Friday, January 21, 2022
After making headlines with generation-defining songs that celebrate individuality and empowerment, Maris Racal is back with another track that fits cohesively in the country’s ever-diversifying P-Pop music landscape.
Featuring up-and-coming singer-songwriter and rapper raven, Maris Racal’s latest single “Pumila Ka” asserts the internet-breaking star’s knack for capturing the zeitgeist and shaking up outdated conventions in mainstream music.
On “Pumila Ka,” the recording artist claps back at those who use their privilege and entitlement for all the wrong reasons. The empowering tune emphasizes that people need to be more aware and considerate of those around them – that it’s okay to aim high as long as you won’t be hurting or do anyone wrong in the process.
In an Instagram post, Maris Racal dedicates the song to everyone who had to line up and work hard in order to achieve their goals. “Time will come that you’ll get through your destination and live up your dreams,” the Ate Sandali hitmaker said.
“Pumila Ka” is accompanied by a colorful music video that bursts with the 24-year-old singer-songwriter/actress’ chameleonic persona. Helmed by veteran filmmaker Treb Monteras, the visuals offer a choreography-heavy spectacle that brings listeners back to the era of early 2000s pop music, led by artists such as Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.
Upon the release of the music video, “Pumila Ka” instantly climbed the iTunes Philippines chart at No. 3, and trended on Twitter Philippines at No. 1 for several hours. As of press time, the MV has racked up more than 100,000 views.
The unapologetic bop is written by Maris herself and singer-songwriter/rapper raven, with production by Rico Blanco. According to raven, who happens to contribute a verse on the multihyphenate star’s 2022 single, working with Maris was a fun and exciting experience. “I used to watch her in PBB, and I’m glad that I got to collaborate with someone as talented as Maris. The verse that I’ve written for her was based on a true story.”
The bedroom musician shares that it was his first time appearing in a music video with backup dancers and a more elaborate setup. He also praised Maris Racal and Rico Blanco’s work ethic as collaborators, and their kind gesture of making him comfortable during the entire shoot. “At first, I felt intimidated by Maris and sir Rico, because I’m not used to working with artists of their caliber. Good thing they were approachable and very accommodating on the set. I’ve learned a lot of things from them.”
“Pumila Ka” marks Maris Racal’s first release of 2022, and continues the journey of her previous singles “Ate Sandali” and “Asa Naman.” Both tracks earned positive feedback from music critics and fans for steering pop music forward with exciting new ideas.
The song also serves as raven’s latest offering since 2021’s Lika Na album, a collection of songs that put refreshing spin on ‘90s indie rock, lo-fi hip-hop, folk, and bedroom pop. The record includes hits and absolute gems such as “Ngayon Lang ‘To,” “Paraluman,” “SUKI (which includes Rico Blanco on production),” and “Kung Tayo, Tayo.”
Maris Racal and raven’s “Pumila Ka” is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music. Watch the music video here.
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Real estate is one of the few industries that thrived during the pandemic. But as with other sectors, only brands that can quickly adapt to full digitalization and drive online sales can see light in the post-pandemic world.
Lumina Homes, the ever-innovative housing brand for the middle-income Filipino, continues to be at the forefront of digital real estate selling.
Not only has the company become a go-to brand for homeowners and investors during the lockdowns, it has also been offering a unique opportunity for candidate sellers.
Aside from providing regular training and webinars about digitization in the real estate industry, Lumina continues to provide digital tools that make home selling easier to its partner sales network.
Lumina Homes Online
The one-stop-shop online reservation portal makes it simple for accredited brokers and sales agents to hold the preferred unit on behalf of their customers. Once the seller has reserved units in the available inventories for their clients, Lumina Homes will automatically send a reservation payment link to their email addresses.
An Interactive Project Map also allows both buyers and sellers to view Lumina Homes’ available units in the subdivision map. This gives them a better idea of the unit’s exact location within the subdivision, similar to how you reserve a plane or theater seat when making an online reservation.
Lumina Online University
Gone are the days when candidate sellers and partners travel to Lumina’s physical offices to formalize their training.
Today, they can receive their certifications in the comfort of their homes by attending Lumina Online University’s two-level learning course.
The Beginner's Course includes modules about the Fundamentals of Lumina Homes and Lumina Online Training System Guide, while the Advanced Course includes modules about Recruitment and Training, Facebook Marketing, and Digital Marketing.
Sellers’ Portal
All the mentioned digital tools can be accessed through the Lumina Sellers’ Portal—everything a seller needs to know about Lumina Homes’ condo units or house and lot packages. It’s also where sellers can track upcoming events and activities, promos, and ongoing sellers’ incentives. They can also check pricing updates, view maps, see a complete directory of Lumina offices and site locations nationwide.
Lumina Homes takes pride in introducing these sellers’ portal even before the pandemic happened, a proof of its forward-thinking characteristic that it wishes to extend to its sellers.
As such, site visits or trippings are easily scheduled online, which can also be done through 3D virtual tours, to the excitement of interested homeseekers during the lockdowns.
Virtual Tours and Online Appointments
Lumina is equipped with a virtual 360-degree house tour of its best-selling homes, so sellers and homebuyers can have a walk-through of their home models online. Homeseekers, with the assistance of their brokers or agents, can easily search for their dream home through Lumina's digital solutions. They can choose from virtual home and subdivision tours, book online appointments, and pay through digital wallets and digital banking.
Lumina Homes’ official website, www.lumina.com.ph is an effective venue to explore its best-selling home models in 3D: Angelique at 35 square meters with two-bedroom and one carport provision, and Angeli at 42 square meters with three-bedroom and one carport provision.
There’s also a virtual tour of Lumina’s signature showcase area, which offers a preview of a Lumina Homes community.
Earn more at Lumina Homes
Lumina Homes has recently increased the commission rate by 6% for its partner sales network, on top of other perks and promos, such as “Complete It to Win It,” where sellers can get additional cash incentives as they guide their buyers through the homeownership journey.
Be an accredited seller of Lumina Homes today! Register at https://sellers-portal.lumina.com.ph/accreditation or contact (0917) 629-6523.
As the e-commerce industry rapidly grows, so do the avenues and opportunities for digital MSMEs to stand out. With this need to adapt quickly, Shopee recently held its Shopee Seller Operations Excellence Awards to recognize sellers who performed exceptionally during Shopee’s mega sales and campaigns in the final quarter of last year.
With three categories based on what helped paved the way for their success, these sellers maximized the tools and tailor-fit platform features Shopee provides in order to emerge as among the fastest-growing sellers in the platform:
Campaign Ready Award: Sellers who have the best campaign preparation performance
Top Campaign Day Performer Award: Sellers who have the best order fulfillment performance during a campaign day
All-Around Award: Sellers who have the best overall performance during campaign season, from preparations to fulfillment of orders.
Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines, said, “Growing in e-commerce is a journey, and we are glad to support our sellers every step of the way. Shopee is pleased to recognize and celebrate these sellers who are exemplary in using Shopee-provided tools and opportunities to grow their business. We believe that they will be an inspiration to many other Filipino entrepreneurs who are already Shopee sellers or soon to embark on their digital journey with us.”
Shopee’s monthly campaigns and initiatives have helped to boost sellers’ sales and growth on the platform. During its 11.11 Big Christmas Sale, local sellers benefited from the spike in shopping activity, as those joining 11.11 for the first time saw their orders surge 18 times compared to an average day. For its 12.12 Big Christmas Sale, sellers in non-metro cities benefited from the increased visibility at seeing a 12-time uplift in orders compared to an average day.
Shopee also enables its sellers to thrive through dedicated mentoring, free training sessions, as well as exclusive online courses in Shopee’s Seller Education Hub. These efforts to make e-commerce accessible for all include helping sellers maximize the benefits of digital payment options via its integrated mobile wallet, ShopeePay. Through ShopeePay, sellers can have easier access to their earnings via the Seller Balance feature, allowing for better tracking of their shop’s revenue. Sellers can also directly cash in their ShopeePay wallets with their Seller Balance, so they can enjoy the many features of ShopeePay such as buying load, paying bills, and sending money.
As e-commerce becomes a more integral part of the everyday lives of Filipinos, Shopee invites current and aspiring entrepreneurs to explore the evolving digital space by Getting Started on Shopee!
Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Acclaimed singer-songwriter lullaboy drops debut album, chapters of you
Singapore-based
Indonesian-American artist lullaboy
rings in the new year with his debut compilation album, chapters
of you—released
independently and available now on all major digital streaming
platforms. The record comes with two new songs: “deja vu” and
“open up.”
After being rejected by countless labels,
lullaboy decided to take matters into his own hands across 2021,
releasing a song every month for the whole year. Each song explored
different perspectives around a central theme of discovering what
love means, in all its different shapes and forms. With his storybook
lyricisms and genuine, heartwarming vocals, it didn’t take long for
fans around Southeast Asia (and the globe!) to take notice. This
persistent approach garnered him tens of millions of streams, and
grew his following to an incredible 1.5 million monthly listeners by
the turn of the year.
Hundreds of fans then came together to
co create the artwork for chapters
of you, each submitting
handwritten versions of their favorite lyrics and lines from his
catalogue, to be placed alongside each other in the final image.
“From
songs about crushes to self worth, from regret to filial and
spiritual needs, “chapters of you” represents a photobook that
I’m showing a significant other, but I also hope it represents
every single fan’’s own experience,” the rising
singer-songwriter shares. “I hope that listening to the album will
be like looking into a mirror and realizing that true love is found
in every chapter of your life.”
“dejavu”
is the lead single off of this album, and will be accompanied by a
music video filmed in Malibu, California. The track is an anthemic
one, created together with longtime collaborator Nacho Larrazza, and
combines lullaboy's signature pop sensibilities with powerful, upbeat
soundscapes. It will be released at 2pm (SGT) on the 24 January.
--
Listen:
here
(Private listening
and download link)
Socials:
Instagram,
Tiktok,
Youtube
Press
kit: here
One-sheet:
here
Now more than ever, the world needs nurses – at least 6 million – to fill the global shortage, and consequently meet the global development goals on health, which are to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages, including the provision of universal health coverage.
With the increased demand for nurses in various parts of the world, Filipino nurses who are aspiring to work abroad can seize this opportunity to finally fulfill their dreams of having a lucrative and successful career abroad. While applicants may think that it takes a lot of paperwork to get started on applying for a position overseas, TrueProfile.io, a platform that provides Filipino healthcare professionals around the world with tools they need to secure a lucrative career abroad, offers everything that Filipino healthcare workers need to make the move abroad. Some of the services that are hosted on the TrueProfile.io platform include international job opportunities, document verification,
licensing services, English language training and exclusive informational resources.
To get started, aspiring healthcare workers must collect all the basic requirements which include either a 1x1 or 2x2 ID picture, PSA-authenticated birth certificate, resume, college diploma, transcript of records, employer contract, marriage contract (if applicable), NBI clearance, passport (valid for at least six months), as well as license and certifications.
Next, since many foreign employers will want to make sure all these documents are authentic and valid, applicants must have their credentials verified. This step can easily be done with the help of TrueProfile.io. By signing up to become a member, TrueProfile.io offers its members with a number of career solutions including a free digital CV that can be shared with employers, regulators and recruiters and can also be showcased on social media.
For interested applicants, simply create an account on TrueProfile (https://member.trueprofile.io/register), build a myTrueProfile page, and then set contact settings to the ‘Recommended’ option in order to attract new career opportunities.
To know more, visit https://www.trueprofile.io/
Monday, January 17, 2022
Ushering in a new year also means the chance to make a fresh start. We reflect on the habits we want to change, new behaviors we want to start adopting, and goals we want to achieve. More often than not, the resolutions we set on January 1 get abandoned in a couple of weeks because “life happens.”
While the journey of self-improvement can be daunting, it’s important to remember that taking small steps builds up to significant progress in our goals. For those of us who don’t know where to begin, consider these tips with product recommendations from your favorite brands on Shopee. From January 17 to 31, check out daily exclusive deals from these leading Shopee Mall brands, only at the Brands Spotlight Festival.
Practice Self-Care
Taking care of ourselves is always the first step in achieving our goals. Build up your skincare routine with the new Olay Luminous Niacinamide + AHA Super Serum - its scientifically-advanced formula targets the root causes of stubborn spots, giving you smoother, clearer skin. Don’t forget to give your pearly whites the five-star treatment with the new Oral-B 3D White Luxe Diamond Perfection, which contains a whitening technology that leaves your teeth sparkling clean and protects against new stains. Finally, don’t miss out on a great deal for keeping healthy with the Limited-Edition Ensure Gold HMB Vanilla Bundle, which helps make sure you get the right vitamins and nutrients to power through your days.
Try Something New
If you’re looking to make changes in your life this year, why not start with a bold new hairstyle? Try L'Oreal Paris’ new Bleach Supreme and Ash Supreme, which comes in 7 long-lasting ash shades and lifts your hair up to 8 times lighter, giving you salon-quality results from the safety of your home. Make the most out of 2022 by upgrading your phone to Samsung’s newest Galaxy S21 FE 5G. With its fastest chipset yet, a pro-grade camera, and a 4500 mAh intelligent battery, it takes what you love most in a smartphone so you can live your passions to the fullest. If refining your personal style is one of your goals this year, look no further than the new Mikana Birthstone Pendant to add a unique and elegant touch to your outfits.
Foster Better Work-Life Balance
Working from home continues to be the norm for many of us as we keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Making small improvements at home can help us thrive amid the blurred lines between our professional and personal lives. Start by refreshing your wardrobe INSPI’s new Oversized Shirt Collection, with colorful graphic tees that make you feel polished enough for your next team Zoom meeting, and comfortable enough for post-work lounging. On January 29, avid gamers can get more value for money with the vivo Y20s G with TWS Earbuds Bundle and enjoy a smooth, high-performing gaming experience as you wind down. Lastly, stock up on your household essentials safely and conveniently with Shopee! Enjoy greater savings on bundle deals and discounts on household products, such as UniLove Unscented Baby Wipes. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for January 23, when you can score a special offer on Surf’s Cherry Blossom Bundle only on Shopee.
Gear Up When You’re on the Go
For those who need to leave the house, it’s important to be equipped with the right gear that can help get you through the day efficiently. This OPPO A55 Smartphone with Enco W11 Bundle is the perfect deal for busy bees who are constantly on the go, with its fast-charging smartphone that comes with wireless earbuds that can last up to 20 hours. You can get both the smartphone and the earbuds at a discounted price on January 27. Be on the lookout for an exclusive deal from Unilever Beauty Store this January 24, with Pond’s Antibacterial Cleansing Kit that protects you from 99.9% maskne-causing bacteria.
Optimize Your Household Budget
Here’s a special tip for all supermoms: take advantage of the sulit brand offerings on Shopee when you provide for your children. Give your growing kids the tibay-nutrients they need with this BEAR BRAND Fortified Powdered Milk Drink Bundle, which also comes with a free pack of their chocolate-flavored milk powder to add variety to their daily milk intake. For new mommies, look no further than the Pampers Baby Dry Taped Sulit Box for the best deal on your newborn baby’s diaper supply. Made with light and breathable materials and stretchy tapes that hug your baby just right, these diapers help keep your little one comfortable and fuss-free. Grab this deal on January 31 and get bigger savings on your baby essentials!
Catch the Brands Spotlight Festival on Shopee
Brand Spotlight is the new destination for exclusive daily deals from Filipinos’ favorite brands. Starting January 17, you can look forward to unique brand offers, such as new product launches, bundle deals, and other exciting promos that are available only on Shopee. Learn more about Brand Spotlight and set your reminders on exclusive brand deals here: https://shopee.ph/m/brand-
Enjoy even greater savings when you check out with ShopeePay to avail of daily free shipping and cashback vouchers. Start the year right by using Shopee’s all-in-one e-wallet, where you can also buy load, pay bills, send money, and scan to pay at thousands of merchants nationwide.
Save more and achieve your financial goals through ShopeePay’s discounts. Get up to 10% off on load across all networks and up to 25% cashback on your monthly bills from over 60 billers. If you need to stock up on groceries, get big savings when you avail of ₱1 Deals via “ShopeePay Near Me” and redeem your vouchers when you pay via ShopeePay at partner merchants.
Save on transfer fees with ShopeePay! Enjoy free and real-time cash ins & bank transfers via InstaPay; get up to ₱25 cashback on your InstaPay cash in fee. You can also send money for free to any ShopeePay user. To enjoy these exclusive deals and more, activate your ShopeePay now for a rewarding cashless experience.
Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.
AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers, received certification as an exemplary workplace in 2021 by the Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute, a global people analytics and consulting firm based in the U.S. that works with companies to build a high-trust and high-performance culture that drive better business performance.
According to GPTW, 87% of AXA employees reported that they feel included and are made to feel welcome upon joining AXA, and that the company truly emphasizes a work culture that embraces people, unique ideas, perspectives, and experiences. The certification is based on third-party assessment and anonymous, voluntary surveys submitted by employees to independent analysts at the GPTW Institute.
“I am filled with pride that AXA has achieved this global recognition, as it cements our reputation as an employer of choice for Filipinos. At AXA, an inclusive workplace culture is of paramount importance to us and our employees always come first. We are committed to listening to different perspectives and making all feel welcome and valued,” said Rahul Hora, AXA Philippines President and CEO.
The company’s core values are a key factor in making AXA Philippines a great place to work, serving as its guiding principle in all undertakings. These values are comprised of Customer First, Integrity, Courage, and One AXA, or CICO. CICO is at the heart of everything the company does, and the management, the sales people, the staff, and the whole community that makes up the company live and breathe this well-defined culture. These are the building blocks of a cutting-edge program and culture relevant to the nature of the times.
AXA Philippines has always put its people first, and has taken concrete steps to show employees that they remain the top priority. For instance, as soon as the pandemic struck, AXA quickly activated its work from home arrangement and mobilized its IT team for 24/7 support to the transition effort, ensuring that employees can adapt to the new reality, further complemented by helpful programs to aid employees with their personal lives while working from home.
“In the ever-changing business landscape, one of the key drivers of success is people –and it is our people that make AXA a great place to work because each one of them adds his or her unique voice to our incredibly vibrant and inclusive company culture,” said Jaspreet Kakar, AXA Philippines Chief Human Resource Officer.
As part of its efforts to become the employer of choice and promote a safe and diverse professional setting, AXA Philippines, together with various organizations also organize events to highlight the importance of empowering women and fighting discrimination and bullying in the workplace. The company also regularly holds a Pride Month celebration for its LGBTQ+ community, as well as a Mental Health Awareness Week and events with fitness companies to help boost the well-being of its employees.
AXA Philippines also has employee engagement activities that promote fun and camaraderie such as recreational clubs and Unplug sessions, and just recently, an additional two days of paid time-off to be able to refresh mentally called the Well-being Day Leave was given to all eligible employees. Aside from that, AXA Philippines was one of the first companies in the country to implement a fully paid 112-day maternity leave for its employees.
More programs that promote a positive work culture and inclusivity are also in development, to further ensure that the company remains to be a great place to work in the future as well.
For more information about AXA Philippines, visit www.axa.com.ph.
Search