PCGE holds biggest celebration of National Gifted Week

The biggest celebration that aims to nurture the gift of every child is happens last Sunday November 24, 2019. in this.the National Gifted Week spearheaded by the Philippine Center for Gifted Education, Inc. (PCGE) in partnership with PROMIL® FOUR and support from the Kite Association of the Philippines.

Happening last November 24th up to the 30th, the National Gifted Week featured a whole-day kite flying event and a two-day conference to be attended by giftedness experts.

“This event aims to celebrate the gift that every child possesses. It is a great way for parents to encourage the creativity of their children, have fun and spend some time together. We will also be gathering the most notable experts who will discuss and share their knowledge on how to nurture a child’s gift,” said Dr. Leticia Peñano-Ho, president of PCGE.

The celebration kicks off with the biggest kite making and flying event in Manila. Children and their parents will be able create colorful kites and watch them rise in the air during the activity which will be held at Burnham Green Park across Luneta from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Arts director of Masterpiece Movement Kara Escay will be facilitating the said activity. Attendees can also look forward to exciting games, entertainment, a parade, and other surprises.

To promote discussion and share learnings on giftedness, the PCGE will also be a gathering of experts for a two-day conference. Happening on November 29-30 at Hive Hotel & Convention Place in Quezon City from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on both days, the conference will focus on revisiting the Multiple Intelligences.

Sharing their expertise are experts that include Mr. Ryan Cayabyab, Ms. Shaira Luna, Ms. Kara David, Ms. Roselle Ambubuyog, Dr. Carlos Arcilla, Mr. Ryan Tumbocon, and Mr. Kim Atienza. They will discuss how to nurture a child’s gift based on their dominant intelligences which can be among Musical-Rhythmic, Visual/Spatial, Verbal Linguistic, Logical Mathematical, Science, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal, Naturalistic, or Body-Kinesthetic.

For more information, visit https://www.promilnurturethegift.com.ph/promil-four-nutrissentials or https://www.facebook.com/promilfour/.

New Certificates of Authenticities to be launch by Fundacion Sanso

Auction prices for Philippine art have been reaching incredulous levels lately, a success that one must take with caution. In the past few years, there has been a serious spate of fakes entering the market. They even often include forgeries of certificates of authenticity from various estates by the National Artists and of noted Philippine Visual artists.

A case in point back in 2012, a prestigious  international auction house was offering a purported 1976 work by National Artist Vicente Manansala, sourced to be from a prestigious private Asian collection as a part of Southeast Asian Modern Art sale in Hong Kong. This was despite a similar artwork being in the possession of a noted lady collector based in Manila, that was reproduced in the monograph on the artist back in 1980.

The dubious artwork was subsequently withdrawn upon an agreement between the auction house and the art foundation that preserves the legacy of Manansala. In the subsequent year, a dubious drawing reputed to have been made by National Artist Benedicto “Ben Cab” Cabrera was being offered in a fundraising sale for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. It was deemed a fake by the artist himself.

These incidents show that there is a necessity for a concerted effort to tackle this plague harming the art community as a whole. Fundacion  Sanso is among those who are taking up the challenge to ensure that only genuine works by Juvenal Sanso enter  the art market.
In line with its efforts to continuously strengthen its Authentication Services, Fundacion Sanso has started issuing Certificates of Authenticities (COA) with stronger security features. Fundacion Sanso Certificates of Authenticity have a pair of numbered hologram stickers.

One stickers will be placed on artworks authenticated by the museum, while its pair is on the certificate which itself has several security features, including microtexts and invisible marks which only show under a specific spectrum of UV light.

The sticker will be attached by an authorized staff of the museum to the frame of any part of the artwork, keeping in mind the proper handling and conservation of artworks. This process is an additional security feature that will be included in the museum’s  database of authenticated works.

This endeavor is to ensure an improved security protocol to protect our collectors and patrons from art fraud. The public is advised to have their works duly authenticated by Fundacion Sanso in order to eradicate fakes from entering the art market.

Canva launches #CanvaPasko Designed By You Contest

Design a Canva Christmas Card for a chance to see it in EDS

To help Filipinos celebrate Christmas, Canva is launching #CanvaPasko Designed By You, an online contest where for the first time ever – lucky winners will see their Canva Christmas cards live on a huge billboard in EDSA!

“Christmas is a very special occasion for many Filipinos. It’s a time when we come together to express our love for family, officemates, barkada, and our special someone. For times when words aren’t enough, we’re encouraging every Filipino in the Philippines and worldwide to mark the occasion with a very special tribute - design a beautiful Christmas card on Canva for free for a chance to see it displayed on a huge billboard in EDSA. Sitting in traffic has never been so meaningful.” shares Yani Hornilla-Donato, Country Manager of Canva Philippines.

“With our festive Christmas-themed Canva templates, Filipinos will be able to easily share their stories and messages of pagmamahal and pasasalamat to the people dearest to them and get a chance to show that love to the whole city.” Yani added.

How to join:

● Visit the contest homepage, https://www.canva.com/canvapasko/.
● Register for a free Canva account to design your own entry. During the registration process, you must key in your name and email address.
● Use any of the pre-made Instagram Portrait templates, 1080x1350 px to design a greeting.
● Each entry must be limited to a one-page design.
● Submit your entry on the website and register your contact details through the link provided on the download page.

○ For those using Facebook, you may post your entry as a comment on Canva’s pinned Facebook #CanvaPasko post and include a caption telling us who you’re sending love to and why you want to show them love this Christmas. Include the hashtag #CanvaPasko in your comment.

○ For those with Instagram, you may post your entry directly on your personal, public account, tag @canva_ph and add the hashtag #CanvaPasko and include a caption telling us who you’re sending love to and why you want to show them some big love this Christmas.

The contest is open to all Filipino citizens and residents of the Philippines, 13 years old and above and will run until December 18, 2019.

Five designs will be chosen each week between December 2 to December 8; December 9 to December 15; December 16 to December 22; and December 23 to December 29. If your design is one of the lucky 20 winners, Canva will contact you for details on when you can expect to see your design live.
For more information, visit https://www.canva.com/canvapasko/ or follow Canva Philippines on Facebook.
*Per DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB-21509 Series of 2019. Contest runs from November 11 to December 18, 2019.

ABOUT CANVA

Launched in 2013, Canva is an intuitive online design and publishing platform with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere. Featuring a simple drag-and-drop user interface and a vast library of templates ranging from presentations, social media posts, posters, invitations to resumes, a huge collection of stock photography, illustrations and fonts, anyone can take an idea and create something beautiful. Canva is available on web, iOS and Android.

The wonder of Christmas is coming to Filinvest City

Filinvest City lights up the wonder of Christmas this holiday season as the ultimate 

holiday destination in Metro South!

Starting November 15, the much-awaited annual holiday celebration brings the
festivities to Filinvest City’s newest attraction and center of convergence – the Water
Garden at Festival Mall, and promises to be even bigger, brighter and more magical
this year.

Set against a beautiful garden setting, the Water Garden at Festival Mall is transformed
into a Christmas wonderland with lights and sights, becoming a perfect stage for fun
activities, weekend performances and fireworks display that will surely delight Filinvest
Cityzens and visitors as they come together to create wonderful yuletide memories.
Families and friends can watch, touch, feel and enjoy the holidays with life-sized
Christmas installations, including a magnificent 42-foot tree all set in a Magical
Christmas Village.

What’s more, every Saturday, merry-makers and shoppers will be treated to musical 

performances by some of the country’s best local performers such as I Belong To The
Zoo, Unique, Hale, This Band, Wicked Adobo, Leanne and Naara, Silent Sanctuary and
Orange and Lemons, just to name a few. A spectacular fireworks display caps the
stellar entertainment that would surely ignite everyone’s festive spirit.

And the Christmascelebration  will not be complete without Santa Claus! On Sundays,
Santa will be there to brighten up and bring cheer to every little boy and girl, listen to
their Christmas wishes and pose for those merry family photos. The best part is, you
can experience all of these for free!

“Every year, we aim to make Filinvest City the ultimate go-to destination in the south,”
says FilinvestAlabang Inc. vice president for townships, Don Ubaldo. “For this year, we
made sure to go bigger and brighter with Light Up the Wonder at Filinvest City,
highlighting our newest attraction – the Water Garden at Festival Mall, which we
transformed into a magical Christmas wonderland where families and friends can bond
together and create new, unforgettable memories.”

The festivities do not end at the Water Garden, Festival Mall. Enjoy the entire city from a
new perspective with open spaces lit up with cheery Christmas decorations, Filinvest
City roads illuminated in sparkling lights, and corporate buildings adorned in splendid
holiday designs.

The garden city truly makes for a perfect Christmas destination. With every detail
planned and designed to provide residents, workers and visitors a stress-free holiday
with a wide array of shopping, dining and entertainment options. With easy accessibility,
less traffic, cheerful, positive vibe and the soothing, cool southern breeze, celebrating
the yuletide season at Filinvest City will leave you with time and energy for what truly
matters – creating wonderful Christmas memories to cherish with your loved ones.
For more details about “Light Up the Wonder at Filinvest City”
visit www.facebook.com/FilinvestCityOFFICIAL

Workbank a New Job Portal enters the PH Market

A game-changer for candidates to reach their dream career with the right tools of 

self-improvement and preparedness

Present at the launch are (L-R) Workbank Country Head Reggie Fernandes and Fe Nuñez, Head of Digital Marketing 

Last Wednesday November 13, 2019, launch WORKBANK, the only jobsite with #malasakit was exactly their goal and mission as a business , which means that they does not only think of how to get more money through it but rather help their applicants as to what they deserve to become by giving them seminars , training and other kind of leadership style and  work ethics.

Purpose and growth might seem like mere buzzwords one wishes to anchor a career
on, but such is the business of Workbank, a talent solutions platform that matches
job hunters with companies.

A game-changer in the conventional, otherwise tedious and nerve-wracking job-hunt,
Workbank is not a one-way street that favors only the companies. By putting people
first, this platform ensures that applicants are ready and can stay in their ideal job,
which is what recruiters ultimately look for in ideal candidates. It’s a win-win for both
sides of the recruitment fence.

Taking that extra leap to encourage self-improvement and preparedness, Workbank
partnered with companies like Grab and Zalora to provide discounts to job hunters
who want to better present themselves. In addition to this, this job portal also has
been providing free training to scale up a job hunter’s chances at getting employed.
And all of these is anchored on a virtue that is uniquely Filipino, malasakit.

In the recent press launch of Workbank, its country head Reggie Fernandes said,
“As a very young institution, we have a lot ahead to position ourselves differently. We
are dynamic, we are agile, we have strong technology backing, and we have
investors overseas that have put a lot behind what they believe is the story of
malasakit. This is very important for us because we know how hardworking and
talented Filipinos are.” Their job-seeking development strategy comes with an E-Card that marks exclusive perks to Workbank users. The E-Card can be used for discounts at partner
merchants such as ClassPass, Electric Studio, Urban Ashram and Wendy’s. Anyone
who registers on the page and reaches a 70 percent profile progress can avail this
E-Card in just a few clicks.

Workbank will continue to strengthen their job hunters’ skill set and credibility with
the right partnerships and smart-match technology. This ensures that candidates are
always provided opportunities for growth, not just through trainings but also through
jobs that meet their skill and experience.

Fernandes also added that Workbank will not just be a portal but will have a unique
roadmap for job hunters in search of a purpose-driven career. “Our philosophy is
investing in people, so we operate in the principle of ‘Invest in good people and you
get back in multiple fold for all the companies in our platform.’”

About Workbank

Workbank is an online job portal that invests in Filipinos not only by connecting them to job
opportunities across the country, but also by ensuring they are equipped with information and resources to help them be the most productive they can be. Established in 2018, Workbank is a Filipino-ran tech company with a heart. Their "malasakit" for the Filipino talent manifests in their exclusive perks and free trainings for job seekers.

PH’s First Integrated Permit Application System Debuts in Valenzuela

Present at the launch are: Department of Trade and industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez (center), Valenzuela City Mayor REX Gatchalian (to his right), Vice Mayor Lorena Natividad-Borja (to his left), and the City Council of Valenzuela.

Starting November 13, an integrated permit application system called the 3S Plus
Valenzuela City Online Services will provide a single platform for the application of
permits and request for documents. This is the first and the fastest of its kind in the
country, which spares applicants from the cost and time required of personal
applications at the city hall.

With the City’s commitment to be in full compliance to the Ease of Doing Business
(EODB) Law, the highlight of the system is the “Paspas Permit”, the 10-second
business permit application system. It allows the issuance of a provisionary business
permits within ten seconds after the payment confirmation. Prior to this project, the
issuance of business permits at the City Hall takes about 15 to 30 minutes.

The introduction of the ‘Paspas Permit’ system will accelerate Valenzuela’s adoption
of digital technology to streamline services for more than 18,000 businesses in the
city. According to Mayor REX Gatchalian, “the new platform demonstrates the local
government’s commitment to make services more efficient and innovative, which in
turn can attract more investors and spur further development. Entrepreneurs are
indispensable to our country’s growth and so we are empowering them through
improved systems of service delivery.”

“At this point, the adoption of digital technology has become essential to fostering
growth. The launch of 3S Plus Valenzuela City Online Services shows how we are
leveraging on the innovative use of new technologies for better, faster services to our
constituents,” he added.

City of Valenzuela’s efforts uphold E-Governance have earned accolades from
numerous reputable institutions. It is a Hall-of-Famer to the Most Business Friendly
Highly Urbanized City award of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(PCCI), a distinction that it held in 2012, 2014, 2015, and again, in 2019 after a
mandatory three-year hiatus from the Search.

Using the 3S Plus Valenzuela City Online Services, permit applicants can apply for
the following documents and services:

● Renewal or Application of New Business Permits
● Building and Construction Permit application
● Real Property Tax (RPT) payments
● Requests for Certified True Copy of Tax Declaration, Tax Mapping Certificate,
Certificate of Non-Improvement and Appraisal of Real Property
● Requests for Certified True Copy of Birth, Death, and Marriage Certificate,
and Court Decision

Actual business permit and documents can be delivered within three to five working
days through Wide Wide World Express (formerly DHL Philippines) or Grab Express.
Payments, on the other hand, can be processed via Visa, Mastercard, debit cards,
Bancnet or PayMaya.

Documentary requirements submitted through the platform are reviewed realtime
between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Mondays to Fridays. Those who were applied
beyond office hours shall be processed promptly on the next morning.

Provisionary Building and Construction permits shall also be obtained through the
system within 10 second upon confirmation of payment. A provisionary permit shall
be sent to the applicant’s email and they can commence construction. However, the
applicant must submit the original documents to the Office of the Building Official
(OBO) within 15 days, so they can get their actual permit. Failing to do so will
revoke their provisionary permit.

“Simpler and faster processes reflect good governance and this is what we want to
achieve through our 3S Plus Valenzuela City Online Services. This platform is a one-
stop shop for permits and documents needed by residents, investors, and
entrepreneurs who want to do business in our city,” Gatchalian concluded.
To register an account at the 3S Plus Valenzuela City Online Services and start
applying for permits and documents, visit www.valenzuela.gov.ph.

Over 14 million kids and counting: McDonald's strengthens its commitment to help Filipino children through Ronald McDonald House Charities

Its main fundraising initiatives Happy Meal and Stripes Run celebrate milestone anniversaries this year.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — McDonald’s Philippines has helped in making a difference in the lives of Filipino children by giving back through its charity of choice— Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Philippines. In a press conference held on November 7, 2019 in McDonald’s McKinley West, it strengthened its commitment to continuously support RMHC.

The press conference not only aimed to give a better understanding of how McDonald’s has and will continue to support RMHC and its programs, but also revealed its newest RMHC celebrity ambassador— Alden Richards. McDonald’s Happy Meal and Stripes Run
Through initiatives like Happy Meal and Stripes Run, McDonald’s is able to fund Ronald McDonald Read to Learn program— a beginning reading program in partnership with the Department of Education that aims to improve the literary skills of Filipino students while they are at the beginning stages of learning.

Under the program, educators are trained on Beginning Reading by providing reading kits to grades 1 and 2 learners. For Read to Learn program alone, over 12 million public school students have benefited and over 28,000 educators have been trained.
Since 2003, the iconic Happy Meal has been the biggest contributor of McDonald’s donations to RMHC, with a portion of every Happy Meal purchase being donated. This November 21, Happy Meal celebrates its 40th global anniversary and as a special treat, will be introducing a limited edition-Surprise Happy Meal, featuring favorite throwback toys from the past four decades.

On the other hand, Stripes Run— now on its 10th year— returns on December 1, 2019 at the SM MOA Concert Grounds. Since its first run in 2010, more than 35,000 Stripes Runners have contributed to RMHC. Kids and adults alike are invited to get their red and white striped socks out and run for reading with running categories of 1K, 3K, 5K, and 10K to choose from! 25 years of RMHC and its programs. For 25 years since being established in the country in 1995, RMHC has made a difference in the lives of Filipino children through programs that support their need for shelter, education, and happiness. Aside from the Stripes Run and Happy Meal-supported Read to Learn program, RMHC also provides help to
Filipino children through Ronald McDonald Bahay Bulilit and Ronald McDonald Bigay Tulong programs.

Through the annual Stripes Run, Happy Meal sales contribution, the annual RMHC Golf Tournament, donation canisters in McDonald’s stores, and the newly launched RMHC online portal, funds are continuously raised to expand the reach of the different programs to benefit more Filipino children. RMHC Executive Director Marie Angeles also introduced the newest RMHC celebrity ambassador, Alden Richards, who will help raise awareness on RMHC’s programs and fund-raising initiatives. Kids from the Bahay Bulilit Learning Center in Quirino, Manila were also surprised with a live reading session by Alden and McDonald’s Chief Happiness Officer Ronald McDonald. With one of the books from the Read to

Learn reading kits, Alden gave the kids an engaging and memorable experience— proving he's a perfect fit for the role of RMHC ambassador with the spirit of happiness and giving that he embodies. “Sobrang honored ako to be part of the RMHC family because I’ve seen what they’ve done and what they continue to do to help children all over the country. Excited na ako to encourage more people to help RMHC so we can support more kids,” shares Alden.

Like Alden, you, too, can help give Filipino children a brighter future. Register now for Stripes Run 2019 at https://www.mcdostripesrun.com.ph or in the nearest McDonald’s store to you. You can also purchase the Surprise Happy Meal starting November 21 to relive your childhood days with an iconic McDonald's toy while still giving back.

For more updates, follow McDonald’s Philippines at @McDo_PH on Twitter and Instagram and McDoPH on Facebook. Learn more about RMHC and its programs at https://www.rmhc.org.ph/