Jollibee Honors Families’ Value-Driven Advocacies in 8th Jollibee Family Values Awards

On its 40th year, Jollibee continues to honor exemplary families who choose to be great for others in the 8th Jollibee Family Values Awards. Their inspiring stories and advocacies were once again the main highlight during the Gabi ng Parangal para sa Pamilyang Pilipino held at the Blue Leaf Cosmopolitan in Quezon City. This was the culmination of an exhaustive months-long search for outstanding nominees throughout the country and the rest of the world.

Hailed for their family values-driven advocacies that sparked hope and ushered change in their chosen communities, the 8th JFVA winning families include: Mr. Reynaldo and Mrs. Julieta Arquiza and family of Camarines Norte, for establishing a network of libraries in public schools and daycare centers; Mr. Nilo and Mrs. Menilia Delos Reyes and family of Caloocan City, for providing prosthetic legs, wheelchairs, crutches and other mobility devices to persons with disability (PWDs); Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Ma. Maricel Homan and family of Sorsogon, for creating mobile classrooms and providing tutorial sessions to students living along riverbanks and coastal areas; Mr. Henry and Mrs. Lisa Manuncia and family of Quezon City, for providing trauma counselling and debriefing services to people in disaster-stricken areas; Mr. Jason Roy and Mrs. Cherry Joy Sibug and family of Kidapawan, North Cotabato, for improving the education, livelihood, and health of indigenous people; and Mr. Graciano Alegado and family of California, USA, named as OFW Family of the Year, for conducting medical and dental missions for thousands of patients in Tawi-Tawi.

Jollibee also conferred special citations to families who are focused on specific advocacies. The Special Citation for Education was presented to Mr. Virgilio and Mrs. Ana Maria Bacudio and family of Manila, for their Jeepney of Hope library project which provides Mindoro’s Mangyan tribe with access to books, while Mr. Auke and Mrs. Susana Idzenga and family of Bacolod City were the recipients of the Special Citation for Agriculture, for their Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. which develops alternative technologies that answer the needs of small-scale farmers. Recognized for conducting free Math tutorial programs for children in their hometown, the Special Citation for Youth Empowerment was presented to Mr. Alexander and Mrs. Michelle Rubico of Calamba, Laguna, while Mrs. Ruth Roa and family of Australia received the Special Citation for Children (endorsed by Children’s Hour) for building and operating an orphanage in Davao del Sur.

Aside from getting recognition as 8th JFVA winners, the Delos Reyes family was also presented with the Special Citation for PWDs (endorsed by National Council on Disability Affairs) while the Sibug family was honored with the Special Citation for Indigenous People (endorsed by KATRIBU).

The six winning families each received a P300,000 cash prize, a brass trophy designed by renowned sculptor Michael Cacnio, and P10,000 worth of Jollibee gift certificates. The special citation recipients, moreover, were each given P50,000 in cash, a plaque of recognition, and P3,000 worth of Jollibee gift certificates.

“We are truly honored to recognize our latest JFVA winners—families who celebrate values that resonate in their communities through their selfless advocacies—especially since the essence of the Filipino family and the values they cherish are things that Jollibee have continuously championed for the past 40 years,” said JJ Alano, Jollibee Philippines president. “The inspiring stories of these families exemplify how even the smallest endeavors, when deeply rooted on values and the strong desire to help, can outgrow the most difficult challenges and turn into something bigger, stronger to benefit the whole community.”

The 8th Gabi ng Parangal sa Pamilyang Pilipino centered on the theme of bunga, signifying how the values of each winning family served as the seeds that produced bountiful fruits of advocacy programs that benefit others in the community.

The task of sifting through volumes of submitted entries was taken on by a selection committee composed mainly of veteran JFVA judges. Chaired by parenting and relationship consultant Maribel Dionisio, the esteemed jury is composed of TV host and news anchor Edric Mendoza, renowned writer and inspirational speaker Francis Kong, lifestyle columnist and children’s advocate Audrey Tan-Zubiri, actress Dimples Romana, and TV host and news anchor Christine Jacob-Sandejas. Completing the panel of judges were Jollibee Philippines HR Head Jazel Mendoza, Jollibee Group Foundation Executive Director Gisela Tiongson, and Jollibee Brand CMO and Jollibee Philippines Marketing Head Francis Flores.

The 8th JFVA is made possible with the support of campaign partners Coca-Cola Philippines, Jollibee Group Foundation, and Maynilad; special citation partners Children’s Hour, National Council on Disability Affairs, and KATRIBU; official hotel partners Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn; and sponsor HKTV.

I CALL QUACK!

Medicine has come a long way since the ancient times. Mankind has struggled with finding out what really works when it comes to medical treatments. Technology has developed and research has evolved. But there are still some treatments that sometimes fall through the cracks and these cures slowly become quack.

Let’s discover some cures that can be very real or very false when it comes to ancient or modern-day medicine.

Lobotomy 

Right off the bat, let’s start with one of the worst and most terrifying medical ideas in all of history. Mental illness has many forms. Today, each one is carefully diagnosed and treated. But this wasn’t the case back then. Doctors rarely understood psychological illness or traumas. They often associated it with physical symptoms or even spiritual forces. The cure? Drill the head open. Since then lobotomy has become a word associated with horror, violence, and fear.

Mercury and Metal Ingestion 

Medicine was very vague and unclear in the 1800s. It was so undeveloped in fact that ingesting mercury was one of the treatments for headaches! Imagine people consciously going through mercury-poisoning thinking they would get better!

Trading Morphine for Heroin 

Morphine is a classic and widely used painkiller back in the day. But there were side effects such as addiction that made people wary to use it in treatments. Enter a brand-new idea with a brand-new drug: heroin! It was primarily introduced as a safe and non-addictive substitute for morphine. Little did they know that they were using what would be one of the most dangerous and illegal drugs ever as a cure.

Shock Treatments for Impotence

Having trouble with the little guy? Give it a little shock! It was widely-believed that electric therapy or shock treatments was a cure for impotence or genital dysfunction. All of mankind now gives a sigh of relief that modern medicine threw that horrifying “cure” out.

If you’re craving for some real medical expertise coupled with showbiz drama, check out The Resident, now on its second season on video-streaming service FOX+. In the long tradition of ER, House, and Grey’s Anatomy comes another riveting medical drama that takes the blinders of medical norms and dives deep into the heart of what really happens at hospitals and with doctors.

Stream the latest episodes of season 2 exclusively and all of season 1 of The Resident on FOX+ now. New users can now download FOX+ from the App Store and Google Play store for a free 30-Day trial.


About Fox Networks Group Asia

FOX Network Group Asia (FNG) is 21st Century FOX’s international multi-media business. FNG develops, produces and distributes more than 300 wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, sports, factual and movie channels in 45 languages across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. FNG’s core channel brands include FOX, FOX Sports, FOX Life, FOX+ and National Geographic. FNG’s movie channels include FOX Movies, FOX Action Movies, FOX Family Movies and SCM (formerly Star Chinese Movies). Non-linear brands include FOX Play, FOX Play+ and Nat Geo Play. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 1.8 billion cumulative households worldwide. In addition, FNG owns and operates two production studios and produces thousands of local programing hours for its wholly owned channels and third parties. In 2017, FNG launched FOX+, the on-demand streaming app for watching the best in entertainment on the go. FNG has been in operation since August 14, 1993.

About FOX+

FOX+ is the only video-streaming service in Asia that combines TV series, movies and live sports, in one place, accessible from any device, at any time and in HD. With a combination of first-run Hollywood blockbusters and hit Chinese series and movies, FOX+ is the ultimate destination for entertainment. More than 11,000 hours of programming across multiple genres are available, comprising of the most popular content from global movie studios and television channels, as well as original FOX programming and FOX+ exclusive content.

PAAL Congress: Getting Filipinos Ready to Meet Job Demands in Growing Auto Industry

The local economy may be going through a few rough patches but there are bright spots on the horizon.  For one, the Philippine automotive industry is slowly yet steadily growing, currently producing 400,000 cars yearly versus 100,000 a decade ago.  Annual car sales in the country are also projected to reach one million units by 2028.  The increasing demand means the industry will make more cars, requiring more quality engineers, technicians, specialists, and other professionals within the decade.

With the Philippine automotive sector becoming an employment hotspot, companies are partnering with the public sector to raise awareness about the different opportunities that jobhunters and educational institutions can maximize.  Last September 28, the Philippine Auto Industry-Academia Linkage (PAAL) Congress was conducted by a coalition of four organizations – JobStreet Philippines, Department of Trade and Industry-Board of Investments (DTI-BOI), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP).  The first-of-its-kind the country, the event connected schools and training centers with automotive companies, bolstering collaboration and cooperation towards future projects and programs that can benefit more students, jobseekers, and businesses.

Preparing to meet higher demand

The coalition estimates that by 2028, direct employment in the industry will grow by 700,000 to 1.17 million more jobs.  Indirect employment will also increase, with many new jobs expected to open in the production of car parts and materials, automotive sales and maintenance, transport and storage, and petroleum stations.  For these prospects to be optimized, the industry needs to address the limited knowledge and on-the-job training opportunities in the different companies, processes, and technical skills involved in the car production chain; human resources’ difficulties in fielding and finding candidates with suitable educational background; and the need for schools and training centers to connect to a bigger and more beneficial network of partners.

The PAAL Congress thus brought together students, teachers, trainers, employers, engineers, and executives in a series of learning and networking sessions.  It aimed to help participants better understand the industry as a whole – its different players, demands, and standards; realize the career potential and different opportunities opening up in the automotive sector; and enable car companies to offer more input in schools’ curricula, thereby developing the right employee candidates in the near future.

The different talks by field experts offered an overview of the local industry, sharing its realities, trends, potentials, job market needs, and future goals.  Participants also heard from practitioners in a panel discussion and asked questions in a fruitful Q&A.  Later in the day was the career and product exhibition that showcased the various companies in the automotive supply chain and the different job options.  Resumes were also submitted and same-day interviews were held.

“There are more than 100 companies in the industry’s supply chain.  With the expected growth in the sector, there’s going to be a lot of recruitment activity within the near future.  Through the congress, the partnership has opened bigger doors for dialogue and cooperation, which in turn will provide the sector with valuable information and insights that can multiply opportunities further.  We at JobStreet Philippines have been learning so much through this partnership, and we consider it a pleasure to be able to use this knowledge to make the best-fitting matches between even more employers and thousands of Filipino jobseekers.  This partnership has empowered all of us here to create and seek even more growth prospects for more people,” says Philip Gioca, Country Manager of JobStreet Philippines.

More plans in the future

As a post-event service and to ensure the long-range impact of the event, feedback will be collected.  Among the success indicators are the number and quality of industry-academia partnerships that were formed, job applications facilitated, increased interest and engagement in auto industry careers, and regular communication among the participants who connected with each other. Summaries of the speeches and discussions, tips and other learnings will also be shared online to reach more people.

Gioca adds: “It’s key to monitor the effect of this first congress to help us create better and more effective career and learning experiences in the future. There is unlimited potential in the technology-based skills and working attitude of Filipinos and we will keep supporting them through diverse programs. We have many more partnerships and activities planned.”

Over 50 educational and training institutions, 40 companies, and 800 individuals joined the congress, which is also part of the Elaboration of Industrial Promotion Plans using Value Chain Analysis project. The two-year pilot project operated by JICA and DTI promotes the automotive industry through the development and implementation of concrete policies and plans.

For more information about JobStreet Philippines programs and events, visit www.jobstreet.com.ph.