How to share hope with our modern day heroes via SM Supermalls

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Christmas is indeed fast approaching and inspite of the pandemic with still the thought of a virus lurking around to strike our vulnerability, we must still not forget to instill the true meaning as to why we celebrate the season.

I still believe there is still the ardent desire to make other people happy and to bless them with the grace from from above by being warmer and generous. After all, it's probably the only opportunity for us to have an excuse why we are being so kind and thoughtful without getting too much attention since everyone else have that good spirit during the Ber months.

Forget about Build, Build, Build for the moment, as we Give, Give, Give especially to those who highly deserve it. 

As we spark the true meaning of the holiday season which is giving, you might want to Share Hope with our modern day heroes by nominating these frontliners:

A. healthcare workers,

B. workers that offer essential products and services, and

C. workers for public health and safety.

The nominated person will get a chance to win P10, 000 worth of SM Gift Certificates!!!

Isn't that amazing!

#SHAREHOPEWITHSM will indeed spark some joy and bring happiness to the recipients of these awesome treats from the biggest mall brand in the country.

Remember that the Promo period is from October 19, 2020 (12MN) to December 14, 2020 (11:59pm) only. So better nominate now those people you want to thank for their service.  What are you waiting for, read the mechanics below and make more people happy this Christmas season.

PROMO MECHANICS

Share Hope with SM Campaign is a digitized gift mailbox wherein customers can submit their holiday wishes for their nominated front line worker.

#ShareHopeWithSM mechanics will also be announced on the SM Supermalls Christmas microsite, social media pages, mall posters, customer service robots, and digital directories in the participating malls.

In order to join, participants can submit their letters by:

STEP 1:

a. Visiting the microsite: https://www.smsupermalls.com/sharehopewithsm/
b. Accessing the SM Supermalls Facebook chatbot;
c. Accessing the SM Viber bot

STEP 2:

A form needs to be filled out with the following information:

a. Full name
b. Age
c. Address
d. E-mail Address (/Parent’s E-mail address for minors)
e. Name of nominated front liner
f. Nature of job of the front liner
g. Story of hope of the nominated front liner (maximum of 500 words)

a. Front line workers is defined as healthcare workers, workers that offer essential services and products, workers for public health and safety

b. Guide questions:

i. Why does the nominated front line worker deserve a special gift this Christmas?

ii. How does the nominated front line worker inspire you?

iii. What do you admire most about the front line worker?

h. Photo with/of the front line worker
i. Contact number of the front line worker
j. Email address of nominee
k. Preferred mall to claim the prize

STEP 3:
Once the form has been sent, customer will be directed to the ‘THANK YOU’ page. Customer has the option to share the weblink on his/her social media pages.


STEP 4:
Customer will be receiving a confirmation email that the electronic letter has been received by the #ShareHopeWithSM team.

4. How to determine the winners:

For the entries to be valid and qualified, the following must be considered:


• Nominated person is a front line worker in the above mentioned industries
• Narrative describes the nature of work of the front liner in 500 words
• Photo with/of the front liner
• One (1) unique customer = One (1) valid raffle entry
• Winner may only win once for the promo duration
• Multiple submissions of the same person will only equate to one (1) unique raffle entry—only the first entry submitted shall be valid


• Five (5) qualified winners/wishes will be granted within the promo period.
• Employees of SM and its affiliates, including their relatives up to second degree of consanguinity or affinity, are disqualified to join the promo.
• Recipient of the gift certificate prize will be the nominated front liner
• Entries will be accumulated weekly, which means non-winning draws will still be included in the next draw dates.
• All entries will be included in the remote electronic raffle draw with the presence of a DTI Representative.

Criteria:

• Employed NGO/LGU/private worker for essential products and services

Verification:

• Full name
• Nature of work
• Proof of employment/work (valid ID)

Prize is non-transferrable and not convertible to cash

5. Announcement of Winners will be following this schedule:

Winner 1: November 3
Winner 2: November 16
Winner 3: November 30
Winner 4: December 14
Winner 5: December 30

One winner will be announced as scheduled above. Announcement of winners will be done via the SM Supermalls digital assets.

6. Winner and nominee shall be notified via their registered mail, email, and SMS confirmation. A proof of consent shall be provided for sharing of the stories and photos. Nominee shall claim the prize in the preferred mall as indicated in the registration form. The winning story and photo will be published in SM Supermalls digital assets.

7. Prize is non-transferrable and not convertible to cash.

8. Winners will be given 60 days from the day of notification/ announcement to claim the prize. Prize will be forfeited in favor of SM in case the prize is not claimed within 60 days. Prizes will be claimed at the mall administration office. Unclaimed prizes shall be forfeited and disposed according to the discretion of the sponsor with concurrence of DTI.

9. The Winner must present the following to an authorized SM Supermalls representative when claiming the prize:

• One (1) valid ID with complete real name, age, gender, picture and complete address. Photocopy of any of the documents (i.e. birth certificate, marriage contract, SSS ID, driver’s license, school ID and/or passport)
• If the winner is a minor, then he/she must be accompanied by his/her parent/s or legal guardian
• Proof of e-mail notification that the said participant is a winner

Control Measures:

1. A DTI representative shall be invited to a Zoom call for a remote checking, testing, validation, and verification of the computer system for receiving entries and registration, assigning random computer-generated raffle entries, and drawing of winners. A copy of the said system shall be electronically signed by the DTI representative for safekeeping of Digify, Inc. for verification of DTI anytime.
2. A softcopy of the properties of the program shall be given to the DTI Representative after verification. The DTI representative shall check the database of the promo.
3. A DTI representative will be invited to the remote drawing of the raffle winners as scheduled.
4. Digify, Inc. will generate a list of qualified participants/entries before the draw.
5. Raffle numbers will be assigned at random to all qualified participants in the presence of the DTI representative before drawing winners.
6. A copy form shall be sealed in an envelope and signed by a DTI representative for safekeeping of Digify, Inc. and for verification of DTI anytime until all prizes are claimed.
7. The first and last number shall be shown on screen before drawing of winners.
8. Winners shall be drawn one at a time using the randomly assigned raffle number.
9. Four (4) reserved entries per mall shall be drawn. The reserved entries shall be numbered and the first reserved entry drawn shall be declared as the winning entry just in case the winner is ruled by the Board of Judges as disqualified with approval from DTI. Process continues until a winner is found.
10. After the winner is determined, it will be verified from the generated list by a Digify, Inc representative and the DTI representative. A soft copy of the generated list of qualified participants and assigned raffle entry shall also be given to the DTI representative.
11. The list of winners will be given to the DTI representative after determination.
12. A printed copy of the properties of the program shall be submitted to the DTI representative after each witnessed draw.
13. Database / list of participants shall include name, age, e-mail address
14. All complaints and queries regarding this promotional activity shall be attended by SM Supermalls hotline that may be reached by dialing (+632) 876-1111 from Monday-Friday at 10am-5pm.
15. Shopping Center Management Corporation reserve the right to disclose and publish names, photos and other information of the winners in any mode or manner, as relevant to the Promotion, in any mode or manner as they may deem appropriate.
16. By accepting the prize, the winner should agree to the following terms and conditions of Shopping Center Management Corporation.

Pinoy Uses COVID-19 Lockdown to Make Game About Vietnam War

Wazzup Pilipinas!

There’s a bright side to being stuck at home. The global lockdowns spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic have given many people the rare opportunity to finish their personal projects.

For a Pinoy game developer with zero programming experience, it was a videogame about the Vietnam War which took almost 20 years to complete.

“I was always interested in history and the Vietnam War in particular,” says game developer Tiger Yan. “I started creating The ‘Nam: Vietnam Combat Operations way back in 2003 but work and life were more important, so the project was mothballed for 17 years. Like everyone else, the COVID-19 outbreak forced me to stay home most of 2020. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to learn basic programming and finally finish what I started.”

Yan, who photographs people and animals in wild and rural areas around Asia, created the game as a free learning tool for people to experience commanding soldiers during the Vietnam War. He used his field experience investigating farm communities and wild areas to make the game as realistic as possible. “From irrigation dikes and rice paddies to barking dogs and crowing chickens, this game brings the Vietnamese countryside to life,” he says. 

According to the game’s Facebook page, players can command US Marines, Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army troops, plus the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The Vietnam War ended in 1975 when the North Vietnamese and Vietcong unified Vietnam under communist rule.


Role of Filipino Troops Highlighted

The Philippines sent over 2000 soldiers to Vietnam as part of the Philippine Civic Action Group Vietnam (PHILCAGV), which can be seen in the game. Led by officers such as former President Fidel V. Ramos, PHILCAGV helped improve the lives of the South Vietnamese people by administering medical and civilian aid. Nine PHILCAGV soldiers died in battle.

The game has been receiving consistently good reviews in fora and Youtube channels. Though it can be downloaded online for free, Yan urges gamers to make a donation to APOPO, a nonprofit organization working to clear deadly landmines in Cambodia.

“In reality, the Vietnam War wrought great misery for the people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. If this game can spur at least one good donation, then it would have been worth it,” adds Yan.

Though COVID-19 has paralyzed the world, people can look at the silver lining. The lockdowns have finally given many people a resource which for years has been in short supply – time.

NTC and their misappropriated high-end mobile phones

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"State auditors found that of the 44 Samsung Galaxy phones purchased by the National Telecommunications Commission, only 4 were used for their intended purpose, while the rest were issued to directors, officers-in-charge and their technical staff"

"In its 2019 audit report, the COA found only 4 out of 44 purchased high end mobile phones are being used to conduct internet speed, reliability, and coverage. 

NTC engineers conducting these tests had to share or borrow from each other."

For the nth time...

Another agency, another kurakot activities nagaganap sa ilalim ng ilong Duterte pero di nya naamoy ang “whiff of corruption”!

Asan na sinasabi ni Digong...

"I will never tolerate corruption in my administration, not even the whiff of it," Duterte said at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City.

Iyong nanggagalaiti pa kuno sa corrupt pero dedma o ipagtatanggol pa 'to.

Lord, two years pa ba talaga kami magtitiis? Ang lala na ho nila.

Namudmod ng free cellphone using our taxes!! 

Ano na DDS, yang poon nyo corrupt ang buong gobyerno! Does the 91% want corruption?

Haissst! Halos lahat na ata ng govt agency ay me corruption natatag ang COA. Maliban na lang sa OVP.

P2.1M para sa 44 na smartphones? At yung talagang kailangan ay yun ang nanghihiram?  Kanino napunta yung iba? Para sa asawa at mga anak ng opisyales?

Mga maluluho pero hindi gamitin sariling pera. Ay, jusko puro nakaw nalang ba kaya ninyo?

Sigurado ako may magandang paliwanag na naman ang mga opisyal dito. 

Sure na sure. Lalabas na mali na naman ang COA. Wait lang ha.

"In its reply, NTC explained its directors also use the phones to conduct tests anytime, anywhere, which can help them formulate new policies to improve broadband services. The COA, however, said none of them submitted actual reports on the tests they supposedly carried out."

O eh di nabuking. Lulusot pa ang mga  tinamaan ng lintik.

This reasoning is so elementary. How could they? Can't a director purchase his own phone or use his personal device for testing? Do they muster fieldwork regularly? Someone has to answer this.

Hindi ba sila binabagabag ng konsensya nila? O talagang wala na silang konsensya? Pera ng taong bayan yang nilulustay nila! Taong bayan na ngayon ay walang trabaho, walang masakyan, walang maipanggamot! Super kapal naman ng mukha kung di sila nababagabag!

Nakakalungkot na maraming mahihirap na  kabataan ngayon ang naghihirap at nangangarap para magkaroon ng gadgets para gamitin sa online classes, pero yung mga taga NTC libreng-libre lang nila nakukuha. Kung sino pa ang gobyerno at dapat nagbibigay ng tamang halimbawa sila pa itong baluktot. Ito ba yung "Change is Coming?" Ito ba yung "Ayoko ng Coruption?"

Those responsible for this need to be called out and made to face its consequences. People who engage in such corrupt practices when not punished become bolder in repeating it. Failure to punish them now becomes our fault as well.

Nasa COA report na naman, but still nothing will change. Rendered useless kasi si Ombudsman tropa tropa ang mga gags!

Hanggat walang nakukulong tuloy tuloy pa rin mga ganyan.