Reloadly partners with PLDT Global to enable migrant Filipinos to support their loved ones from abro

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Reloadly has partnered with PLDT Global to make international top-ups available to migrant Filipinos



PLDT Global has partnered with Reloadly, an international airtime top-up and digital goods solution, to give businesses and their developer teams plug-and-play access to PLDT Global network.

Under this partnership, digital businesses can integrate seamlessly to the PLDT Global network all over the world through Reloadly APIs, supporting the growing demand from the global developer community for innovative airtime solutions for the fintech, NGO, cryptocurrency, e-commerce, and customer rewards industries.

Reloadly is also one with PLDT Global on the mission to transform the lives of its clients globally, accelerating the deployment of high-speed data networks, closing the digital divide in the countries where it operates by deploying digital highways for millions of people who today are taking advantage of the new digital economy.

Acting as an airtime aggregator, Reloadly provides the world’s first dedicated platform for connecting to the global mobile network. Within this platform is a growing toolkit of airtime software, including Reloadly’s airtime API, widget, plugin, SDK, GitHub projects and more, as well as a vast multilingual library of developer documentation to build open-source airtime solutions.

“We are delighted to join forces with Reloadly for its airtime solutions to strengthen our Vortex platform. Our partnership reflects PLDT Global’s commitment to make digital solutions more accessible to Filipinos wherever they are in the world. This will uniquely position PLDT Global to offer a more convenient option for our customers to securely and seamlessly make digital transactions, including paying bills and sending load to their loved ones. This fosters our vision of enhancing connectivity for migrant Filipinos and their families back home,” said PGC Global CEO Albert Villa-Real.

Michel Francis, CEO of Reloadly, says that “Reloadly is a startup with global ambitions that enables users of our airtime software toolkit to easily integrate with top mobile operators like PLDT Global.”

“The vast majority of the world -- about 78% -- still depend on prepaid plans,” Francis adds. “Our mission is to reinvent and break down barriers in the global telco industry by empowering developers and brands to fuel mobile access in markets across the world, most of which have been underserved for far too long.”

Reloadly’s partnership with PLDT Global is an important step to seizing the untapped potential that mobile phone ubiquity has ushered in the global economy. Through this alliance, creating, customizing, and integrating airtime services for creative and innovative new business lines will become more possible than ever.

Reloadly, Inc.: RELOADLY provides simple, intuitive, and flexible APIs to send Airtime, Data Bundles, Gift Cards, and Bill Payments across the world. As the world’s first developer platform for connecting to global telcos, Reloadly provides better building blocks for integrating digital mobile payments. Reloadly built several open source solutions for the developer community, taking the complexity out of integrating with telcos. With a transparent system and direct connection to +800 operators worldwide, Reloadly offers a “pay as you go” platform with plug-and-play technology, being the only company that provides SDKs in the industry.

PLDT Global: PLDT Global Corporation (PGC), the international arm of the Philippines’ largest integrated telco network PLDT Inc., is a technology services company that provides high quality communications infrastructure and innovative platforms to its network of carriers, enterprise customers, and distribution partners enabling them to achieve their desired connectivity, reach, and market relevance. For over 20 years, PLDT Global has built its strong international presence by providing meaningful connectivity and data solutions to a growing network of partners. To find out how PGC can help you achieve your digital acceleration goals, please visit pldtglobal.com

Law Group Warns Food Companies: Eliminate Trans Fat Before FDA Deadline

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“One year left. The food industry must ensure that the food they produce and offer for sale to the public is safe and trans fat-free.”

This is the statement of the law group ImagineLaw today, a year before the deadline for the food industry to remove their processed food products with trans fatty acids (TFA) from the market, as set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through Circular No. 2021-028 which mandates food manufacturers, producers, and distributors to reformulate their products and shift towards a TFA-free food production by June 18, 2023.

TFA is a toxic food additive that increases the risks of heart disease and other non-communicable diseases (NCD). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), trans fat is unnecessary and causes only health harms. To address the prevalence of NCDs, the WHO urged countries to remove trans fat from the global food supply by 2023.

“Industry compliance is crucial in achieving our goal of a trans fat-free Philippines by 2023. With a year before the deadline, we urge the food industry to act now and remove TFA from their food production,” said Atty. Mary Grace Anne Rosales - Sto. Domingo, ImagineLaw’s project manager.

Beginning June 19, 2023, pre-packed and processed food items with TFA or partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) should not be offered for sale in groceries, convenience stores, and the like. Food producers, distributors, and sellers are mandated to exhaust their existing product stocks with high TFA content and PHO before the said deadline.

They are also required to reformulate and apply for a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR), an accreditation for evaluated products that are proven safe and healthy.

After the transitory period, violation of the Circular’s provisions can result in the disapproval of the establishment’s application, and CPR suspension or cancellation.

The FDA regulations implement the Department of Health (DOH) Administrative Order No. 2021-0039 regulating TFA in processed and pre-packaged food items. The national policy was issued as part of the government’s effort to curb NCDs in the country and join the global effort to eliminate trans fat.

“The government and civil society advocated for measures against the harmful TFA. It is now in the hands of the food industry to join the collective health effort by complying with the FDA regulations on time,” Sto. Domingo emphasized.

CICC opens cybercrime laboratory

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The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) unveils the latest and state-of-the-art Digital Forensics Platform and Laboratory (DFPAL). DFPAL will be an important tool of the government’s fight against the rising cybercrimes, especially, Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC). This cybercrime laboratory is located at CICC’s headquarters in Quezon City.

“The opening of DFPAL will allow the CICC to monitor and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies in conducting thorough digital and forensic investigations and assist them in prosecuting cybercriminals nationwide,” says CICC Executive Director Cezar O. Mancao II.

One of the goals of the CICC is to address the problem of OSAEC. “The CICC’s DFPAL was established and operationalized to conduct relentless, coordinated efforts to prevent, disrupt, and possibly stop if not mitigate the issues of OSAEC through the collaborative partnership of local and international stakeholders towards providing a cybersafe environment for children,” says Mancao. “We have acquired a powerful state-of-the-art technology, which will improve the success rates of investigators and policing operations in the ongoing pursuit to identify, apprehend, and convict individuals and networks associated with online child sexual exploitation,” he adds. The DFPAL will be manned by trained and certified professionals from various fields such as information and communications technology, psychology, digital forensics, data analytics, research, and communications that would provide vital support to the operations of the CICC.

The CICC was created by virtue of Republic Act 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, for policy coordination among concerned agencies. It is one of the attached agencies of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) tasked to lead the government’s efforts in the fight against cybercrimes, especially those victimizing the most vulnerable segment in society, our children.

The CICC has undertaken several programs, such as Child Online Safeguarding Policy (COSP), Cyber Patrol Program, Batang Barangay Capability Program, and the Cyber Conflict Program, among others. We are also part of the Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography (IACACP) and the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT).

“OSAEC is a tragic and growing problem in the Philippines, but it does not need to be a permanent one. We will do everything that we can to protect Filipino children. We have to act now and fight against these monster predators. We need to help each other to protect our netizens, says Mancao.”

Vulnerabilities of children

The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the problem of online child exploitation involving child pornography and other forms of child online sexual abuse, specifically with children from low-income families. This has strengthened the resolve of the CICC for safer cyberspace. Mancao says, “To support this advocacy, we have child online protection programs and initiatives in partnership with various civil society organizations and many stakeholders.”

He explains that these crimes are borderless. The unprecedented access to the internet through computers and mobile phones has made children the most vulnerable segment to cybercrime. “These technologies are now embedded in their lives, our lives. With the DFPAL, the CICC will be better equipped to fight OSAEC,” adds Mancao.

DFPAL will serve as proof of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s commitment to fighting the threat of OSAEC. “This will serve as the President’s legacy in gathering all the resources of the government to address this threat affecting thousands of families,” adds Mancao. “The opening of this new facility will provide law enforcement agencies with updated data and intelligence that can lead to the arrest and prosecution of these predators.”

To report a cybercrime against children, you can call our helplines, 09666524885, 09206260217, or via email at report@cicc.gov.ph. You may also reach out to our institutional partners, the NBI-Cybercrime Division (nbi.gov.ph or at (877) 624-7707), PNP – Anti-Cybercrime Group (acg.pnp.gov.ph or at 0998 598 8116), and DOJ – Office of Cybercrime ((+632) 523 8482).