COVID-19 Essentials: What do you need to have at home?

With the various changes brought by the current public health crisis, we all have a list of preventive measures that, for sure, we have memorized by heart, as part of the “new normal.”

Recently, the Department of Health (DOH) makes it even easier for everyone to remember these measures through its "BIDA Solusyon sa COVID-19" campaign. Aiming to encourage Filipinos to take an active role in the fight against the virus, the campaign emphasizes the importance of wearing a mask, frequently sanitizing or washing of hands, observing social distancing, as well as getting information only from valid sources. 

Aside from these measures, Santé, a provider of premier organic health and wellness products and services, noted that it also pays to ensure that you lead and maintain a healthy lifestyle as part of your conscious efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Experts have been emphasizing the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. At Santé, we have always been dedicated to encouraging everyone to live more and do more by staying active and ensuring their overall wellness through our products and services. By doing so, we can help ensure that our immune system remains in its tiptop condition, especially amid this public health crisis,” said Joey Marcelo, the chief executive officer of Santé.

As part of this initiative, Santé offers free facemasks, discounts, and other freebies when you purchase its retail products, available in leading drugstores, nationwide. The exciting promos are as follows:

BarleyMax + Free Facemask

• Buy 1 box of BarleyMax powder and get a hand-woven face mask for FREE
• Available in leading Mercury Drugstores and Watsons Stores

Calcium Cee + SweetVia, a natural sweetener made from stevia and inulin

·         Buy 1 box of Calcium Cee and get FREE sachets of SweetVia

·         Available in leading Mercury Drugstores and Watsons Stores

BarleyMax Capsule 8+2

• Buy 10 capsules of BarleyMax for a price of 8, only Php136.00. Save Php34.00!
• Available in leading drugstores and supermarkets nationwide

The next time you visit the grocery and drugstores, make sure to include these organic health and wellness products in your basket. Aside from the big savings, you are also ensuring your family’s overall health and wellbeing.

 

Santé BarleyMax, Calcium Cee, and SweetVia are just some of the retail organic health and wellness products offered by Santé. Known for its flagship, Santé Barley™, the company has also developed a comprehensive selection of everyday barley-based products. They are made, specifically with organic barley grass, as certified by BioGro, New Zealand’s leading organic certification agency.

 

To learn more about Santé, visit its website at santebarley.com.

NPAW 2020 Highlights The Importance of Play Amidst the Time of Pandemic

 

A New Normal. Play can still be done even during the quarantine period.© The Playing Familia

In the face of global pandemic and natural disasters, our daily lives have been put to a standstill and many children have lost access to play. Because of this, a huge part of children’s activity, creativity and learning have come to a pause affecting their holistic development and overall wellbeing. Moreover, some have placed play within the limiting context of “laru-laro lang”. With this, play advocates continuously address the misleading notion and provide the right perspective that play should be given priority as it is considered one of the basic rights of children as stated in Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Supporting the promotion on the right to play, the Philippine Play Coalition (PPC), a network of organizations which Unilab Foundation, Council for the Welfare of Children, World Vision Philippines, Unang Hakbang Foundation, Kythe Foundation, Tukod Foundation and Educo Philippines are actively involved in, has been working to ensure that every child will not miss their experience of play even amidst the time of pandemic.

Amplifying this great cause, the National Play Advocacy Week 2020 was celebrated last November 16 to 22, 2020.  The celebration successfully reached over 10,000 children via offline and online platforms, 300,000 Filipinos through online platforms and engaged 150 partners to participate and conduct play activities.  The Local Government of Iloilo City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Zamboanga City also showed their strong support and eagerly participated in the celebration.

This 2021, Unilab Foundation is continuously strengthening its play advocacy under its program, Bayanihan for WellBeing (BWB), through the distribution of Resiliency Play Bags. These play bags aim to spark hope, harness creativity, and develop resilience and coping skills among Filipino children, who were not only strained by the presence of the coronavirus outbreak, but were also victims of the recent calamities that struck our nation in the previous year.

A Bayanihan for WellBeing Resiliency Play Bag is composed of the following:

1.   Toys like sipa and kickball, which are intended to help children release tension.

2.   Cape and mask which they could design, allowing them to identify their strengths and make them feel like Superheroes.

3.   Writing and coloring sheets to encourage their creativity and help them express their emotions.

 

As little as Php250 / $5.00 will help warm the heart of a child and build his/her resilience.

Donation can be done via bank deposit through the Bank of Philippine Islands:

Account Name: Unilab Foundation, Inc.

Account Number: 0181-0489-72

Branch: BPI, Mandaluyong

Swift Code: BOPIPHM

or via PayPal at healthierPH@unilabfoundation.org

 

Finally, a screenshot of your donation transaction needs to be sent to headsup@unilabfoundation.org.

 

For more details, you can also visit the Bayanihan for WellBeing Facebook page to support this worthy cause and share the initiative with your loved ones, friends and colleagues.

Let’s continue to make play happen this year. Together, let us nurture resilience and withstand change through the power of play!

 

Derma Science Hand Sanitizer Gel, our partner to fight disease transmission

 

A new variant of COVID-19 surprised us early this first month of the year. A sure added worry to many as how can we protect ourselves from the virus.

Knowing that diseases can be transmitted through our hands, the search for what’s the best agent can we trust can be another concern. Because we always have to keep our hands clean, we need something to bring along with us. We can’t definitely have a sink, soap and water beside us anywhere we go.  That’s when a handy yet reliable hand sanitizer is what we need for mobile activities.

Here’s the good news! Derma Science hand sanitizer gel was introduced in our country, Friday last week. According to Mr. Romer Estrada, Product Manager of Derma Science, it is the best hand sanitizer available in the Philippines. Derma Science Hand Gel addresses our need for effective hand cleansing without sacrificing the moisturizing of our skin.

Supported with the timely discussion about hand sanitizer by derma expert, Dr. Dorris Velasco during the launch, I was enlightened about the wonder of hand sanitizer.

Call it old school but the sure way to keeping our hands clean is through hand-washing with soap and water. Yes, still the best way if it’s available.

According to dermatologist Dr. Doris Velasco, using hand sanitizer gels is the next best thing to hand-washing. That’s a great relief. 

Based from Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, Dr. Velasco mentioned that it is recommended that hand sanitizers should have at least 60% alcohol content in order to destroy the SARS COV-2 lipid protective barrier or coating. However, rubbing high concentration of alcohol on your skin may cause skin dryness or skin irritation because it disrupts the natural protective layer of oil on our skin. Which I really agree with. Even the strong scent of ordinary alcohol hurts my nose badly because of its painful smell.

And it’s the main reason why hand sanitizer gels were created because it contains moisturizers to counter-act skin dryness caused by other products.

Hand sanitizers are also quite handy and easier to carry. You can carry along with you a small bottle in your bag, usually, belt bag for me. I can bring it with me wherever I go.

    Benefits of Sakura Extracts

•  Helps maintain smooth and supple skin
•  It has anti-inflammatory properties
•  Helps prevent uneven skin by limiting melanin production (whitening effect)
•  Mild and delightful fragrance

Soap and water is still the best combination of hand washing and is still the best hand sanitizing technique. But since we have to go out and leave the house for work or errands, a good hand sanitizer should accompany us.

Key Points To Remember

1. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol for more effective cleansing in order to kill the microbes or viruses according to the CBC

2. One to 2 drops of hand sanitizer gel are enough to use or until the whole area of your hands from palm to fingers are properly covered and rubbed well.

3. Once properly applied let it dry completely on its own and you are ready to go!

Remember, right choice of hand sanitizer is a great alternative to hand washing if the water and soap tandem is not available. Hand sanitizer can  be a good follow up sanitation and added protection as well. Especially when you are out and has touched some surfaces around you.

Two variants:

• A 100ml bottle @ Php110
• Infused with Sakura extracts, has a 
• Mildly fragrant smell and is perfect for personal use

• A 490ml bottle @Php320
• Infused with German chamomile extract
• Scent-free and is perfect for general use

Both infusions are proven effective and serves the same benefits in helping to retain skin moisture and repair natural skin barriers. They also have anti-aging properties due to their wide array of anti-oxidants as mentioned by Mr. Estrada.

Derma Science Hand Gel also has 70% alcohol content but no colorants and is quick drying, letting you effectively cleanse your hands without that sticky feeling.

It's Paraben-free! Derma Hand Science Hand Gel is also paraben-free. Parabens are preservative substances that are harmful to our health since it contains some carcinogenic properties. Paraben not only produces dry skin, they can disrupt hormone function in women leading to increased risk of breast cancer and reproductive toxicity.

On our experience, since me and my daughter are both using the Derma Science hand sanitizer, we noticed that it really moisturizes our hands after use. We love the scents every time we apply it. Gives us soothing feeling while rubbing the gel on our hands. We love this hand gel.

Will you now use Derma Science hand sanitizer gel if water and soap are absent? We now have a choice to not settle on other products that can harm our skin even our health. Make your choice.

Want your own bottle (or bottles!) of Derma Science Hand Sanitizer Gel?

You can get them at Shopee, Lazada or at goodnessandgrains.com!

 

 

World Vision alarmed by students selling sensual photos online to support their education

 

Child-focused agency World Vision raises its concern about reports published by the Philippine Online Student Tambayan (POST) about students selling sensual photos and videos online using specific hashtags. Reports also showed that students also held a “Christmas sale” of what appeared to be sexual exploitation materials encouraging buyers to “help” raise funds for their distance learning needs such as tuition, Internet connection and tech gadgets.

“Every child or learner deserves to be safe and protected from any form of sexual abuse or exploitation, even at this difficult time of the pandemic,” says World Vision National Director Rommel V. Fuerte.  “World Vision calls on relevant government agencies and key stakeholders to protect children from OSEC by all possible means,” Fuerte added.

Amid the community quarantine, the Department of Justice (DOJ) – Office of Cybercrime reported that online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) reports tripled during March to May 2020 (relative to the same period in 2019).

Based on World Vision’s COVID-19 rapid impact assessment report in the Philippines, the study also found out that 92% of households surveyed said their livelihoods were disrupted, 61% of which are fully and severely affected by the pandemic. Loss of income is forcing parents/caregivers to take drastic measures, as 3% of respondents said they will send their children to work (which could include high risk jobs).

World Vision also stressed the need for the Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and DOJ respectively, to conduct thorough investigation of the reported cases, and to apprehend the perpetrators including the takedown of harmful social media accounts and online sites.

“While we are after the criminal offenders, we also need to ensure the provision of appropriate support to the children who have been lured by this rising trade involving minors,” says Jezreel Hannah Domingo, Child Protection Manager of World Vision.

“Our educational system should also ensure that child protection committees in all schools are established and learners have access to information on cyber-safety including responsible use of social media and mechanisms to report incidents of abuse,” Domingo added.

The Department of Education (DepEd) also expressed concern about the issue and is already conducting its investigation. They are also calling on schools to strengthen their child protection committees to help identify and report child abuse and exploitation cases.

Early last year, World Vision, in partnership with DepEd launched the Abutin Na10 campaign which aimed to raise resources to support its distance learning modalities as part of the larger implementation of the department’s Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan.

Lawmakers including the Senate and the House of Representatives are also urged to prioritize and address the gaps in the current legal framework to strengthen the teeth against OSEC in the Philippines.

Local government units must ensure that their local councils for the protection of children and Violence against Women and Children Desks are in place and remain functional to address child protection concerns in their localities.

“We call on the parents and caregivers to safeguard their children from online harm. Teaching their kids about online safety and encouraging them to reach out whenever they feel uncomfortable can go a long way. Also, we urge the public to always be vigilant and if there are suspicions of OSEC in the communities, report to proper authorities. Truly it takes all of us to end OSEC,” said Rommel Fuerte.

Report incidents of child abuse and sexual exploitation through the following:

Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking

Call: 1343 (in Manila); 02 1343 (outside Metro Manila)

Report online: www.1343actionline.ph

Philippine National Police (PNP) Hotline Patrol, Anti-Cybercrime Group

Call: 911, (02) 722-0650

Text: 0917-847 5757

Philippine National Police, Anti-Cybercrime Group

Report online: angelnet.ph

Email: pnp.acg.angelnet@gmail.com

National Bureau of Investigation, Cybercrime Division

Call: (02) 523 8231 to38 (local 3454, 3455)

Email: ccd@nbi.gov.ph

Department of Justice, Office of Cybercrime

Call: (02) 523 0628, (02) 521 8345, (02) 524 2230

Email: cybercrime@doj.gov.ph

Inter-agency Council Against Child Pornography

Report Online: http://www.iacacp.gov.ph/report-to-us-2/

 

Or go to the nearest barangay BCPC, VAWC and local Social Welfare Office

 

To know more about World Vision, visit www.worldvision.org.ph. For updates, follow /worldvisionph on Facebook and @worldvisionphl on Instagram.

 

About World Vision

World Vision is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, their families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by its Christian faith and values, it is dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people. It serves and collaborates with all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. 

GOLDILOCKS : A Chocoholic Dream Come True!

Chocoholics have another reason to celebrate as Goldilocks, the country's number one Bakeshop, is happy to highlight their delectable All About Chocolate Cake.

 

This decadent Premium Cake is made with a fudgy chocolate cake and a chocolate mousse filling which is then covered in chocolate ganache and finally adorned with intricate chocolate toppers, making it the perfect centerpiece in any celebration!

 

Satisfy your sweet tooth with Goldilocks's delicious All About Choco Cake! Grab this, and other products starting January 11, 2021 at Goldilocks bakeshops nationwide, and for more information, you may follow @GoldilocksPH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or visit the official Goldilocks website at www.goldilocks.com.ph

How Tanduay Overcame the Challenges of 2020 to Emerge as Brand of the Year Anew

 

The year 2020 has been a difficult year for most consumer brands and companies have been challenged to step up to thrive in the new business climate. For Tanduay, a pivot toward a digital platform, a sustained campaign to remain connected with its target market, the launch of new products, and continued international distribution expansion have helped in overcoming the obstacles of a trying year.

 

And its efforts didn’t remain unnoticed. Tanduay products continued to receive accolades from international wines and spirits organizations and, most recently, the 165-year-old company won the much-coveted “Brand of the Year” award from the Global Advisory Council of the World Branding Forum.

 

“We are doubly honored to receive this recognition this year as 2020 has been a really challenging year for all brands. As we always say, ‘Tibay ng Loob, Tibay Tanduay.’ Our resilience has always been our greatest strength as a brand,” said Paul Lim, Tanduay Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing.

 

This is the sixth consecutive year that Tanduay has won the Brand of the Year Award in the rum category of the World Branding Awards, the premier awards programme of the World Branding Forum. Winners of the World Branding Awards are judged through three streams – Brand Valuation, Consumer Market Research and Public Online Voting. To be held at Kensington Palace in London this year, the awards will see some of the best brands from across the globe honored.

 

Previous winners of the awards include Apple, Barclays, BMW, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, Guinness, Heinz, HSBC, LEGO, Louis Vuitton, McDonald’s, Nescafé, Shell, Spotify, the University of Oxford and VISA.

 

Tanduay continued its growth trajectory in 2020. It launched a digital sales platform, shots.ph, to make it easier for its customers to purchase its products. Consecutively, Tanduay introduced three new cocktail flavors – piña colada, strawberry daiquiri and green margarita – via its new e-commerce website. It likewise launched a spoken word video series that related stories of this generation.

 

To cap off a successful year, Tanduay hosted the online concert, TAMBAYAN: The Tanduay Yearender Jam with Bamboo and Spongecola.

 

Tanduay also continued the aggressive international market expansion it started in 2017. It entered partnerships with several international distributors in the U.S. and other countries. Tanduay can now be found in Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Wisconsin, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California, Tennessee, and Michigan, and in the territory of Guam. It is also available in China, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

 

Tanduay likewise continued its winning streak this year. It bagged top honors in China’s G100 International Wine & Spirits Awards; the Ultimate Spirits Challenge; Beverage Testing Institute; and Concours Mondial.

 

Safeguard, Grab Come Together for a Fun and SAFE Philippines

 

Starting the new year with safety as a priority, Safeguard continues with its efforts in aiding Filipinos with proper hand hygiene education. The brand acknowledges the importance of the delivery economy and safety in mobilization most especially at this time. In line with its consistent efforts for a SAFE Philippines, there couldn’t be a better time to have this fun and informative alliance with Safeguard partnering up with Grab Philippines to ensure that driver partners are also part of the #SafeWash movement.

Hugas Safeguard for SAFE Deliveries

Safeguard and Grab’s partnership brought timely entertainment to partner drivers while imparting proper safe handwashing education through the #SafeWash movement. The mechanics for the online contest were featured during a Ka-Grab Kamustahan Facebook livestream.

Grab drivers sent in video entries of their dubbed version of the “Hugas Na rin ‘Yan” rap by Fred D’ Germ ft. Gloc 9.

Grab drivers showcased their talent in dubbing with immense confidence. Betting on the prize for a merrier and a safer holiday, some were embodying their own version of Gloc-9, others involved their partners to add more interaction into their creative dub video. With its addictive melody, Grab drivers participated and posted their dubbed videos on Safeguard’s Facebook page.

Safeguard has also donated hand sanitizers, liquid hand soaps, and body wash placed at Ka-Grab Pit Stops to ensure that Filipinos who are transported through Grab’s service and their driver partners are equally protected.

Commitment for the #SafeWash Movement  

The “puwede na” mentality in handwashing has proven to be an alarming threat to Filipinos especially during this pandemic. Safeguard took the matter into their own hands and produced the #SafeWash Movement wherein they relayed proper handwashing education through pop culture themes that would cater to Filipinos of all ages.

The mass education music video with more than 20 million views combined in different social media platforms, starring Fred D’ Germ — an online ‘influenzah’, was produced by five of the top Philippine animation houses with the rap song voiced by Gloc-9. You can watch the video here.

After the success of the #SafeWash campaign, Safeguard partnered with Manila Water Foundation (MWF) to construct handwashing facilities all over Metro Manila to bring ease of access to handwashing facilities.

What started as a battle cry against hand hygiene misinformation, Safeguard now continues to strengthen proper handwashing education for Filipinos through the #SafeWash Movement, for a SAFE Philippines.