SCPW, UAPSA Join Hands with SM Prime in Promoting Wetland Conservation

As the world celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity 2023, SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime) joined the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Inc. (SCPW) hosted the fourth SCPW Wetland Center Design Symposium on May 29th at the MAAX Building in the Mall of Asia Complex.

Bannering the theme "Build Back Biodiversity: Wetland Centers and Nature-Based Architecture," the hybrid symposium featured presentations centered on fostering knowledge and awareness about wetland conservation and innovative design approaches. 

SCPW president Ar. Celestino Ulep leads the opening of the Wetland Center Design Symposium

SCPW president Ar. Celestino Ulep opened the symposium by sharing his optimism on how collaboration and embracing nature-based architecture can pave the way towards creating a future where wetlands thrive and biodiversity flourishes.

Notable experts in the field also graced the event, sharing their insights and experiences including Chris Rostron, the global manager of Wetland Link International, and Alex Hughes of Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in London, UK. The guest speakers kicked off the discussion by sharing about the pivotal role of Wetland Centers as a tool for Communication, Capacity Building, Education, Participation, and Awareness (CEPA) in wetland conservation efforts.

Arch. Ulep, meanwhile, engaged the audience by introducing the concept of nature-based architecture, highlighting the importance of prioritizing sustainability and harmony in design by creating structures that seamlessly integrate with the natural environment.

Meanwhile, Arch. Aaron Lecciones, SCPW Special Projects Officer, made a detailed visual presentation on the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) Design Team's experience. He highlighted the challenges and triumphs of designing a wetland park, serving as a source of inspiration for aspiring designers and architects.

Esteemed partners, including Ms. Rida Reyes Castillo of SM Prime, Dr. Arvin Diesmos of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, Mr. Laudemir Salac of DENR-Region 3, and Arch. Gleo Raymundo of UAPSA graced the event to show their full support for this endeavor.

"It is an honor and privilege on the part of SM to partner with the SCPW and UAPSA in realizing its common goal of protecting ecosystems, particularly wetlands, by inspiring the youth to engage and take action on the socio-civic and economic issues in their communities by finding workable solutions towards building a sustainable future," SM Prime AVP and Head of Marketing, PR, and Communications Rida Reyes Castillo said.

SM Prime AVP and Head of Marketing, PR, and Communications Rida Reyes Castillo

Castillo further emphasized that environmental protection and nature conservation are integral pillars of SM Prime's sustainability campaign and that they believe in the power of cultivating the younger generation’s devotion to building a sustainable future.

The symposium concluded with a comprehensive discussion on the rules and guidelines of the design competition, followed by an open forum and exchange of ideas among participants.

The symposium also marked the beginning of the highly anticipated 4th SCPW Wetland Center Design Competition, which aims to create a platform for talented students in the field of construction and design to showcase their skills and ingenuity and encourages them to address environmental challenges through sustainable solutions.

Holcim highlights reliability, partnership in digital campaign for flagship brand Excel

Holcim Philippines has started a social media campaign highlighting its flagship general purpose cement brand Excel, which has established itself as a preferred choice among local contractors for reliability in building quality structures in its nearly two decades in the country.

Leading cement manufacturer Holcim Philippines, Inc. has rolled out a new digital campaign for its flagship general purpose cement brand Excel that highlights the product’s reliability in building durable and quality structures that supports user’s aspiration for progress.

The company has started a series of posts on Facebook and Instagram focused on how its Excel brand is trusted by contractors having established itself as among the preferred cement brands in the market for building important structures from homes to infrastructures. The campaign features Filipino words “kasangga” at “pag-angat” in reference to the attributes Excel is associated with as well as images of builders and homeowners.

Holcim Philippines Vice President for Marketing and Innovation Ram Maganti said the campaign is a celebration of how Excel has helped contractors build a number of structures that have made people’s lives better all over the country since its launch in 2001.

“Holcim Philippines has sold over a billion bags of Excel in the brand’s nearly two decades in the country. This reflects the trust in Excel of local contractors who in turn have used this to build many of the things that benefit us today. This campaign is a reminder that Excel will continue to be reliable partner in building a better Philippines moving forward,” he added.

Aside from the product posts, Maganti said the company will be sharing stories of its partners and employees whose lives have become better with Excel.

“We are thankful to our partners and people who have enabled us make Excel a success in the Philippines. We’d like to share their story as part of this campaign to provide positive and inspiring stories during this time. Our Excel experience shows that things do get better and there are companies and brands that you can count on to support you in your progress,” Maganti said.


Holcim Philippines, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange: HLCM) is one of the leading building solution companies in the country. The Company has a deep portfolio of innovative solutions fostered by a full range of products from structuring to finishing applications that can help local builders execute with high performance and efficiency a wide range of projects from massive infrastructure to simple home repairs.

With cement manufacturing facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Batangas, Misamis Oriental and Davao, as well as aggregates and dry mix business and technical support facilities for building solutions, Holcim Philippines is a reliable partner of builders in the country.

Holcim Philippines is also committed to the highest standards of sustainable operations and manufacturing excellence with its plants certified under ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System), ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System).

Holcim Philippines is a member of the LafargeHolcim Group, the world leader in the building materials industry present in 80 countries with over 75,000 employees.

Nippon Paint Recognizes Winners of the Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA) Philippines 2019

After the fun filled and painstaking process of creating your designs to entry submission, leading into the judges’ deliberating and critiques, the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) Philippines 2019 recognized the winners during the awards ceremonies held at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City on January 23, 2020.

The gold award with a cash prize worth of P50,000 for the architecture category was given to John Carlo De Jesus from the Bulacan State University (BulSU) while the silver award with a cash prize of P30,000 was awarded to John Harold Siblag of St. Mary's University of Bayumbong.

Meanwhile, for the Interior Design category, Abigail Florence Taghoy of University of San Carlos University (USC) in Cebu bagged the gold award and P50, 000 cash prize while the silver award with a P30,000 prize money went to Clarice Limsui of De La Salle -College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).

The gold awardees for AYDA 2019 will go to the Asia Young Designer Summit to compete with the best Architecture and Interior Design students in Asia which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in March 2020. The winners will battle for the chance to be included in the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Design Discovery Program.

Aside from the major prizes, special awards were also given to other participants during the ceremony. For Architecture, the Best in Color Choice Award went to Christian Adrian Manalo of Batangas State University (BSU). Meanwhile the Best Green Innovation Award was given to John Carlo De Jesus and the People’s Choice Award to Johann Orozco, both from BulSU. Best Mentor in this category was awarded to Ar. Diane Alfonso. Also, Bulacan State University was declared The Best College/University, and The Best Supportive School award for the Architecture category went to the Far Eastern University (FEU).

For the Interior Design category, the Best Color Choice award went to Michael lGarbriel Vazquez of DLS-CSB, while Josette Thai of UP Diliman won the Best Green Innovation Award. The People’s Choice award went to Erika Mari Ordinario of DLS-CSB. The University of San Carlos Cebu was named The Best Collge/University and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde which was declared the Most Supportive School Dr. Hermie Ray Oplado from The University of San Carlos was awarded Best Mentor for the Interior Design category.

Nippon Paint Philippines President Mark Webb led the awarding ceremonies along with the distinguished panel of judges. Webb affirmed AYDA 2019 was the perfect opportunity to highlight the best young talents of the country and showcase their brilliance to the international arena. He also thanked the mentors and academic partners who patiently guided, motivated and shared their expertise to the students, and for allowing them to join. He added that Nippon Paintis proud to be part of the initiative in elevating the amazing Filipino skills and talent.

AYDA 2019 is a design competition open to Architecture and Interior Design students. The panel of judges is composed of prominent and well-established industry professionals and was supported by the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP), Council of Deans and Heads of Architecture Schools in the Philippines (CODHASP), the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID), and the Council of Interior Design Educators (CIDE).

Visit www.youngdesigneraward.ph or visit www.nipponpaint.ph for more details and updates.

2019 National Arts and Crafts Fair Receives Excellent Reviews

During the formal opening of the 2019 National Arts and Crafts Fair. (L-R): Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) deputy executive director Annray Rivera; HABI Philippine Textile Council founder and chairperson Maribel Ongpin; DTI-Trade Promotions Group undersecretary Abdulgani Macatoman; DTI-Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion director Marievic Bonoan: and When in Manila chief operations officer and NACF event ambassador Sky Gavin.

Tagged as the “Philippine Artisans Show,” the 2019 National Arts and Crafts Fair (NACF) was held from October 24 to 27 at the Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. The four-day event lived up to its objective to promote our rich cultural traditions and national heritage, while at the same time expanding the market presence of MSMEs engaged in the creative industries.

This celebration of authentic Filipino artistry and ingenuity showcasing the best collection of high-quality indigenous materials, heritage crafts, and artistic mastery attracted close to 30,000 visitors, and garnered excellent reviews with 94% expressing satisfaction. Preliminary reports peg total sales at PhP 33.6-million.

During the formal opening held last October 24, Undersecretary Abdulgani Macatoman of the Trade Promotions Group delivered the inspirational message. The keynote address of Deputy Speaker and Antique Congresswoman Loren Legarda was delivered by her representative Ms. Maribel Ongpin, Chairperson and Founder of HABI The Philippine Textile Council.

In addition to 269 exhibitors from all of the country’s 17 regions, there were special settings and pavilions by the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) featuring natural fibers and fabrics; the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) focusing on Philippine tropical fabrics; and the Philippine Forest Honey Network showcasing forest honey varieties from different parts of the country.

From the province of Antique, the thriving artisan communities and their traditional patadyong, hablon weaves, bariw handicrafts, and other specialties were highlighted with the participation of 27 exhibitors from all of the province’s 18 municipalities. A special section was also devoted to the Bangon Marawi initiative, with their brassware, gongs and bells, woodcraft and textile products. Selected beneficiaries of the DTI’s Shared Service Facilities (SSF) program were also among the exhibitors.

The ubiquitous KAPEtirya offered choice local coffee blends from the regions, with a selection of native delicacies. There was also the usual leathercrafts workshop manned by the differently-abled workers of Handcrafted by Harl’s, while Baybayin experts rendered text in the traditional Tagalog script, and craft artists conducted brush calligraphy and mixed media art workshops.

Following the formal opening on Thursday, October 24, there was a daily program of activities focusing on business talks on Friday, October 25; arts and crafts activities on Saturday, October 26; and the performing arts on Sunday, October 27. A special focus of the daily program were the cultural presentations and live demonstrations of the arts, crafts, and practices that are being transmitted by cultural masters to the next generation through community managed learning programs of the Schools of Living Traditions (SLT) under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

The 2019 NACF was organized by the Department of Trade and Industry – Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion (DTI-BDTP) headed by Director Marievic M. Bonoan in cooperation with the Regional Operations Group, with support from the Office of Deputy Speaker Legarda.

For more information, contact numbers are (02) 7751-3223 and (02) 7791-3102, or email bdtp@dti.gov.ph. You may also follow DTI-BDTP on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

PRRD Orders Inclusion of Hollow Blocks in the List of Products with Mandatory Certification – DTI Chief

The Cabinet deliberated on the impact of the recent series of earthquakes and the measures moving forward. According to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez, among the concerns raised by President Rodrigo Duterte during the recent Cabinet meeting was the quality of hollow blocks, noting many small hollow block makers may not follow standard processes and specifications needed in production. Even as Sec. Lopez gave assurance on the standard compliance of steel and cement, among others, the President mandated the inclusion of hollow blocks in the list of products with mandatory certification as these are not yet included in the certification schemes implemented by DTI-Bureau of Philippine Standards.

Relatedly, the President ordered all local government units (LGUs) and contractors to ensure that all construction materials being used in any construction activity must pass quality standards. If they are found to be using inferior quality construction materials and not adhering to the specifications in the Building Code as well as in its structural design, their licenses as contractors may be revoked. Likewise, contractors of government projects that use uncertified materials will not be paid and their contracts will be terminated.

“The quality of any building structure depends not only on the product standards, but also on the quality of the construction job, particularly on adherence to approved structural design and the Building Code, required steel density, cement mixtures, among others,” Sec. Lopez said.

DTI ensures the standard compliance of products under the mandatory certification list such as cement, steel, nails and glass (although glass’ inclusion is currently under court injunction).

Under the Duterte administration, DTI has tightened products’ certification and procedures. Apart from the PS accreditation of the manufacturing plant, products are also tested at the plant. For imported steel or cement, these are tested at pre-shipment and post-shipment. Sampling size for testing was also increased by more than 15 times.

More products are now being studied to be included in the mandatory certification list such as plywood, roofing, and tiles.

Landlite Sponsors Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID) General Monthly Meeting

For PIID’s general monthly meeting for the month of June, Landlite Philippines Corporation (LPC) sponsored and organized a “Mamma Mia”-themed event hosted by its brand ambassador, Marc Nelson. Interior designers gathered at Lux Décor showroom in BGC where they had a tour on the latest line of products that Landlite has to offer. Faro Barcelona decorative lightings and Uozu Italian minimalist downlights were the highlights of the showroom tour. During the night, 3 lucky raffle winners took home Lux Decor gift certificates worth Php 10,000 while other attendees received Landlite LED bulbs and other Landlite products for the games and survey. During the event, LPC was named Premier Sponsor of PIID. Present during the event were (L-R) PIID national president Lilia de Jesus, Landlite Philippines Corporation CEO Jocelyn Li, brand ambassador Marc Nelson, and PIID vice president for internal affairs Marcelo Alonzo.

Nippon Paint Names Winners of the Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA) Philippines 2018

Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines, Inc. announced recently the winners for the Philippine edition of the Asia Young Designer Award (2018) in a ceremony held recently in this city.

For the Architecture category, the Gold award with a Php 50,000 cash prize was awarded to Prince Lu of UP Mindanao, while the Silver award with a Php 30,000 prize went to Megan Recato of UP Diliman.

For the Interior Design competitions, University of Santo Tomas’ Odrysa Mie Serino bagged the Gold award and Php 50,000 prize money while the Silver and Php 30,000 prize went to Jhessa Mae Romero of University of San Carlos.

Lu’s winning design, called “Neokamaigen,” is a futuristic city concept that hopes to answer housing needs in the future and prepare the Philippines for the melting of the ice glaciers that will raise water levels around the globe. Serino, on the other hand, came up with “Gunita,” a greenhouse cemetery concept that will deal with social issues like environmental deterioration and land insufficiency. This space-saving cemetery places the dead vertically inside a Manunggul Jar, a pre-historic practice where the jar serves as a burial pod.

As Gold awardees for AYDA 2018, which carried the theme “FORWARD: Challenging Design Boundaries,” Lu and Serino will go to the AYDA 2018 Regional Finals, which will be held in Singapore and compete with the best Architecture and Interior Design students in Asia. They will vie for the chance to be included in the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Design Discovery Program.

Aside from the major prizes, special prizes were also handed out during the glittering ceremony. For Architecture, the Best Color Concept award went to Eunice Ignacio of UST, while Best Green Innovation was collared by Jan Melvin of the Technological Institute of the Philippines. Jericho Calderon of the Far Eastern University (FEU) won the People’s Choice award, and the Most Supportive School award went to FEU with 217 entries. As for the Interior Design category, Best Color Concept award went to Cristiane Macarabe of University of San Carlos, while Nino Tayao of College of St. Benilde won both the Best Green Innovation and People’s Choice award. UST was declared the Most Supportive school for Interior Design with 36 entries.

“This year’s entries were truly out of the box and very creative, perhaps triggered by this year’s theme. Since Nippon Paint became part of AYDA, we know the entries to be very strong and in fact, we almost won the regionals before. This year, we’re optimistic that a Filipino will go to Harvard,” declares Michael Francisco, Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines General Manager.

He said AYDA 2018 is the perfect opportunity to highlight the best of the country and showcase the brilliance of the youth. He also thanked the mentors and academic partners who selflessly guided, motivated and shared their expertise to the students, and for allowing them to join. Nippon Paint, he said, is proud to shine the spotlight on these great talents through AYDA 2018.

The Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA) 2018, held at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium, is a design competition open to Architecture and Interior Design students. The AYDA 2018 judges is composed of prominent and well-established industry professionals and is supported by the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP), Council of Deans and Heads of Architecture Schools in the Philippines (CODHASP), the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID), and the Council of Interior Design Educators (CIDE).

For more details, go to www.youngdesigneraward.ph or visit www.nipponpaint.ph.

Anthology Architecture and Design Festival 2018

Anthology Architecture and Design Festival 2018 brings together top architecture and design professionals from all over the world in search of developing an architecture that promotes a network of inclusive barrier-free spaces that engage communities and their people. This celebration comprising of lectures, workshops, seminars, competitions, and exhibitions will be held on February 9-11, 2018 at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila. Joining the festival this year are prominent figures in the industry including Kai Uwe Bergman of Bjarke Ingels Group, Chris Bosse of Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA), Lyndon Neri or Neri & Hu, Takashi Niwa of Vo Trong Nghia Architects, Billy Kwan of One Bite Design Studio, Rachaporn Choochuey of all(zone), Raymond Hoe of Scott Brownrigg, Ben Duckworth of HASSELL, Erico Abordo of Architects of Accessibility, Twitee Vajrabhaya of Department of ARCHITECTURE Co., Dominic Galicia of DGA, Tobias Guggenheimer of SoFA, Chris Precht Fei Yi of House of Penda, Jinky de Jesus of Light Plan Inc., Yifei Li of Shenzhen University School of Art and Design, Florian Heinzelmann and Daliana Suryawinata of SHAU, Ivy and Cynthia Almario of Atelier Almario as well as World Architecture Festival 2018 winners Alexander Furunes, Sudarshan Khadka Jr. of Project Tagpuro, and Edward Ng of Chinese University Hong Kong among others. Launching this year is the 2018 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) Anthology Architecture Awards that showcases the year’s best architecture. Its mission is to increase awareness about architecture and promote a more meaningful architecture that creates a more positive social impact. The MADE Anthology Awards are presented by the Metrobank Foundation and Anthology Festival in partnership with the United Architects of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. All shortlisted projects shall be featured in the 2018 MADE Anthology Awards Journal that will be distributed by Shelter Magazine and released on the festival. Anthology Architecture and Design Festival is an annual three-day event that showcases architecture and design within the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region. The festival serves as a platform to bring together various practitioners and stakeholders and aims to increase awareness about the relevance of architecture and design in our urban societies. We anticipate the attendance of over 100 leading local and international practitioners to lead the lectures, workshops, talks, design competitions and dialogues for an audience of over 6,000 architects, designers, developers and students

Anthology began in June 2016 with over 2,000 guests in dialogues on “Stories About Architecture”; it was hosted by 65 leading built environment practitioners from seven countries including the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Canada. On its second year, Anthology 2017 saw an exponential increase of attendees with over 4,000 guests and 83 lecturers, speakers and exhibitioners from eleven countries, now including Japan, Singapore, China, Thailand, Belgium, Denmark, and Vietnam. The festival was rooted in the theme “Context and Intent”, with lectures, dialogues and design competitions simultaneously taking place, resulting in rich multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural discourse which seek to explore new and better ideas. The festival is organized by WTA Architecture and Design Studio and is made possible by OMNI Electrical and Lighting, Rapid Steel Builders Inc., TOSOT Philippines, Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines, Metrobank Foundation Inc. as Festival Partners; Landlite Philippines Corporation, World Home Depot, Atlanta Pipes and Fittings, ABC Innovative Building Materials, Emerald Vinyl Corporation, Creative Solutions and Innovations Phil., Inc. Biowood, DeLab Collaborative, Wilcon Depot and Othmann Incorporated as Festival Sponsors; and Intramuros Administration, City of Manila, Embajada de España en Filipinas, Instituto Cervantes, Embassy of Denmark Manila, Escuella Taller de Filipinas Foundation Inc., Manila Biennale, Kaya ng Pinoy, and Philippine Heritage Mapping as Cultural Partners.

*This is Press Release

Anthology began in June 2016 with over 2,000 guests in dialogues on “Stories About Architecture”; it

was hosted by 65 leading built environment practitioners from seven countries including the

Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Canada. On its

second year, Anthology 2017 saw an exponential increase of attendees with over 4,000 guests and

83 lecturers, speakers and exhibitioners from eleven countries, now including Japan, Singapore,

China, Thailand, Belgium, Denmark, and Vietnam. The festival was rooted in the theme “Context and

Intent”, with lectures, dialogues and design competitions simultaneously taking place, resulting in

rich multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural discourse which seek to explore new and better ideas.

The festival is organized by WTA Architecture and Design Studio and is made possible by OMNI

Electrical and Lighting, Rapid Steel Builders Inc., TOSOT Philippines, Pacific Paint (Boysen)

Philippines, Metrobank Foundation Inc. as Festival Partners; Landlite Philippines Corporation, World

Home Depot, Atlanta Pipes and Fittings, ABC Innovative Building Materials, Emerald Vinyl

Corporation, Creative Solutions and Innovations Phil., Inc. Biowood, DeLab Collaborative, Wilcon

Depot and Othmann Incorporated as Festival Sponsors; and Intramuros Administration, City of

Manila, Embajada de España en Filipinas, Instituto Cervantes, Embassy of Denmark Manila, Escuella

Taller de Filipinas Foundation Inc., Manila Biennale, Kaya ng Pinoy, and Philippine Heritage Mapping

as Cultural Partners