FPG Insurance President and CEO Ramon Yap Dimacali and Connext Insurance Agency President and General Manager Jonathan Ramirez as they pose together with the candidates of 2018 Miss Earth.

MANILA, Philippines – 30 gorgeous Miss Earth candidates join Connext Insurance Agency, an emerging and innovative insurance provider, and FPG Insurance, the major player in the general insurance industry and leader in motor insurance coverage, in pushing the envelope to move towards ‘paperless’ insurance policy during an event last October 23, 2018 at The Viridian in Greenhills, San Juan City.

(L-R) FPG Insurance President and CEO Ramon Yap Dimacali and Ortigas Branch Head Rowena Cuaresma together with Connext Insurance Agency Finance and Accounting Head Kim Ramirez, and President and GM Jonathan Ramirez

The event was graced by the Air Group of Miss Earth candidates including Miss Earth Philippines bet Celeste Cortesi who is very positive for a back-to-back win. FPG Insurance Ortigas Branch, headed by Ms. Rowena Cuaresma, takes pride in having Connext Insurance Agency as its top producer and among those who find exciting ways to promote safety and insurance through various channels such as the Miss Earth pageant.

Meanwhile, Connext President and General Manager Jonathan Ramirez shared with the ladies and members of the press his vision of moving insurance towards not only to a more efficient business process but also an environment-friendly one.

Miss Earth Philippines Celeste Cortesi flanked by Mr. Ramon Dimacali and Mr. Jonathan Ramirez

“We would like to challenge the current process of insurance companies, including us, that depend heavily on actual manpower logistics and the excessive paper we print out. We saw Miss Earth, an institution that advocates environment conservation, as an ideal platform, and FPG Insurance as the perfect partner, to introduce our latest technology and business process to the market,” said Ramirez.

(L-R) Miss Earth Crimea Ksenia Sarina, Miss Earth Peru Jessica Ruso, and Miss Earth Chile Antonia Figueroa

The event kicked off the partnership among Connext Insurance Agency, FPG Insurance, and Carousel Productions, the organizer of the 17-year long pageant, to promote the norm of insuring among the public and recognizing that peace of mind is something as valuable as time.

“We are very happy to be a part of Connext’s vision of changing the landscape of the general insurance industry. FPG Insurance will always be a staunch supporter of innovation and advocacies that contribute to better lives,” said Ramon Yap Dimacali, President and CEO of FPG Insurance Philippines.

(L-R) Miss Earth Guam Emma Sheedy, Miss Earth England Abby-Anne Gyles-Brown, Miss Earth Cuba Monica Aguilar, and Miss Earth Ghana Belvy Naa Teide Ofori

Formerly known as Federal Phoenix Assurance Co., Inc., FPG Insurance was established in 1958 and is a member of the Zuellig Group of Companies in implementing bespoke insurance and risk management solutions for its clients. FPG Insurance is the trusted name in general insurance solutions. FPG Insurance also has operations in Indonesia and Thailand.

Breaking ground for another milestone. Together with the University Chaplain, OLFU executives set a time capsule in the four-hectare Macabling property in Santa Rosa, Laguna, for the groundbreaking of a new campus. From left: Yvonne S. Guevara, Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Enrico O. Santos, Member of the Board of Trustees; Don August O. Santos, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Fr. Lito Caliwag, University Chaplain; Dr. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez, University President; Dr. Mylene S. Abad Santos, Vice President for Student Affairs; and Robert Bjorn O. Santos, Alumni Affairs Director.



Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) takes its first foray to the south following 50 years of providing quality education in and around Metro Manila as well as Central Luzon with the groundbreaking of a sixth campus set to rise in Santa Rosa, Laguna.



“When we open a campus, the first and foremost that we have in mind are the students coming in,” said Don August O. Santos, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of OLFU. “With any person who goes through Fatima, and graduates with a degree from Fatima, there’s a sense of achievement that we were able to mold that person to the best that he or she could be.”



The new campus is set on a spacious four-hectare property in Macabling and will initially house a five-story building complete with school facilities and amenities for holistic student learning. Like in OLFU’s other locations, the Laguna campus will offer business courses together with the university’s trademark healthcare programs to meet the demands of the Santa Rosa community.

“We’ll offer both medical and business programs so we are able to address current needs. If there’s a strong calling for business programs, we’ll include them in our offerings,” OLFU President Dr. Caroline Marian S. Enriquez said. “Because we are known for our medical programs, we’ll include those as well. We’re delivering the best for each program.”

A nod to heritage, this milestone reflects a return to the humble beginnings of one of OLFU’s founders, Professor Jose Olivares. In 1967, Professor Olivares founded a 25-bed general hospital in Valenzuela City to convince his son-in-law, Dr. Vicente Santos, to cancel migration plans to the United States. Soon the hospital grew to a nursing training center in 1973 and then to a medical college in 1979. Further expansion led to a second campus as well as a more diversified academic program in the 1990s. In 2002, Our Lady of Fatima College was granted university status by the Commission on Higher Education.

“It’s like coming full circle. When we were kids, we would go to the Olivares ancestral house in Santa Cruz, Laguna, and we would always pass along this path (the new campus site),” Santos said. Santos and Dr. Enriquez are among Professor Olivares’ seven grandchildren who are part of the university leadership.

“We thought it would be a good idea to come back to where we came from. Our roots are from Laguna,” Dr. Enriquez explained regarding why the university chose Santa Rosa for its latest campus.

The Laguna campus adds to Our Lady of Fatima University’s roster of educational institutions located in Valenzuela City, Quezon City, Antipolo City, City of San Fernando (Pampanga), and Cabanatuan City (Nueva Ecija).The university offers several courses including Hotel and Restaurant Management, Information Technology, Accounting, Education, Civil Engineering, Criminology, Psychology, and Maritime Education, as well as its heritage healthcare programs, namely Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Medical Laboratory Science, and Dentistry. OLFU is currently home to about 45,000 students across all campuses.

MANILA, October 24, 2018 – Brother Industries, Ltd., the parent company of Brother Philippines and one of the leading global manufacturers of printers, scanners, and related equipment, has won the Japanese “Good Design Award 2018” in six categories.



Since its first win in 1960 for its home sewing machine, Brother has won the same award for a total of 205 different products, including the ones this year. Furthermore, this will be the 26th consecutive year of awards since1993.



According to Brother Philippines President Glenn Hocson: “The Good Design Award evaluates not only the exterior beauty of products, but also the user experience and environmental impact of the design, as well as the products/services’ ability to present new ideas to society. Winning the award recognizes the concerted effort by all Brother employees involved in developing, manufacturing and delivering Brother’s products and services.’’



Based on their motto “At your side”, Brother is committed to always placing the customers first by designing products that suit their needs. Brother is determined to continue to provide superior value through product design.



Good Design Award-Winning Products

Out of the six winning products, two are available in the Philippines. The first is Brother’s HL-L2375DW monochrome laser printer, which allows high-speed printing of up to 36 pages per minute (ppm) for letter size and 34ppm for A4 size, automatic 2-sided printing, and wireless connectivity for productivity and convenience.

Mono Laser Series HL-L2375DW, DCP-L2535D, FAX-L2710DN

Garment Printer GTX

The second product is Brother’s direct-to-garment (DTG) inkjet printer called GTX, which combines itsseamless design with accelerated print speed, lower maintenance, easy customization, flexible quantities, and other top-notch features that take conventional DTG printing to the next generation.



To learn more about the Good Design Award, visit http://www.g-mark.org/?locale=en. For more information on Brother’s products and services, log on to Brother Philippines’ website at www.brother.com.ph, like its Facebook page (Facebook.com/BROTHERatyourside), and follow it on Twitter (@BROTHERPhils) and Instagram (@BrotherPhils).

Little girls transform into Shimmering Princesses in this magical dress available at Toy Kingdom.

Creep it Real this Halloween with Toy Kingdom’s latest collection of Scary Suits, Magical Dresses, Pixie Wings and Spooky Hats that will bring a fresh new look to trick or treat chills and thrills. 

One of the country’s biggest educational institutions, STI, prides itself in providing innovative learning and relevant education to its students. For the past 35 years, STI has produced exemplary graduates who are highly prepared for the real world through its Enrollment to Employment (E2E) system—a holistic education approach for student development.




Holistic education is promoted through specialized co-curricular and extra-curricular programs that allow students to hone and exhibit their talents inside and outside of their respective courses. For instance, as part of its student development programs, the school holds its annual STI Talent Search, which brings together the best and brightest students across its network of campuses nationwide.




This year, more than 20,000 senior high school and tertiary students gathered and competed in this year's STI Singing Idol, Battle of the Bands, Hataw Sayaw dance competition, and the much-awaited Search for Mr. and Ms. STI 2018. This year’s program highlighted STI’s 35th anniversary with a whole day of festivity at the Enchanted Kingdom park in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.



For the upcoming second semester, students can look forward to a line-up of activities where they can continue to showcase their creativity and skills outside the classroom. Other major events that students look forward to include the STI National Youth Convention, the largest educational caravan in the country, and the STI Sports Cup featuring the National Basketball Tournament and the National Volleyball League.




STI offers a standardized curriculum with mirrored activities across its network. This guarantees that every student experiences the same developmental activities in each campus in its network.




STI looks forward to helping students reach their full potential and hone their skills as they deliver quality education and services. “Apart from the skills, the knowledge and the competencies that they learn in the classroom, they are able to also interact with others, collaborate, and communicate. So all of these are part of our developmental activities,” said STI assistant vice president for academic research Aisa Hipolito,




In line with its continuing mandate to provide holistic education and to produce highly competent graduates, STI once more opens its institution for enrollment in the second semester of 2018. For students planning to shift courses or to transfer for the second semester, STI also provides hassle-free processing through the STI Priority Transfer Program. For more information, visit www.sti.edu