Top Bonsai, Ikebana and Suiseki Masters in First-Ever Philippine Show

The first one-of-a-kind exhibit of precious bonsai trees in pots, viewing stones, and ikebana arrangements and workshops by Masters of the craft is all set at Sanib Pwersa, a show that puts the spotlight on over 200 bonsai trees, suiseki viewing stones, and ikebana creations. It’s also the first time these three Japanese art forms and culture will be featured in one big Philippine show.

To be held at The Block Atrium at SM North EDSA from March 22 to 25, the show promises to be the biggest, grandest, and most attended exhibit because of its lineup of distinguished lecturers – National Bonsai Association of Taiwan Bonsai Master Amy Liang, Bonsai Master Kunio Kobayashi from Japan, Bonsai Master Yen Zi Jing from Taiwan, Bonsai Master Wu Jian Zhang from Taiwan, Expert on Viewing Stones Thomas Elias from USA, Expert on Viewing Stones Hiromi Nakaoji from Japan, and Ikenobo Professor Romeo Balderrama, Jr. from the Philippines.

Through the continuous efforts of SM Supermalls, in partnership with The Philippine Bonsai Society (PBSI) and major organizations such as the Natural Stone Society of the Philippines, and Ikebono Ikebana Society of Manila #67, nature lovers can experience yet another ‘green’ malling experience.

SM and PBSI continue to hold events in support of their shared advocacy for the environment. Just last month, a memorandum of agreement was signed by SM Supermalls and PBSI officers so that all PBSI shows and exhibits will be held exclusively in SM malls nationwide.

The show is open to the public, so don’t miss out on learning something new about the wonder of Bonsai, Ikebana and Suiseki from experts!

For schedule of activities, go to www.smsupermalls.com or follow SM Supermalls official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @smsupermalls and SM North EDSA official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @smnorthedsa.

Score Millions of Deals and a Sponsored Trip to El Nido

MANILA, MAR 20, 2019 - Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, kicks off the Summer season with Shopee 4.4 Summer Bazaar from March 21 to April 4. Shopee will fuel the Summer excitement with special contests and activities lined up across Shopee platforms, offering huge prizes including four free round-trip tickets to El Nido and ₱100,000 in cash. In addition, users can enjoy over 1 million deals, flash deals from ₱44 from top brands and retailers, and ₱4 million in Shopee coins on Shopee Quiz.

Martin Yu, Associate Director, Shopee Philippines, said, “Summer is one of the most awaited times of the year in the Philippines, and we are thrilled to kick it off with the Shopee 4.4 Summer Bazaar. Summer is a time for fun and adventure for Filipinos and in line with this, we have introduced challenges and activities across all Shopee platforms to engage and entertain users at Shopee 4.4 Summer Bazaar. In addition, users can enjoy over 1 million deals on Shopee from leading brands and sellers to enjoy greater cost-savings. We look forward to a fun Summer at Shopee and we invite all Filipinos to join us at Shopee 4.4 Summer Bazaar.”

Score Huge Prizes for Summer at Shopee

From March 25 to April 5, Filipinos can fuel their Summer hype with the brand-new in-app game, Shopee Summer Quest. Users can accumulate points by completing various activities daily on the Shopee app, including checking in, playing Shopee Shake, and purchasing selected products. The top-ranking users on the live in-app leaderboard will receive a grand prize of ₱100,000 cash, as well as prizes worth ₱4,000 from top brands, namely Anker, MET Tathione, Maybelline, The Playbook Store, Silverworks, Huawei, Honor, A&S, Unilever, Mossimo, Mass, Snail White, Black + Decker, Stanley, and Meizu.

From March 22 to April 4, Shopee will also launch the nationwide Shopee Human Flatlay social media contest. Users stand a chance to get four round-trip tickets to El Nido by posting creative photos of them and their friends featuring Summer products from Shopee on Facebook and Instagram, with the hashtag #ShopeeHumanFlatlay.

15 Days of Sizzling Promotions with over a Million Deals

The Shopee 4.4 Summer Bazaar promises offers 15 days of promotions and games from March 21 leading up to the highly-anticipated big sale day on April 4. Users can look forward to over 1 million deals from leading brands and sellers across all categories. Key highlights include:

• Up to 90% off leading brands from all categories, including Maybelline, Dove, Surf, Realme, Huawei, Pedigree, Hanford, and Seaoil.
• Flash deals starting at ₱44 across all categories from the hottest brands and sellers. Up to 10 rounds of flash sales will be available daily to give users greater cost-savings on their favorite items.
• ₱4M worth of Shopee coins to be given away on Shopee Quiz. Users can participate to earn coins daily with upsized sessions on Shopee 4.4 Games Day on March 26; Shopee 4.4 Quiz Tuesday on April 2; and the peak on April 4.

Win an iPhone XS Max by buying load and data on Shopee

Finally, users can also score a brand-new iPhone XS Max at Shopee 4.4 Summer Bazaar. Users stand a chance to win by spending at least ₱50 on prepaid mobile load and data on Shopee from March 21 to April 4.

For more information about Shopee 4.4 Summer Bazaar, visit http://shopee.ph/4-4 starting March 21.

Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.

About Shopee 

Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. It is a platform tailored for the region, providing customers with an easy, secure and fast online shopping experience through strong payment and logistical support. Shopee aims to continually enhance its platform and become the region’s e-commerce destination of choice.

Shopee has a wide selection of product categories ranging from consumer electronics to home & living, health & beauty, baby & toys, fashion and fitness equipment.

Shopee, a Sea company, was first launched in Singapore in 2015, and has since expanded its reach to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sea is a leader in digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial services across Greater Southeast Asia. Sea's mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology, and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol SE.

Caring for our Most Overused Body Sense

The eyes are perhaps the most misused, ignored and overused part of the body. We use it while working in front of the computer, staying connected throughout the day via our mobile phones and tablets and even while entertaining ourselves watching movies and videos. Until we feel there’s something wrong, we tend to ignore our eyes because they are just there.

Now, more than ever, our eyes suffer even more abuse. According to Dr. Joy Go, assistant vice president for marketing and merchandising of  Ideal Vision Center (IVC), Because of all the electronic gadgets we use continuously throughout the day IVC deemed it necessary to upgrade its campaign from combating computer vision syndrome to digital vision syndrome.

“In the early 2000s, we had PCs so we’re talking about computers then. But now that almost everyone has a smartphone or a tablet, our eyes are constantly exposed to harmful blue light and at such a close range that they are easily absorbed by our eyes,” said Dr. Go,  a graduate of optometry from the Centro Escolar University. Since she became a doctor and joined the family business, she has been involved in various eye health care campaigns to educate the public on the importance of eyecare and prevention of vision problems.

Staring at our gadgets for eight straight hours can be very harmful because they emit harmful blue light. Our eyes have holes, called iris, through which lights pass, she explained.  “These harmful lights, when absorbed excessively by our retina, can cause eye damage and blindness.”

So how does one prevent vision problems? First, Dr. Go said, one should set a time limit on electronic device usage.  “Don’t stare at your gadgets continuously for long hours, especially not at night before going to bed because that’s the time when our body needs to “heal and recuperate.””

Those who are working in the office must practice the 20/20 rule. “After every 20 minutes of working in front of the computer, take a break and look outside for about 20 minutes, or if not possible, five to ten minutes. Then you go back to working again.”

She added that proper distance from the computer should also be observed. “It helps a lot. Kasi hindi lang mata ang masisira, pati ulo at likod.”  It is a must to blink and rest our eyes from time to time.

Lastly, Dr. Go stressed on the importance of wearing protective glasses with right lenses. “We want to raise awareness on the importance of wearing protective glasses which mean fewer headaches and less eye fatigue and damage caused by harmful lights from computer and devices screens.”

As a testament to their advocacy campaigns, IVC has been working with Essilor, the leading ophthalmic company in the country, for more than three decades now. Both companies share the same vision of raising awareness on proper eye care. The partnership also helps IVC provide advanced products to their clients.

Among the Essilor brands available at Ideal Vision are Crizal, Essilor’s flagship brand that provides complete protection against harmful UV rays; Transitions, the leading photochromic lenses that adapt to the changing light indoors and outdoors; and Varilux, the world’s most advanced progressive lens for those 40 years old and above.

Dr. Go is hopeful that one day, people will realize how important vision care is. She considers it a challenge and finds the thrill in finding new ways to raise awareness on quality eye care for Filipinos.