4th Philippine Quality Award Forum Inspiring More Local Organizations to Achieve Performance Excellence

The Department of Trade and Industry- Competitiveness Bureau recently held the 4^th leg of the Philippine Quality Award (PQA) Forum at the Lyceum of the Philippines University, Capitol Site, Batangas City this year. 

The PQA Forum is conducted annually to showcase the best practices of the previous cycles' PQA recipients. It provides insights for local organizations on how they can achieve performance excellence through the PQA. This forum has been helpful in encouraging other local organizations to deliver a quality service or goods and ensure organizational sustainability by establishing sound processes. 

The Conferment Ceremony of Philippine Quality Award was held in Malacañang Palace last October 24, 2018, wherein 16 organizations received the various recognition levels from President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. With that, four of these recipients from Region IV-A were invited to share their success stories and PQA Journey in this event. The City Government of Tanauan, the Department of Science and Technology IV-A, Colegio de San Juan de Letran – Calamba, and the host for this year’s forum, Lyceum of the Philippines – Batangas, actively shared relevant information in improving an organization’s effectiveness that other companies can emulate. 

Presenters of the forum discussed about lessons they have learned from the results of the assessment, outlook on the future using the PQA system, and of course, best practices with specific results achieved. This information will be useful for aspiring organizations to level up the quality of products and services that they offer to their customers. 

The forum has been a success for being attended by several representatives from the public and private sectors of Region IV-A. This served as a venue for other organizations to gain knowledge from the stories of PQA recipients' quality performance and adapt the strategies towards performance results, leadership effectiveness, customer and employee satisfaction, process management, and being one of the best organizations to deliver quality goods and services. 

COMPLETE CARD ANNOUNCED FOR ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH IN HO CHI MINH ON 6 SEPTEMBER

22 August 2019 – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced its historic first event to be held in Vietnam. Live from Ho Chi Minh City is ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH, featuring the absolute best in world-class martial arts talent. The greatest strikers from all corners of the globe are set to converge at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium on 6 September for an action-packed evening. ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH is also the first event to feature all ONE Super Series bouts. In the main event, reigning ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao of Thailand will defend his title against Brice Delval of France. Ticket information for ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH is available at www.onefc.com. Considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, Nong-O has captured nearly every accolade in Muay Thai. He made his first appearance at the famed Rajadamnern Stadium when he was just a teenager and won. That set off an incredible run of success. The icon has competed in over 300 professional bouts. During that time, he claimed two Thailand National Muay Thai Championships, four Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Championships in different divisions, and a Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Championship. Since joining the world’s best strikers in ONE Super Series, Nong-O has dominated the competition. In February, he captured the inaugural ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title with a unanimous decision victory over Han Zi Hao. He then successfully defended the belt in his next bout against Hiroaki Suzuki. Nong-O’s opponent, striking sensation Brice Delval, is a natural talent who trains at the famed Mahmoudi Gym in France. Delval grew up on the French island of Réunion, where he discovered his passion for martial arts. That ultimately led him to the sport of Muay Thai. An S1 Muay Thai World Champion, Delval now joins ONE Super Series. In his official debut, he will challenge Nong-O for the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title. Rising star Saemapetch Fairtex of Thailand returns to action in a Muay Thai contest. The former MTGP Welterweight World Champion joined ONE Super Series in 2018 and has since impressed during his time inside the ring. Prodigiously talented, Saemapetch took up Muay Thai at the age of 11, and a mere three years later, he was already competing at the famed Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok. Now training out of the renowned Fairtex camp in Pattaya, alongside the likes of Muay Thai World Champions Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex and Stamp Fairtex, Saemapetch is certainly a noteworthy talent to watch out for. Saemapetch takes on French Muay Thai Kickboxer and 5-time Muay Thai World Champion and Lumpinee Stadium World Champion Rafi Bohic. Bantamweights Kulabdam “Left Meteorite” Sor. Jor. Piek Uthai of Thailand and Bobo “The Panther” Sacko of France are set to see action in a Muay Thai contest. Kulabdam made a name for himself in the prestigious Channel 7 Stadium with an impressive streak of knockout victories in 2016. He was awarded the Sports Writers Association Fighter of the Year honors for his performances in 2017. Also, he is a 2-time Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion. Sacko, on the other hand, is a WMF Welterweight Muay Thai World Champion and WPMF Muay Thai World Champion. Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Stadium Champion Panpayak “The Angel Warrior” Jitmuangnon of Thailand takes on RISE Featherweight Champion Masahide “Crazy Rabbit” Kudo of Japan in a kickboxing contest. In addition, Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy of Thailand returns to action against WBC Muay Thai Super Bantamweight World Champion Joseph “The Hurricane” Lasiri of Italy, while Singtongnoi Por Telakun of Thailand faces Kohei “Momotaro” Kodera of Japan.. Vietnamese-English athlete Michael “The Beast from the East” Pham and the United Kingdom's Amber “AK 47” Kitchen are set to see action as they face Mohamad Fakri “Ant Man” Bin Yusoff of Malaysia and Viktoria Lipianska of Slovakia, respectively, in a pair of Muay Thai bouts. Also, Vietnamese-Australian athlete Chris Nguyen faces Japan’s Yukinori Ogasawara in a Muay Thai contest. Making her striking debut is Vietnamese-American mixed martial arts star Bi “Killer Bee” Nguyen who takes on India’s Puja “The Cyclone” Tomar in a Vietnamese Super Series Muay Thai contest. Vietnamese martial arts athletes will, of course, be well-represented in ONE Championship’s inaugural event in the country. Set to see action are Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat and Nguyen Thanh Tung, who will take on Malaysia’s Azwan Che Wil and Pakistan’s Shahzaib “King” Rindh, respectively, in Vietnamese Super Series bouts. Last but not least is a pair of kickboxing bouts. World Fighting League Tournament Champion Santino Verbeek of the Netherlands goes head-to-head with WTKA Champion Juan Cervantes of the United Kingdom, while WMC World Champion Beybulat Isaev of Russia locks horns with Brazilian National Kickboxing Champion Anderson “Braddock” Silva. ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH Friday, 6 September Phu Tho Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Main Event ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship Nong-O Gaiyanghadao (C) vs Brice Delval Muay Thai: 65.8kg Saemapetch Fairtex vs Rafi Bohic Muay Thai: 65.8kg Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat vs Azwan Che Wil Muay Thai: 61.2kg Beybulat Isaev vs Anderson Silva Kickboxing: 102.1kg Kulabdam Sor. Jor. Piek Uthai vs Bobo Sacko Muay Thai: 65.8kg Chris Nguyen vs Yukinori Ogasawara Muay Thai: 61.2kg Bi Nguyen vs Puja Tomar Muay Thai: 52.2kg Panpayak Jitmuangnon vs Masahide Kudo Kickboxing: 61.2kg Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy vs Joseph Lasiri Muay Thai: 61.2kg Santino Verbeek vs Juan Cervantes Kickboxing: 83.9kg Singtongnoi Por Telakun vs Kohei Kodera Muay Thai: 61.2kg Amber Kitchen vs Viktoria Lipianska Muay Thai: 56.7kg Nguyen Thanh Tung vs Shahzaib Rindh Kickboxing: 70.3kg Michael Pham vs Mohamad Fakri Bin Yusoff Muay Thai: 70.3kg For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™ ONE Championship (ONE) is the largest global sports media property in Asian history, and the largest producer of millennial live sports content in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE is the Home of Martial Arts, and is the world's largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more. ONE hosts the biggest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world's best martial artists and world champions on the largest global media broadcast in Asia. ONE Esports, a subsidiary of ONE Championship, runs Asia's largest global esports Championship Series with some of the biggest blockbuster game titles in the world. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 2.6 billion potential viewers across 140+ countries with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Startimes, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, Great Sports, Tencent, Star TV, Mediaset Italia, ProSiebenSat.1, Dubai Sports, Turner Sports, and more.

Top 5 New Health and Wellness Trends to Try

“Health is wealth,” the saying goes, but many people often overlook this gem of a concept because of many factors. For one, on top of the demands of a busy lifestyle, workout routines and healthy regimens become boring and uninteresting after a while – or simply get too hard to stick to.

You can get back on track towards wellness by trying out new health routines and practices. AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurers, shares these new wellness trends to revive your interest in a healthier lifestyle:

Online workout subscriptions. If you cannot go to the gym, a few clicks on your computer can lead you to online fitness programs that will help you get fit in the comfort of your own home. One of various exercise routines offered by workout websites may suit your needs and budget. Subscriptions cost only about ₱500 to ₱1,000 per month.

Sound bath. Despite its name, sound baths do not involve water and soap. It is an alternative healing practice that uses sounds and sonic waves to calm the body and mind. As you lie on your back and close your eyes, sound bath healers will produce relaxing music using Himalayan singing bowls, crystal bowls, gongs, chimes, Biosonic tuning forks, shamanic drumming, and other percussion instruments. People now use this auditory approach for deep relaxation and meditation, as the sounds slowly allow them to relax fully and explore the inner self.

Sleep technologies. It is recommended that adults aged 18 to 64 should get seven to nine hours of sleep per day. Not getting enough sleep can weaken the immune system, affect bodily functions,and even increase the risk of future respiratory diseases and cardio-cerebral vascular illnesses. Several companies have developed state-of-the-art devices that can enhance natural sleep and ultimately improve a person's lifestyle: wristbands and smartwatches, temperature regulators, bedside monitors, and smart beds and mattresses to help you get a good night’s rest.

Digital detox. Technology has caused unnecessary stress and emotional strain to many so a growing number of people are trying to “disconnect to reconnect.” Digital detoxification can effectively reduce stress, improve emotional state, increase work productivity and boost social interaction. You will be surprised at how logging off from social media and limiting use of electronic devices can improve your physical and mental wellness.

Intuitive eating. This is perfect for those who find it difficult to follow a strict diet. This no-diet approach is all about eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. Intuitive eating encourages people to have a healthy attitude toward food and body image, and to honor their hunger by finding ways to satisfy it in a healthy way. It also helps people cope with stress and other extreme emotions without using food as a coping mechanism. Intuitive eating does not only focus on losing weight, but highlights the need to feel energized, strong and alive.

As poor health choices can lead to critical illnesses that can affect anyone at any age, it is important to protect yourself from the financial repercussions of getting sick. AXA Philippines has several health plans that suit your need and budget, no matter what life stage you are in. For more information, visit www.axa.com.ph.