voucher giveaways: Users can watch out for 100% cashback vouchers and
discount vouchers up for grabs for a limited time only.
Leading
industry players join 9.9 Super Shopping Day: Users can getexclusive
promotions from Metrobank, GrabExpress, and Gerry’s Grill.
Discounts Up
to 90% off from Leading Brands
Users can choose from millions of
items across categories with discounts up to 90% off. Top brands including
P&G Olay, Silverworks, Maybelline, Anker, Enfagrow, and Globe will also be
giving consumers exclusive deals for 9.9 Super Shopping Day.
These are the deals that consumers
can score on September 9:
P&G
Olay: Users can get their
hands on the P&G Olay Skin Total Effects Whip, Skin Total Effects 7in1 Day
Cream, and other popular Olay products at amazing discounts during Shopee 9.9
Super Shopping Day.
Silverworks:
Users can look forward to
exclusive bundle deals and up to 80% off on all Silverworks products.
Maybelline: Users can stay tuned from 12AM-2AM and
12NN-2PM to enjoy up to 50% off on flash deals on Maybelline best-sellers.
Consumers can also score their favorite products including the Maybelline
Sensational Liquid Matte Lip Tint, Fit Me Matte Poreless Liquid Foundation, and
more.
Anker: Users can score Anker power banks, speakers, and
camerasat up to 20% off during 9.9
Super Shopping Day.
Enfagrow: Users canget
Enfagrow’s newest product, Enfagrow
A+ Four Powdered Milk Drink 3.6kg, launching on September 9.
Globe: Users can shop at the Globe Official Store to get up
to 50% off on the Globe at Home Prepaid Wifi, Motorola Moto Z Play, and Cherry
Mobile Flare Sport Smartwatch.
Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI), the largest chicken rotisserie company in the country, celebrated its anniversary by committing to further make the litson manok exciting for Filipinos.
At the SM City Clark in Angeles City, Pampanga, BAVI officials led by president and general manager Ronald Mascariñas, invited everyone to sample the spicy taste of the new Chooks-to-Go Harissa Roast chicken.
BAVI President & General Manager, Ronald Mascarinas, invites Filipinos to taste the spicy Chook-to-Go Harissa Roast chicken
The latest flavor variant from the nation’s largest roasted chicken chain is influenced by the North African hot chili pepper paste that combines roasted red or serrano peppers with spices and herbs such as garlic paste, cumin, coriander and caraway seeds, lemon and olive oil.
“We are excited with this new Harissa Roast Chicken that the younger generation of Filipinos will surely crave for. It will be a great addition to the Sweet Roast and Pepper Roast Chooks-to-Go oven-roasted chickens that most Pinoys have grown to love,” Mascariñas said.
PBA Legend Benjie Paras and former UP Maroons player Paul Desiderio join BAVI President Ronald Mascarinas during the launch of Chooks-to-Go Harissa Roast Chicken.
The Harissa Roast chicken will be available at more than 1,600 Chooks-to-Go outlets nationwide, starting September 22
Mascarinas, together with Gilas Pilipinas player Thirdy Ravena, and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officials, also launched the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 basketball league’s third conference by opening the first leg of the Chooks-to-Go 3×3 Magiting Cup.
The Chooks-to-Go Harissa Roast Chiken will be available starting September 22
Sanctioned by FIBA and presented by Coca-Cola, Chooks-to-Go’s Magiting Cup offers cash prizes totaling P2 Million.
Since 2002, Bank of China Manila has been working towards boosting bilateral cooperation in the economic, financial, and trade fields between China and the Philippines. From efforts like the SME Cross-Border Trade and Investment conference, where Filipino businesses were matched with Chinese investors, to the facilitation of two panda bond issuances, the bank has been steadfast in pursuing its mission of bridging the Philippine and Chinese markets.
That mission goes beyond business, as Bank of China Manila extends its efforts to bridging people. “Our two countries have been friends for a long time. We share many similarities, but we also share many differences. Through this exchange of cultures, we hope to enhance the understanding between the peoples of Philippines and China,” said Mr. Deng Jun, Country Head of Bank of China Manila.
In partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (MET), the Chinese Culture and Art Association, and China Daily Mail, Bank of China is launching an international arts and cultural exchange program between China and the Philippines. The project brings together five Filipino artists and five Chinese artists to participate in a brief residency in historically and culturally significant locations that will juxtapose similarities and nuances of people, place, and nature. It will culminate in two group exhibitions in both countries with corresponding public programs.
Tina Colayco, President of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and Mr. Deng Jun, Country Head of Bank of China Manila
A shared advocacy
In its aim to bridge cultures, Bank of China is endeavoring to unpack and highlight the similarities between the Philippines and China. For both countries, rapid growth has at times led observers to disregard the negative impact of economic activity on the environment. But environmental protection has now become a common goal for both nations to preserve their vast natural resources.
It is this kinship with the living environment that inspired the theme for the cultural exchange. Dubbed “In Harmony with Nature”, the program seeks to present the issue of climate change and mankind’s stewardship of the natural environment, from an artist’s perspective.
This kind of advocacy is something Bank of China is no stranger to. “We care deeply about the environment, and that extends to our business as well. We implement a strict Green Financing policy where we only finance projects that do not damage the environment,” said Mr. Deng.
An exchange of art and culture
For this project, ten renowned Filipino and Chinese artists have been chosen for the caliber of their work, the strength of their practice, and potential synergy with their counterparts. They are some of the most distinguished in their respective countries, and are able to convey complex non-art concepts through their artistic lenses.
First, the participants will undergo a brief residency in Palawan before returning to Manila to exhibit their work at the MET. This initial leg will be punctuated with a collaborative/interactive painting that will be held during the exhibit’s opening day. After the art exhibition in the Philippines, a counterpart art exhibition will be held in China. It will then be the Filipino artists’ turn to visit China for a similar residency and collaborative painting activity.
Deng Jun, Country Head of Bank of China Manila (first from left), Celeste Diokno, Managing Director of Bank of China Manila (first from right), and Tina Colayco, President of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (second from right), flank Filipino artists (from L-R) Rico Lascano, Phyllis Zaballero, Norberto Carating, and Manuel Baldemor. Together with Jonahmar Salvosa (not in photo), they will be participating in an upcoming culture and art exchange program that seeks to generate awareness for environmental harmony.
The participating artists from the Philippines are Manuel Baldemor, Rico Lascano, Phyllis Zaballero, Norberto Carating, and Jonahmar Salvosa. Their Chinese counterparts are Kuku Chai Bukuk, Cai Zhixin, Ding Jie, Hao Ping, and Liu She.
Imagine being able to secure loans with some of the lowest interest rates in the banking industry. Or conveniently transferring funds from one bank account to another, or perhaps, experiencing the best possible customer banking service around.
To get all these and other “perks”, most financial institutions would require one to become their preferred client. But in today’s digital technology and in the global banking industry, getting access to all these benefits is simply a matter of banking customers securely sharing their data with other financial institutions. This is the beauty of open banking.
Open banking enables financial services customers such as companies, entrepreneurs and ordinary depositors and borrowers, to have access to various products and services from competing banks and other financial institutions by allowing the latter to digitally and securely access their financial information. Customers can compare product offerings and avail of the best ones that suit their needs and fit their capabilities, thereby helping them earn more from bigger savings interest rates, avail of loans more easily, and pay more conveniently, towards managing and improving their finances.
With the concept of open banking, financial institutions such as banks—big and small—fintech companies, and other players, can share their respective clients’ data through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). These APIs enable customers or the data subjects to share only data pertinent to the product or service they are looking to avail and not the account credentials.
The European Union (EU) initiated PSD2 (Revised Payment Service Directive) as an emerging Open Banking standard. This is a game-changer in the industry as banks’ monopoly on their customer account details will soon disappear. This required European banks to provide Open APIs which does not need additional customized developments. It reduces barriers to innovation and limits the big banks’ “walled gardens.” In fact, even the Philippines’ data privacy law was influenced by EU’s stringent data protection regulation, including the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Open banking can enable banks and other financial institutions to have access to data that will enable them to process loan applications quicker or better advise their clients on their finances. This encourages banks to be more competitive, leading to more affordable products, faster services, better customer relations, and investing in digital technologies, to the benefit of customers.
This is what Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) hopes to spearhead in the industry as it recently became the first local bank to advocate and implement open banking, affirming its position as a digital trailblazer in the financial industry.
But more than encouraging competition among banks, RCBC aims to lead the way to open banking in the country to become the Filipinos’ prime financial inclusion partner.
“With open banking, we can power the transactions of rural banks, cooperatives, micro-financial institutions and other small players, giving their customers access to a wide array of financial services using RCBC Open APIs,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer.
Already, RCBC has beefed up its open banking capabilities by establishing API partnerships with leading fintech companies; local payment networks PESONet and Instapay; and IBM Blockchain World Wire remittance.
Through open banking, RCBC aims to serve the global financial services needs of more than 30 million customers of fintechs, rural banks, cooperatives, and micro-financial institutions all over the country.
What are your business’s current standards when it comes to internet safety? We live in a data-driven world, so protecting your company from cybercriminals is a must. Here’s how to ensure your business’s information is protected, and what to do if you fall victim to a data breach.
Crunching the numbers
It’s an unfortunate fact that as our culture has come to rely more heavily on technology, cybercrime has become increasingly sophisticated. Hiscox reports some alarming statistics, including 47 percent of small businesses experienced at least one cyber attack in the past year, generating an average loss of $34,604. Big businesses experienced an average loss of $1.05 million. If your business should happen to fall victim, it’s crucial to act fast so you can minimize the damage. Hiring a team of digital forensics specialists from companies like Secure Forensics can mean not only quickly putting a stop to the immediate trouble, but could also mean recovering the lost data, identifying the attackers, figuring out where they broke into your system, and deciding how to proceed so it never happens again.
Red flags and tripwires
Cybercriminals have a number of clever tactics for breaking into your system. Ransomware, phishing emails, viruses and such, are typically delivered in effectively deceptive ways, and they often target the human element of the equation. In other words, for most businesses, their primary vulnerability lies in their staff. It’s crucial to train your employees on common techniques used for social engineering attacks so they aren’t lulled into giving away vital data. Links that direct them to other websites, emails that request sensitive information, or strange attachments are potential windows into your business’s world.
Spell out security
Developing effective policies and explaining them clearly to your employees is in everyone’s best interests. As The Balance Small Business explains, an internet usage policy should provide clear boundaries for your staff, helping them fully understand the expectations for protecting company data. Discouraging the use of company equipment for personal internet accounts can help everyone steer clear of many dangers, and can also help boost productivity. You can use a template to assist you in developing your business’s internet usage policy.
Another area of weakness is password creation and maintenance. Many people opt for one or two passwords they recycle for all their accounts. While that can make it easy for them to remember the passwords, if your staff members elect to do this for personal and business accounts, your business can be all the more vulnerable. With that in mind, you can encourage your employees to choose more effective passwords. Some experts recommend a dozen characters or more for optimal results. The good news is, longer passwords are often as effective, or even more secure, than passwords comprised of impossible-to-remember character and number combinations. Your people can select a lengthy word or phrase and make it work, or consider adding a password manager to help protect your business all the more.
Talking things through
In every respect, it’s important to keep the lines of communication flowing with your employees. Not only should they be alert to potential cyber threats, they should be well aware of your policies. At the same time, they need to realize the importance of coming to you immediately if they see a problem. It’s all too easy to click the wrong link or accidentally open a deceptive email, so let your employees know they won’t be punished for honest mistakes. If there is a breach, Fast Company recommends an immediate response, informing your entire staff of whatever details you have. When it comes to cybercrime, knowledge is power, and time is definitely money. The sooner you can make everyone aware and start dealing with the issue, the better off your company will be.
While it’s impossible to become entirely immune to cybercrime, you can search for ways to improve your company’s defenses. Educate your employees, develop appropriate policies, and act quickly if there is trouble. By raising the bar on security, you can protect your business effectively.
Fans of Darren Espanto, Vern Enciso, Verniece Enciso, Chie Filomeno, and Julie Anne San Jose are in for a treat!
The young showbiz personalities are so excited with the upcoming launch of the stylish Vivo S1 smartphone that they are giving their Instagram followers a chance to get their hands on the first-ever handset in Vivo’s latest S series.
From August 26 to September 8, interested participants should post their own OOTD (outfit of the day) that mirrors the Skyline Blue or Diamond Black color schemes of the new S1 phone. To qualify, they must tag their favorite celebrities and Vivo in their OOTD posts.
The celebrities will then choose from the creative IG posts to determine which of their fans will receive the new S1 smartphone.
The Vivo S1 has a 6.38″ Full HD SuperAMOLED screen that houses an in-display fingerprint sensor. It packs a 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM which are powered by a fast-charging 4500mAh battery.
The mid-tier smartphone has a 32MP AI selfie camera and an AI triple lens set—16MP main, 8MP secondary, and 2MP wide-angle camera—for amazing photos and videos.
But the feature that will definitely catch everyone’s attention is the S1’s sleek back cover design which showcases a gradient glossy finish on the Skyline Blue variant and a diamond cut design on the Diamond Black variant.
With its cutting-edge features and superb finish, the Vivo S1 is clearly not just a smartphone, it’s a fashion statement!
So, what are you waiting for? Put on your best OOTD that reflects the Vivo S1’s Skyline Blue or Diamond Black theme and get ready to impress your celebrity idol!
About Vivo
Vivo is a leading global technology company committed to creating trendsetting smart mobile innovations and services. Vivo is devoted to forming a vibrant mobile internet ecosystem, and currently owns and operates an extensive network of research operations, with R&D centers focusing on the development of cutting-edge consumer technologies including 5G, AI, mobile photography and next-generation smartphone design.
In recent years, Vivo has taken frequent efforts in the sports field and is committed to promoting the mutual penetration of the brand’s diverse fields and diversifying its brand image. Vivo Philippines announced its partnership with the NBA by the end of 2018.
Currently, Vivo has over two hundred million users enjoying its mobile products and services around the world. Vivo is present in 18 markets globally and features offline retail stores in over 1,000 cities worldwide. In the Philippines, Vivo is the top3 smartphone brand in terms of market share with 1.5 million users nationwide.
For inquiries about Vivo, visit the Vivo website at vivoglobal.ph or check out their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vivophil), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vivo_philippines/), and Twitter (https://twitter.com/vivo_phil) accounts.
Shopee, the
leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, partnered with Unilever,
the leading beauty and personal care company in the Philippines, for the
#BeautyThatCares sale in August. The campaign was a big success as it leveraged
e-commerce to increase awareness for UNICEF, The Philippine LGBT Chamber of
Commerce, and Future Faces.
Martin
Yu, Associate Director, Shopee Philippines, said, “We are very proud
to partner with Unilever for this philanthropic cause. This partnership has
given us the opportunity to empower our users to support causes they believe
in. Through the #BeautyThatCares sale, participating advocacy groups are able to reach a wider audience.
Aside from our post-sale donation, we hope the continued support from our users will go a long way for
these groups.”
At the same time, Dorothy Dee-Ching, Unilever Philippines’
Vice President for Beauty and Personal Care says, “The #BeautyThatCares
philosophy is grounded in purpose: to care for the people, the society, and the
planet. Each brand under the Unilever Beauty and Personal Care category has its
own thrust, acting as a compass for all its campaigns and innovations. It’s not
just about what products we put out, but also why we develop them at all. We
want Filipinos to feel that they are being cared for by the brands they love.
We are grateful for our partnership with Shopee—they have allowed us to reach
more people online and raise the visibility of our purpose.”
The sale,
which ran from August 7 to 9, gave Shopee users the opportunity to show their
support for causes they believe in by buying Unilever products on the shopping
platform. 20% of the proceeds from the sale went to the three partner
organizations of Unilever.
Benefitting
from the sale are:
UNICEF – champions the rights of children everywhere in the world so they can reach their full potential.
The Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce – advocates for safe workplaces that promote equality.
Future Faces – a group of young adults that use repurposed plastics to provide nutritious meals to children in impoverished areas.
Shop Unilever personal care products on its official store on Shopee at https://shopee.ph/unilever_personalcare. Visit the Shopee website at https://shopee.ph/ and download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.
