#SalamatFrontliners! TikTok to provide $1M aide to PH Medical Frontliners

In this challenging time as the Philippines battles against COVID-19, TikTok has pledged to donate 1 million US dollars to the Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation, Inc. (PGHMFI).

Through PGHMFI, a non-profit organization that is a major partner of the Philippine General Hospital, the donated fund can enable the health care professionals to gain access to essential protective gear and equipment and will also go towards providing hardship relief for health care workers. The foundation stands as a conduit of donations from individuals, corporations, and other foundations, helping the Philippine General Hospital achieve its mission of providing excellent health care for its patients, particularly the indigent. 

“Nothing’s as priceless as a community that comes together in times of crisis and does their part to battle against it. PGHMFI greatly appreciates the enormous support from TikTok, which will help us secure PPEs and essential supplies to the front line health care professionals of PGH. This is truly a big help as the PGH continues to fulfill its role as a government-designated COVID-19 hospital. With coordinated efforts, we believe we can prevent a greater outbreak, save more lives and start healing,” said PGHMFI President Dr. Telesforo Gana.

This is part of TikTok's efforts across the globe to help the health care community in the fight against COVID-19. TikTok hopes that the donation will benefit doctors and medical workers in the Philippines who are working around the clock and under incredibly challenging circumstances to save lives. 

"TikTok could attest to the Filipino resilience. We have witnessed how the Filipino community  managed to look out for each other and bring a smile or deliver a message of hope despite the gravity of the situation. We are grateful that TikTok has been part of Filipinos' everyday lives. We hope that this donation will give our medical frontliners the best equipment and supplies that will lead to the healing of the Philippines. From the bottom of our hearts, maraming salamat Pinoy community, and salamat, frontliners!,” shared Helena Lersch, Global Public Policy Director, TikTok.

The TikTok community has also come out in full force to show their support for local doctors and health care workers through the #salamatfrontliners campaign. As of April 8, the campaign has received 29,742 videos and 56,209,777 video views.

In response, health care professionals took to TikTok to share their messages of hope and inspiration, with some of them dancing to “Fight Song,” as the song’s lyrics aptly represent their battle against the pandemic on the frontline.

As health care professionals continue to fight against the virus, TikTok is committed to doing its part by ensuring its community receives guidance from trusted local authorities, and encouraging its users to stay safe and #enjoyathome.

Send some love to your loved ones via Paymaya

As the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon has been extended, sending and receiving funds whether for our loved ones, for those in need, or for payment to small business owners, is now more critical than ever. If you're planning to transfer funds soon, here are three ways you can do it via PayMaya: 

• Send to another PayMaya account via the "Send Money" function on your PayMaya app

• Send to any bank under Instapay via the "Bank Transfer" function on your PayMaya app

• Send to Smart Padala agents/Palawan Express via the "Send Money" function on your PayMaya app (don't forget to make sure that your Smart Padala agent is open!)

METROBANK and GT CAPITAL HOLDINGS DONATE PHP 8 MILLION WORTH OF PPEs TO HOSPITALS IN METRO MANILA

To support initiatives that will directly aid the fight against COVID-19, the Ty Family-led companies Metrobank and GT Capital Holdings Inc., through the Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) and GT Foundation, Inc. (GTFI) released PhP 8 million to fund purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to benefit healthcare frontliners. 

PhP 5 million worth of  PPEs, which include hazardous material suits, face shields, N95 masks, gloves, and shoecovers, were donated to two (2) COVID-19 Referral Centers namely University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) and Lung Center of the Philippines, each receiving 1000 sets. Another 2000 sets were donated to the City Government of Manila, through the Office of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, to cater to six (6) District Hospitals in the city namely Justice Abad Santos Medical Center, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Ospital ng Tondo, Sta. Ana Hospital, Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Center and Ospital ng Maynila. Through the efforts of the Xavier School Alumni Association, another PhP 3 million was given to support the operations of the San Juan Covid Kalinga Center which is the extension facility of the San Juan Medical Center.

 City of Manila Vice Mayor Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan and Manila Police District Special Mayor's Reaction Team Head and 2017 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipino Police Officer Major Rosalino Ibay received the donation on the City’s behalf.

Receiving the donations are representatives of  Lung Center of the Philippines 

 The donation is part of the P200 million pledge by Metrobank and GT Capital Holdings Group in support of the efforts to combat COVID-19.

It’s time to try flexing some creative muscle with your little ones while doing something new!

Thinking of what else you can do at home with your little ones? 

Keep them entertained with new curated Print & Play activities from HP. Suitable for ages 2 to 12, kids can try out hours of craft making, mazes, dot-to-dot drawing and many other puzzles. 

Whether you are looking for content to support your child’s home-based learning or trying to juggle work and play, you can find printable arts & crafts to create fun and engaging experiences to bond with your kids. With HP Print & Play, parents can choose from a range of activities that are best suited to their children’s needs to achieve the best possible learning outcomes. 

Why We Print & Play - The HP New Asian Learning Experience Study

With the need to spend more time at home, parents are on the lookout for exercises that can stimulate a child’s mind and invoke a greater love for learning.  

HP’s New Asian Learning Experience Study identifies millennial parents’ attitudes towards learning and how their personalities impact the way their children learn. Our study shows that while print and digital each have their own strengths, a combination of digital and print was most beneficial in helping children stay focused and engaged while they learn.

Parents in the Philippines said that printed materials were better used for activities related to art (61%), math (60%), and memorization (50%), whereas electronic materials better facilitated learning in music or auditory skills (60%). 

HP Print & Play was created from a need to help parents bridge the gap between education in school and learning at home by supplementing their child’s learning while making playtime at home more engaging. 

Parents can refer to the study findings to understand how to best use different formats to facilitate positive learning outcomes without taking the joy out of learning.

AGE GROUP	ACTIVITIES
2 to 4 years old	ANIMAL FUN – learn through play with cute animal buddies!  ·       Find the Bunny’s Way Level: Easy Estimated Time: 10 Minutes Help! The little bunny is trapped! Tag team with your little one to save the poor rabbit and help him find his way through the maze – start from where the red arrow is pointing and exit through the green arrow. Pro tip: after drawing the correct path, colour the different pathways to make it into a funky piece of artwork!
	·       Connect to see the Cow  Level: Easy Estimated Time: 15 Minutes Little cow can’t find his spots! Can you help him? Get your child to finish the drawing while following the numbers with the dots. Complete the picture by getting them to colour it in.
	·       Build a Bird Level: Medium Estimated Time: 15 Minutes What is that you spot with your little eye, flying in the sky? Try out some craft fun with your little one by getting them to make their own bird in three simple steps!  Pro tip: create more animals with the other paper craft activities to build your own animal farm.
4 to 8 years old	FRUIT FUN – learn through play with these fruity challenges!  ·       Solve the Pear Puzzle Level: Easy Estimated Time: 15 Minutes It’s sweet and yellow with a nice crunch in every bite. Can you guess what I see? I see a pear!  Challenge your child to piece together the fruit with this puzzle.
	·       Put the Fruits Correctly Level: Medium Estimated Time: 20 Minutes Are you a professional packer? Sort the fruits into the right boxes! Work with your child to help put the fruits in the right boxes through the maze.  Pro tip: End off with colouring the different pathways to create a new artwork!  Applicable for 8 to 12 years old as well.
	·       Connect to see the Crab Level: Difficult  Estimated Time: 30 Minutes Oh no! The poor crab is missing its pincers! Connect all the dots to draw all its missing parts. As an added activity, have your child colour the crab to create a special artwork that you can put on your fridge! Pro tip: Join your child in a “race” to see who completes the activity first. Give it a go for lesser time if you want to train up their speed.
8 to 12 years old	CULTURAL FUN – learn through play with different cultures!  ·       Find the Elephant Level: Difficult  Estimated Time: 30 Minutes It’s massive animal with a long trunk! Some of them grow very large tusks made with ivory. Can you guess what animal I see? It’s an elephant! Find the elephant with this puzzle.
	·       Creating a Seventh Wonder of the World  Level: Difficult  Estimated Time: 40 Minutes Have you always wanted to explore the world and visit the seven wonders of the world? Take craft making to another level by having your little one build their very own miniature Taj Mahal!  Pro tip: aside from doing the craft, take the time to share some knowledge about India and the iconic site.
	·       Colour the Map  Level: Difficult  Estimated Time: 40 Minutes Mr Koala bear is cute, furry and always sleeping. What else do you know about him? Do you know where he lives? Get your child to colour the map of Australia based on their own interpretation. Pro tip: use this time to teach about the different colouring techniques such as gradient colouring, or using watercolours aside from just coloured pencils.

 

Your Learning Buddy At Home
	HP Ink Advantage Small yet mighty, the HP Ink Advantage is designed to fit your child’s study desk. Aside from its wireless printing capabilities, this compact printer allows you and your child to easily handle most scan jobs, from plain paper to photos with HP Scroll Scan.
	HP Smart Tank Hoping to take learning to another level? Allow your creativity to flow with the HP Smart Tank which allows for high volume printing from your phone via the HP Smart App or your laptop – perfect for creating that journal of Print & Play activities with your child. What’s more, its spill-free refill system using Original HP high-yield ink bottles allows for convenient “replacement” of ink.

For more information on how to keep learning, keep working and keep going, visit your nearest HP Authorized Premier Reseller or log on to HP.com. You may also visit the official HP flagship store at Lazada and Shopee.

BDO to online bankers: “Never share your OTPs!”

BDO Unibank, Inc. warns against scammers who are taking advantage of the enhanced community quarantine to trick people into giving their personal information, such as usernames, passwords, account numbers, and One-Time PINs (OTPs). Using this information, scammers take their victims’ identities, access their online bank accounts, and steal their hard-earned money.

Pretending to be bank officers, they communicate with accountholders over the phone, SMS, email, or even social media and urge them to verify their accounts or validate a transaction by sharing their personal information. Alarmed and anxious, many are victimized, especially those who are new to online banking.

BDO assures its clients that real bank officers will never ask for their personal information. One of the best defenses against scam, according to the bank, is never sharing OTPs with anyone.

Never share OTPs

OTPs provide another layer of protection for online bankers. They can be used once and only within a short span of time. The bank sends these unique six-character codes on two occasions: first, to complete a mobile number’s registration to BDO Online Banking, and second, to confirm an online transaction. 

Besides asking directly, scammers can obtain OTPs from a stolen phone. They can hack apps, which may have the owner’s banking details to make quick online transactions. The bank reminds its clients to report when their registered mobile devices are stolen or missing, so that it can detect unauthorized transactions from it.

Some scammers select their victims carefully. They gather their victims’ personal information first before attacking. Through a scheme called SIM swapping, they pretend to be the mobile owner and deceive a phone line carrier into giving out a new SIM card.

BDO advises clients, when they notice unusual activities on their mobile devices, to ask their telecommunication company to block their SIM number and for extra safety, freeze their bank accounts through customercare@bdo.com.ph or BDO Customer Care on Messenger.

Keep personal info private

With the community quarantine in place, many Filipinos are shifting to online banking to stay at home and safe from the virus. Through BDO Online Banking, clients can pay bills, send money, load up their prepaid mobile phones, and check account balances.

BDO encourages those who would like to bank online to visit its official website, click on “eBanking,” then “Online Banking,” then “Enroll Now.” An ATM activation code will be sent out via SMS after the application form is completed. This code will allow clients to confirm their enrollment at the nearest BDO ATM. 

COVID-19 did not stop scammers from doing what they do best; in fact, it has only fueled them to intensify their attacks. From pretending to be bank officers to staging coronavirus-related schemes, they continue to take a shot at unsuspecting accountholders.

BDO however, reiterates that for as long as clients do not share their personal information with anyone, including their OTPs when they bank online, they can beat scam attacks and protect their bank accounts.

Globe Studios via .giff teams up with local filmmakers and enthusiasts to raise funds for daily wage film workers

In light of the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon, the Philippine film industry along with many other local businesses continue to be impacted as normal operations and services are put on halt. Globe recognizes this pressing need and continues its efforts to help frontliners and daily wage earners who have been affected by these developments through a new unique collaborative effort with film artists. 

Globe Studios via .giff festival of new cinema has teamed up with Lockdown Cinema Club, a coalition of independent Filipino filmmakers who wish to reach and help their colleagues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to raise funds for daily wage film industry workers in the country. Workers affected by the crisis include crew members, electricians, caretakers, camera men, artists, post-production assistants, and everyone who is vital in creating a film.  Majority of them are freelancers and are compensated on a per project basis.

To raise funds, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, production designers, production managers, film editors and film students will showcase their best works online and for free via https://giff.ph/watch/. Film enthusiasts and audiences from all walks of life can visit the page to stream, enjoy their favorite films, and take part in raising funds through donations via GCash - all while staying connected, inspired and #SafeAtHome. 

As of April 7, the initiative has extended aid to over 1000 film workers. Through the combined efforts of .giff, Lockdown Cinema Club and local film aficionados, the goal is to raise P3,000,000 in the succeeding weeks of the extended ECQ. 

Everyone is invited to watch all they want through the .giff site https://giff.ph/watch/ and give what they can via the GCash QR code found within the same page. For updates, you may visit the official Globe Studios FB page at https://www.facebook.com/globestudiosph/ .