Cetaphil partners with Watsons for the National Healthy Skin Mission

To celebrate 75 years of being the leaders in the sensitive skin space, Cetaphil has partnered with Watsons for this year’s National Healthy Skin Mission.

A brand whose success is built on creating dermatologist-recommended skincare products for every skin story, this year’s National Healthy Skin Mission is an experimental booth located at SM Makati that will serve as a one-stop shop for all skincare needs and will allow customers to learn from trusted dermatologist experts.

The entire roster of Cetaphil products will be sold at the booth. The master brand Cetaphil comprises the iconic Gentle Skin Cleanser, the Gentle Moisturising Lotion, and the Gentle Moisturising Cream. All three products have recently been reformulated with glycerin (to help prevent dryness), niacinamide (to strengthen the skin barrier), and panthenol (to soothe and restore dry skin).

The Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance line is also present at the booth that focuses on brightening skin the healthy way, with practical yet gentle products on the skin. With Bright Healthy Radiance products, you can be sure to target issues like hyperpigmentation, melanogenesis, even skin tone, and dark spot reduction.

Finally, for baby’s skin, the brand offers the Cetaphil Baby range. It features gentle and tear-free formulations, making bath time with your newborn an enjoyable process. Mommies can also avail of the Cetaphil Baby calendula line, allowing their baby’s to have a healthy start in life. While for those with Atopic Dermatitis, the Cetaphil Pro products are also found at Cetaphil’s National Healthy Skin Mission booth.

Buy any of these products for your sensitive skins (or your baby’s!) and get a chance to spin the wheel to take home more free Cetaphil products. In addition, consumers get a limited Cetaphil tote bag if they buy products worth PHP 1500. You can also bring any empty skincare products, and get free Cetaphil products. Lastly, the brand also offers free Dermatologist consultations.

Cetaphil and Watsons have a lot more in store for you throughout the National Healthy Skin Mission event. On September 5, Mariel Padilla will help moms, especially first-time moms to navigate the world of parenting, while on September 14, Michelle Dy will host a masterclass on how to achieve healthy radiant skin.

Learn more about this year’s National Healthy Skin Mission by tuning in to Cetaphil and Watsons' Facebook page.

Empowering through Education project to be launched in Cebu

The empowerment of the out-of-school youth in the Philippines got a shot in the arm with the conceptualization of an innovative mobile classroom project in Cebu.

The project called the "Mobile KART Project" and proposed by SEED4COM got a further boost after it was declared as one of the Top Three winners at the "Taiwan Excellence: Sharing is Caring" philanthropic campaign that started last year. Winning the campaign means the opportunity to create more mobile classrooms that will benefit more out-of-school youth in many other areas in Cebu.

The aim was noble: to assist Cebu’s youth, particularly from poor and marginalized families, and provide them with free access to education with diverse and free-of-charge training courses that will hopefully educate them even in the midst of a debilitating pandemic.

The project will be officially inaugurated and launched on October 2022 at several locations in Cebu City such as Lapu-Lapu City, Cordoba, and Olango Island, among others. It would become doubly significant since the launch will coincide with the holding of the annual Taiwan-Philippines Joint Economic Conference.

The innovative and creative Mobile KART is not just any mobile classroom. It comes equipped with solar panels, laptops, an LED TV display, an audio system, and even routers for mobile internet connectivity, and all are Taiwan Excellence Award-winning products.

The Mobile KART Project offers courses such as "Transformative Educational Access for the Communities and Homes" and also "Technology Vocational Livelihood Skills Training." These courses are meant to teach the poor youth in Cebu’s poverty-stricken areas with valuable life skills, particularly the benefits of reading. Hopefully, the skills will equip them with the knowledge they can use to improve their livelihood or pursue higher education when given the opportunity.

The "Mobile KART Project" is a mobile classroom that originated in Cebu and was part of several initiatives related to education by Sustainable Energy and Enterprise Development for Communities (https://www.seed4com.org/). The organization was established to help improve human conditions and empower poverty-stricken areas and rural and last-mile communities in the Philippines.

Truly, the "Mobile KART Project" winning at the "Taiwan Excellence: Sharing is Caring" was a proud moment not just for SEED4COM but also for the country, according to Dann Diez, Executive Director of SEED4COM, considering the huge number of entries.

Organized by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the vision of "Taiwan Excellence: Sharing is Caring" was to help make society a better place by giving everyone an opportunity to raise ideas about charity and other altruistic activities related to the sustainable development of society and environmental protection by utilizing products of Taiwan Excellence.

Free tickets and books at MIBF 2022 from Rex Education

Rex Education is celebrating the on-site return of the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) 2022 with free tickets, books, and prizes for bookworms, educators, and learners.

Happening at the SMX Convention Center on September 15–18, 2022, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, the 43rd MIBF will bring together members of the local and international publishing industry to offer a comprehensive selection of books, panel discussions, workshops, storytelling activities, and training for readers and learners of all ages.

For first-time and returning attendees, get a free ticket to MIBF 2022 by registering with REX through this link: bit.ly/MIBF2022SignUpForm. Ticket holders can present the ticket at the REX booth 196-205 to receive a special surprise. Free tickets and freebies are limited, so register early and drop by the booth as soon as you can.

For students and teachers, grab a chance to receive free textbooks throughout the fair. REX will be giving out free books on Accounting, Business, Hospitality and Tourism, and Education.

Customers can claim up to three books, while non-buying visitors who come to the booth are also eligible to receive free books.

On top of the freebies, many exciting deals await attendees at the Rex Education booth. For thrift shoppers, browse through the Bukay-Bukay section or purchase tertiary education books at a bargain price of PHP 100.00 and below. Regular titles are also discounted up to 50% off.

After a satisfying book haul, customers can join the raffle to win additional prizes.

REX at MIBF

Rex Education values MIBF as an excellent opportunity to promote its mission of nurturing every child for lifelong learning. The company has been joining the fair for years now to give Filipinos access to more affordable and quality books and learning materials.

When MIBF went digital in 2020 and 2021, REX offered discounted books through the MIBF Online portal and free webinars with its in-house experts. Now that the fair is back on the exhibition floor, REX endeavors to welcome learners back with an eye-catching booth following the theme "Approaches to the New Normal Way of Life."

Considered the biggest and longest-running book fair in the Philippines, MIBF is a haven for artists, bookworms, learners, educators, and publishers alike. MIBF has redefined the reading experience for over four decades now, showcasing the largest and most comprehensive collection of books, magazines, comics, educational aids, and allied materials.

Follow the Rex Education Facebook page for updates on their MIBF offerings, or visit the MIBF official website at www.manilabookfair.com.

Solving family problems in the most excellent way

The Covid-19 pandemic did not spare anyone, in the Philippines or anywhere else in the world. Businesses big or small, tourist destinations, and even the small sari-sari store, did not escape the wrath of the deadly virus.

Moreso, families like the Ekselente family.

The Ekselente family is your typical Filipino brood that struggled mightily during the pandemic. They own a resort, which is both their family home and prime source of income. Since they have no visitors because of the lockdowns and community quarantines, the family business is losing money for lack of income. Worse, the family is considering selling it to be able to survive.

Theirs was an archetypal dilemma that would test their values, and how they would be able to keep the family together in such stressful times was told through the eyes of the family’s helper or “Kasambahay,” Ofelia, who remained loyal and true to the Ekselente family. She shared in their difficulties and heartaches, and even went out of her way to help the family that had been good to her by staying with them, to help them keep themselves together as they go through life’s challenges.

Their story showcased several facets of family life: the emotional struggles of the father, the resolve of the mother whose stabilizing force is tested constantly, and the situation that their son and daughter are in as they suddenly faced an unexpected turn in their life that they were used to before the pandemic when everything was still sweet and rosy.

The story of the Ekselente family was convincingly brought to life through a six-part series that featured real-life scenarios, coupled with pleasant and rejuvenating—sometimes heart-wrenching—music, as the family went through their daily struggles, life suddenly turned upside down.

The father, Jojo Ekselente, is a former Overseas Filipino Worker who bought the resort to show that he is capable of giving his wife, who comes from a well-off family, and his children, whom he barely knew since he was always overseas working, a comfortable life. He returned to the country because of the pandemic but struggled to find a decent job.

Soledad “Sol” Ekselente, the resolute rich kid, struggled in keeping the resort and her family intact, even if she has almost zero experience running a business, let alone a household because she was a unica hija. She is trying to learn to handle things, no doubt, but the hardships kept piling up, like whether to sell the resort or not and keeping away from her snobbish mother.

David Ekselente, the “chill” guy, is the exact opposite of his sister. The family’s “gamer” seems to lack that competitive fire his sister has, and would rather settle with what he has at the moment than chase the bigger things in life and not be too preoccupied with the family’s problems since he has problems with his own.

Cheska Ekselente, the last member of the Ekselente off-springs, is very much like his father—competitive and go-getter—an ambitious Dean’s Lister in college and an aspiring social media influencer. She is driven by her desire to be fully independent and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, yet longs for attention from her father whom she feels she doesn’t know much about since he was always out of the country working, until now that he became jobless but may soon return for work and may leave again.

Finally, the matriarch, Lola Beatrice (Sol’s mother) is the picture-perfect rendition of an alta sosyedad mother– nosy, sneering, condescending—but can be deemed overprotective since Sol is an only daughter. She makes known her disdain for his son-in-law, rubbing in his incompetence by being a lola who spoils her grandchildren, always giving them what they want just to despise their father.

The six-episode Casa Ekselente story was part of an impressive digital marketing promotion initiative for 2022 presented by Taiwan Excellence, and ably utilized the power of cohesive content to broaden engagement and reach. The story of the Ekselente family is part of a strategy that used organic and creative content in order to generate organic reach and strengthen product and consumer connection for six Taiwan Excellence Award-winning brands such as Juliart, Asus, Acer, and FECA during the regular scenes.

For the scenes that involved music, on the other hand, the brands that were seen were Aromase, Annie’s Way, Gigabyte, Johnson Fitness, Tatung, and Transcend.

And the results for Casa Ekselente were totally impressive and significant, where the six episodes garnered over 900,000 views on Facebook and Instagram. It was, indeed, a successful move by Taiwan Excellence that employed excellent strategies in order to achieve excellence and achievement in digital marketing.

Kasama mo sa bawat hirap at ginhawa: These Shopee stories highlight the transformative power of e-commerce and how it changes lives

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, SEPTEMBER 01, 2022 - In the face of adversity, Filipinos have always risen above every challenge by fostering the spirit of Bayanihan. This spirit of community and togetherness is what Shopee recognized and strived for when it first launched Shopee Bayanihan — its umbrella CSR arm that aims to harness the power of technology to serve its customers, sellers, partner riders, and all Filipinos across the country.

Today, Shopee Bayanihan continues to evolve as a multifaceted program with various initiatives catering to Filipinos' needs. Each of these initiatives is grounded in its primary mission to better the lives of the underserved through technology—to be there for every Filipino through every hardship and victory.

In line with these efforts, Shopee highlights the inspiring stories of five individuals, and how Shopee was able to support them in their time of need and help improve their lives. Watch the full video here.

Roel, Shopee Xpress Partner Rider (TransOrient  Agency): A hardworking father who strives to provide

Roel’s journey with Shopee Xpress started when he joined the TransOrient Agency and was placed in the Bacoor Hub. Prior to that, he admitted that he was struggling to make ends meet.By becoming a Shopee Xpress partner rider, he was able to provide for his family and send hischildren to school. "Kapag ako sumuko pa, paano na sila? Wala namang lalaban sa pamilyanatin kung hindi tayo," Roel says.

Roel shared that one of his happiest moments was when his son asked him to wear his ShopeeXpress uniform at his graduation ceremony. He realized that his son was very proud of him, and appreciated everything he had done. "Nabago ng Shopee ang buhay ko at ng pamilya ko. Akoay isang proud Shopee Xpress rider!" says Roel.

Virginia, Shopee Bayanihan: Typhoon Odette Beneficiary: Conquering fear as one community

Virginia is among many beneficiaries of Shopee Bayanihan’s Typhoon Odette Support. She shared that her experience with the typhoon left her frightened and worried about the future of her family and her home. "I was shivering at the thought of what could happen because both my husband and I are sick. I didn’t know what to do. All I could do was pray for the strong winds to stop." she says.

When Shopee Bayanihan’s Typhoon Odette Support rolled out to affected areas in Cebu, Bohol, and Surigao, Virginia, her fellow residents of Tinago, Cebu, were the beneficiaries that received relief packs and other essentials. "We’re grateful that help came to our community. We were not really expecting this, and had no idea that Shopee was going to be there in our time of need," she says.

Mark and Angel, Shopee Sellers: Fighting for their family by driving their business forward

Mark and Angel nearly lost their daughter to biliary atresia, a rare condition that affected her liver and required her to undergo an expensive procedure abroad. In order to provide for their family and help pay for Avery’s maintenance medicine, the couple decided to start their business, Live Pillow. Before taking their business online,  they struggled to generate sales."May mga araw po talaga na wala kaming benta, at sobrang lungkot po namin ni partner nun," shared Mark.

When they  put up  a store on Shopee, they were able to  reach new customers, generatingthousands of orders. Now, Mark and Angel were able to expand their business by having theirown staff and warehouse. "Dahil sa Shopee, nagkaroon kami ng pangalawang pamilya at angstaff po namin ‘yun. Lahat kayo, lahat tayo dito, pamilya." says Angel.

Jocell, Shopee Girl ng Pook Dagohoy: Finding the best deals to support her family

Known as the "Shopee Girl ng Pook Dagohoy", stay-at-home mom Jocelle shared that it washard for her to find a way  to save due to her family’s debt. "Nalubog kami sa utang. Nung nagka-pandemic, nawalan ng trabaho yung asawa ko. Nangungutang na lang ako ulit para maymaibayad sa utang din namin," says Jocell.

Through Shopee, she was able to save on all her essentials and bills. "Na-diskubre ko na pwede akong umorder ng mga diaper na naka-sale sa Shopee, kaya sobrang nakakatipid ako. Yung  ShopeePay  bills  payment  naman   po  doon  po  ako nagbabayad ng ilaw at tubig para makakuha ng cashback," she shares.

Today, Jocelle is able to manage her expenses better, as she is able to get better deals on her family’s needs on Shopee. "Parte na talaga si Shopee ng buhay namin," says Jocell.