Beauty Queen-Actress Kylie Versoza Is the 2023 Tanduay Calendar Girl
The coming year promises to be another exciting one for Tanduay as it expands its business abroad and fortifies its leadership in the Philippines. To embody its successes and potential for 2023, the brand has chosen beauty queen-turned actress Kylie Verzosa as its newest Calendar Girl.
Verzosa represented and won for the Philippines the 2016 Miss International crown. She has endorsed many products and have graced various magazine covers. Most recently, she showed her mettle in acting in the Philippine adaptation of the Korean thriller, The Housemaid. Her portrayal won her an Actress of the Year award from the Distinctive International Arab Festivals Awards (DIAFA) in Dubai.
The beauty queen-actress is also a mental health advocate, having established Mental Health Matters, a nonprofit organization that started out as an online support group. “Kylie is a multifaceted talent whose appeal comes from her beauty and brains as well as the strength of her advocacies,” said Marc Ngo, International Business Development Manager and Senior Brand Manager for Tanduay Distillers, Inc.
Like Verzosa, Tanduay has received awards and distinctions from different international award-giving bodies, the most notable of which is the World’s Number 1 Rum recognition from Drinks International magazine for five consecutive years. It has been named the Brand of the Year under the rum category of the London-based World Branding Awards for seven consecutive years.
Christmas at Sheraton Manila Bay
Sheraton Manila Bay kicked off the holiday season with a festive carnival-inspired lighting ceremony.
Sheraton Manila Bay marks the start of the yuletide season in whimsical flair with a Christmas lighting ceremony highlighting the hotel’s 16-feet Carnival Hot Air Balloon at the newly refurbished lobby on November 10.
Inspired by this year’s theme “Sheraton Manila Bay: The Carnival Star,” the ceremonial event focused on the lighting of the hotel’s unique 16-feet tall Carnival Hot Air Balloon which symbolizes the promise of travel and mirrors the fun, festive vibe of carnival.
The Sheraton Manila Bay “Carnival Hot Air Balloon” features a velvet gold and red sleigh filled with gifts, circus elements, clowns, Christmas drums, jester bears, and a prominent display of lighted parols mirroring Paskonstelasyon, the Marriott Bonvoy constellation of stars.
CeleBright New Beginnings as One Country in SM By The Bay
Firefly asks Filipinos to celebrate Christmas as one nation.
Filipinos love Christmas. September 1st marks the start of the longest holiday season in the world. Back with sweet vengeance after a two-year hiatus due to Covid, Firefly showcases a brighter and merrier Christmas starting with its annual Christmas Tree Lighting event at SM By The Bay last November 11.
Firefly, makers of high quality, safe and affordable lighting and fixtures, finds this spot perfect for its much anticipated comeback. Facing the glorious expanse of the Manila Bay, with the SM Mall of Asia as backdrop, the 70-foot Christmas tree will stand tall bearing its message to millions of Filipinos that flock to this spot every year: CeleBright New Beginnings as One Country.
The Firefly Christmas Tree is a majestic testimony to the call to action for every Filipino to unite in spirit. “(W)ith this Firefly Christmas Tree lighting, we want to bring back that warm and happy feeling of being with our families during this season… Firefly commissioned famed celebrity and artist Solenn Heusaff to design this year’s Christmas Tree,” says Ray Encomienda of Firefly.
Firefly Electric and Lighting Corporation (FELCO) is one of the leading lighting, electrical and power solutions companies in the Philippines, and owner of the powerhouse brands Firefly, Royu and Ecolum.
Gappify gets support from Filipino investors
Manila Angel Investors Network (MAIN), the largest private investors network in the Philippines, has invested $283,500 (P16.68 million) in a Filipino-American-founded, accounting automation startup, Gappify.
Gappify, whose leadership team consists of former accountants and software innovators, empowers mid-market and enterprise accounting teams with robust accounting automation solutions. Its Gappify Accrual Cloud allows accounting departments to close their books with greater accuracy and completeness, bolster internal controls to strengthen compliance, and mitigate financial misstatement risk.
In addition to MAIN’s financial investment, the network has also supported Gappify’s talent acquisition and regulatory requirements.
Jack Arambulo, one of MAIN’s investors, said that Gappify’s unique value proposition lies in its ability to provide their customers with the right level of engagement within their own ecosystem.
Gappify has recently opened an office in New York City and is set to open another office in Chicago.
ParityBit presentation
Singapore-based ParityBit, a privacy-enhancing technologies (P.E.T.) company, made a presentation before the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines’s (BMAP) monthly meeting last October 19 at the Dusit Hotel Manila. This coincided with the formal launch of the company in the Philippines.
ParityBit’s company’s leadership team provided participants a clear picture of what ParityBit is about and how its services can have a positive impact on the financial sector, specifically banks that are aggressively pursuing digitization.
During the said event, Germaine Reyes, founder and president of Synergy Market Research + Strategic Consultancy, Inc., also shared the latest insights and research data about Consumer’s Digital Banking Experience: Opportunities and Challenges.
Founded in 2021, ParityBit has subsidiaries in China, US and HK with over 360 employees worldwide.
Brandcomm Asia appointment
Brandcomm Asia, an independent and rapidly growing public relations agency in the Philippines, announces the appointment of Paulus Soriano as its new managing director.
Soriano is a seasoned public relations professional with more than 10 years of industry experience. Since 2012, he has worked with local and global brands in consumer and enterprise technology, finance, travel and tourism, FMCG, and other sectors including government agencies.
As Brandcomm’s managing director, Soriano is responsible for leadership and management of the business, supervising and stirring the company’s operations, people, and ventures in order to maintain its growth.
OMLAW marks 25 years
Ocampo & Manalo Law (OMLAW) celebrates its 25 years, offering a unique brand of legal service as global changes continue to challenge clients in the Philippines, the region and the world.
Founding partner Carlos Ocampo and managing partner Manolito Manalo continue to lead the firm in providing legal solutions to clients who are major players in such industries as aviation, energy, real estate and construction, finance, insurance, manufacturing and transportation, to name a few.
Over the years, the firm’s practice expanded as it included legal assistance in infrastructure and project development, international trade law, banking and financial sector, retail trade, clean energy and natural resources.
The firm was part of infrastructure projects such as the consortium that developed the MRT-7, the NAIA-3 project (representing a leading Japanese construction company), the construction of the Marcelo Fernan bridge in Cebu City. A leading local hospital sought the assistance of OMLAW in their expansion projects in UAE, Guam, Clark, Iloilo, and Pangasinan.
Maynilad offers desludging services
West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) is offering septic tank cleaning services to its residential and semi-business customers this November in select parts of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Manila, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon City, Valenzuela, and Cavite Province at no extra cost.
Customers residing in Barangays 80, 160 to 166, 170, 171 and 177 in Caloocan; Brgy. Almanza Uno in Las Piñas; Brgy. Bangkal, Magallanes and Palanan in Makati; Brgy. Acacia, Longos, Potrero and Tenejeros in Malabon; all barangays under Sampaloc in Manila; Brgy. Bayanan in Muntinlupa; Brgy. North Bay Boulevard (North and South) in Navotas; Brgy. BF Homes and Sun Valley in Parañaque City ; Brgy. 183 and those under Balagbag, Baltao, Malibay, Maricaban, Pildera 2 and Villamor Air Base in Pasay City; Brgy. Baesa, Bagbag, Bahay Toro, Kaligayahan, Novaliches Proper, Pasong Putik, Payatas, Sangandaan, Sauyo, Sta. Lucia and Talipapa in Quezon City; and Brgy. Gen. T. De Leon and Ugong in Valenzuela City may avail of Maynilad’s desludging service.
Some Maynilad customers in Cavite Province, particularly in Brgy. Habay I, Ligas I to III, Molino II and San Nicolas I to III in Bacoor City; Brgy. 10-A and B, 13, 16, 18, 19, 23, 26, 28, 29 and 29-A in Cavite City; and Brgy. Bayan Luma I to IX in Imus City may avail of the company’s septic tank cleaning services at no extra cost.
Career orientation with Messy Bessy scholars
Learners from Messy Bessy Chevron speakers and volunteers
A total of 27 scholars of Messy Bessy and its partner enterprise House Foundation, Caltex Makati Credit Cooperative (CMCC) volunteers and Chevron executives gathered at the Chevron Makati office for the Your Gift of Time is Priceless motivational talk and career orientation.
Part of Chevron’s first live Volunteer Week since the pandemic, the seminar aims to promote fair chances of succeeding and even out the playing field for disadvantaged youth by providing motivation and inspiration. The goal is for them to develop the right mindset and guide them in their chosen career paths.
Some 17 CMCC volunteers served as facilitators and mentors to the students during the seminar. The volunteers shared their personal experiences and entertained personal and career questions from the students.
Messy Bessy is a social enterprise that helps underserved youth finish their college education by giving them employment through its partner enterprise, House Foundation.
