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A FILIPINO FOLK SONG ABOUT OUR LOCAL FRUITS

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If you love the classics “Bahay Kubo” and “Da Coconut Nut,” then you are likely to enjoy a new song that has been recently creating buzz; called “Prutas Pilipinas.”

Music by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, lyrics by Noel Ferrer, and performed by The Company. The song was created in collaboration with local juice brand, Locally, which aims to educate and celebrate one of the best things we Filipinos can be proud of – our fruits.

In line with Locally’s mission of honoring our Filipino farmers 

their crops, this collaboration with top Filipino music artists entitled “Prutas Pilipinas” is a  contemporary Filipino folk song featuring rhymes and riddles about homegrown fruits, both known and unknown to the Filipinos.

“We are extremely proud of this unique collaboration between icons. Ryan Cayabyab is a national artist, Noel Ferrer is a well-known and respected lyricist with a deep knowledge of Filipino culture, The Company, is an amazing group of talented Filipino singers, and Maribel Garcia is a passionate advocate of the arts being the head of BGC’s art program as well as Mind Museum,” says Gretchen King, Locally Category Manager.

“Filipinos are of course known to love music, so we wanted to reach out to them through this medium.

Nature, music, and science come together in our song ‘Prutas Pilipinas.’ What’s better way to celebrate life than to sing a song about our fruits that give us life!” says Ryan Cayabyab.

Prutas Pilipinas not only names popular fruits, like mangoes, melons, and grapes but also the unique ones like chico, mangosteen, and dragonfruit. The song also mentions how nutritious and good these local fruits are, a way to spread more knowledge about something we all eat every day. Locally’s way of championing what is proudly our own.

“I thought that it would be a good opportunity to start from basic fruits and expand it to a collective push for a healthy nation – para sa masigla, magaling at masayang Pilipinas. The genius of our National Artist Mr. Cayabyab, as shown in the excellent music, and the exceptional vocal quality and harmony of The Company made the song truly fun, dynamic, and meaningful,” shares Noel Ferrer.

“We feel that it is our mission to not only introduce these Philippine fruits through our juices but also to imbibe the knowledge and culture in every Filipino, especially today’s youth,” King continues. 

“Prutas Pilipinas is that rare moment in OPM where we get to tick all of the right boxes. This contemporary folk song is entertaining, educational and edifying. Transcending merely sensory enjoyment, this song becomes a pro-active participant in nation-building,” says The Company founding member, Moy Ortiz. 

The song has three versions – the first is the main song which has already been released and is quickly growing in popularity on Spotify. Set to be released soon, the second version integrates a little bit of “bugtungan” at the song’s beginning, while the third version is short and easy to memorize, made to be shared in schools nationwide through DepEd.

“This song is just the beginning,” says King. “We have exciting plans in collaboration with DepEd to integrate learning about Filipino fruits in the curriculum. We strongly believe that loving local and supporting our own is a culture that can be taught and encouraged at a young age. Our country produces some of the best and most amazing fruits in the world, and it’s time for all of us to know about and be proud of them,” concludes King. 

“Prutas Pilipinas” is available for streaming on Spotify and soon, on YouTube. Locally juices are available in all leading convenience stores and supermarkets. For more information, you may visit @Locally_PH on Instagram and Facebook.

Healthy Diet Safeguards Against COVID-19

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The COVID-19 Pandemic intensifies the Philippine’s battle against Double Burden of Malnutrition. Double Burden of Malnutrition is defined by World Health Organization (WHO) as “the coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity, or diet-related non communicable diseases, within individuals, households and populations, and across the life course.” 

The limited distribution and access to food supplies aggravate the plight of poor and low income Filipino households to sustain each person’s required nutrients through healthy meals. On the other hand, home confinement due to the mandated community quarantine may cause more people to not only restrict their physical activities but also to overeat and/or consume more food with empty calories as part of coping with stress and/or boredom. 

Given the importance of maintaining healthy diets to sustain our health and immunity against viruses and bacteria, we should turn to the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® as a viable safeguard to protect our family from diseases.

Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (APC) introduced “Mag-Pinggang Pinoy® Tayo 7-day Menu Challenge” as a way to encourage homemakers to serve variety of balanced meals to their families. Homemakers could access the Mag-Pinggang Pinoy® Tayo 7-day menu plan at www.ajinomoto.com.ph and facebook.com/CookmunitybyAjinomotoPH. This is part of the company’s “Eat Well, Live Well. Stay Well.” campaign to provide Filipino families with practical tips on proper nutrition, recipe menu and fitness activities to cope, stay well and enjoy life despite current COVID-19 situation.

Ajinomoto’s 7-day menu plan is composed of complete meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each meal provides recipe suggestions for Healthy & Delicious Pinggang Pinoy® Recipes that are easy-to-do and affordable. These recipes are simple, solutions to serve enjoyable Pinggang Pinoy® meals.  Homemakers could make use of their extra time to purchase widely available and inexpensive vegetables and fruits to complement rice beyond the usual supply of canned goods. Ajinomoto’s recipes make common ingredients more palatable like tofu sisig, meaty pechay picadillo, pork tapa and tomatoes, ensaladang talbos ng kamote, sweet and sour galunggong and many more. Here are three (3) recipe samplers done in three (3) easy steps:

Meaty Pechay Picadillo: 1) SAUTÉ onion, garlic and ground pork and mix in carrots, green peas and pechay. 2) SEASON with pepper, soy sauce and AJI-GINISA® Flavor Seasoning Mix. 3) COOK for 1 minute more.

Tofu Sisig: 1) FRY tofu until golden brown and set aside. 2) SAUTÉ ginger, onion and garlic, add fried tofu and liver spread and mix well. 3) SEASON with sugar and PORKSAVOR® All-in-One Seasoning mix and add chili peppers.

Pork tapa with tomatoes: 1) MARINATE pork in water, sugar, soy sauce, pepper and SARSAYA® Oyster Sauce for an hour or overnight. 2) SAUTÉ onion, garlic and pork. 3) BOIL. Pour the marinate mixture and boil until mixture is thick.    

For full recipes and for more information about Ajinomoto and its products, visit www.ajinomoto.com.ph and facebook.com/CookmunitybyAjinomotoPH.

Power Moms Who Power Through at Home with These Practical Parenting Hacks

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Parenting is no easy feat; And providing the best for your child amidst a crisis is a challenge like no other. As parenting outlook and practices change, moms continue to power through in providing the best for their children. Because amidst hardships and uncertainties, a mother’s strength shines through.  

For they are Power moms. 

In a time when resources are limited, the wisest course of action for power moms is to be practical and madiskarte. Being on a tight budget is one of the many obstacles that moms experience, but it doesn’t mean having to scrimp on quality products for your children. Finding products that deliver baby the protection they need, while still being easy on the wallet, may not be easy, but it is possible. 

This is why Pampers continues with its mission by providing superior products to support parents in keeping baby safe from ba-bad elements like pee, while helping them save more in the long run. From choosing practical quality products for baby, to finding creative ways to keep them entertained, there really is no innovator like a practical #PampersPowerMom.  

To help promote baby’s continuous healthy development, we provided practical smart hacks for Power Moms to conveniently do at home. 

Here are 6 practical smart hacks that allow you to continue providing the best for baby amidst a crisis: 

  1. Protect baby through practicing good hygiene while saving on hidden costs 

Power moms know the importance of making a habit of good hygiene to help keep germs and viruses away. When baby’s sensitive skin is also kept clean and dry, it is also a good line of defense against skin discomfort and irritation.  It is important to use gentle products on baby that effectively cleanse yet does not irritate.  

When cleaning during a diaper change, we recommend wipes that are gentle on the skin, and as mild as washcloth and water. With baby’s sensitive skin needs in mind, Pampers Sensitive Wipes is free from alcohol, Parabens, and Phenoxyl-ethanol.  

For an ultra-soft and strong baby wipe, Pampers Sensitive Wipes allows less wiping without sacrificing good hygiene for baby, helping lead to less wipes uses and more savings.

Pampers Power Mom Rochelle Miko-Rivera 
 bonding with baby Eliana, showing no
 signs of discomfort.   
  1. Motivate and inspire hard work through rewards  

Rewarding baby can come in many forms, and not just by buying them toys. Rewards serve as acknowledgments for a job well done. They provide an emphasis on good actions and helps babies to complete tasks.  

Through makeshift currencies like paper money, you can reward the baby for accomplishing simple tasks at home. A reward chart also provides a visualization of the baby’s progress in completing a task. Reward charts can be a hand-written poster stuck on the wall or even a sticker chart on the fridge. 

They can then use this hard-earned reward to “buy” snacks from the pantry or choose a movie to watch at home. Power moms know that introducing them to a reward system early on will show them the value of hard work and will hopefully teach them motivation to always work hard at any given task. 

  1. Use quality items to cut down on costs  

At this time when health and safety are most critical, using quality products for your baby can help assure that they are getting the protection they need. This can be important for products that baby often uses, and those that touch their skin, like diapers. 

Low-quality diapers that can get lawlaw easily may lead to serious problems when the baby’s skin is babad in a pool of wetness. Babies that experience babad are left with a breathing ground of bacteria, that could lead to diaper rash and skin irritations. What makes it worse is when their diapers are rarely changed. 

Pampers diapers are less lawlaw* and can absorb pee across the entire diaper, so there are less chances of a babad diaper. It absorbs faster and does not get full easily leading to less diaper change, being a practical choice for more savings.  

Tested by a #PampersPowerMom, Mommy Omni is thankful to choose quality products like Pampers.    
“It gives me and Bryce the guarantee we need that our Zed is safe from being babad in a pool of wetness that can harm his skin. Iba talaga kapag less lawlaw!” She                  adds, “Since it (Pampers Diapers) is less lawlaw, I can change the diapers less in a day and so I save more.” 

Caring for your baby is a tough job, that’s why Pampers provides quality products that help protecting baby easier for practical power moms like you.

A group of people sitting at a table Description automatically generated
Pampers Power Mom Omni Amisola-Larrosa having quality time with 
baby Zed and the whole family.
  1. Encourage creativity using household items  

Power moms know that they can stimulate baby’s imagination with household items that can be as good as fancy toys. By using a flashlight, you can perform a shadow play show by turning the lights down in a room and striking a flashlight against a wall. With different movements of your body parts, you can make up so many characters that will keep baby entertained and thinking.  Release the inner painter by letting baby do water painting on a cardboard box. With only a tub of water, and cardboard boxes, let baby’s imagination flow with their hands at almost no cost. 

A picture containing person, indoor, sitting, table Description automatically generated
Pampers Power Mom Feliz Lucas happily finger painting at home with her baby Tori.

  1. Boost baby’s mental and physical development at home with zero-cost activities  

Since summer classes and workshops are cancelled, Power moms turn into their smart and practical ways on how to keep babies learning dance, art, and even sports activities at home at no cost for mommy. 

Let baby move freely by staging concerts at home through sing-alongs and doing various dance videos that are easy to follow. Utilize cookware as drum set, use a shoe box with tied strings, a hairbrush as microphone, and have your whole family act and rock out as a band to their favorite nursery rhymes. 

Sports sessions are not cancelled at home with activities like hide and seek, pillow fights, or board or card games. Power moms know how resourceful that can be when the situation calls for it. 

A picture containing person, indoor, sitting, child Description automatically generated
Pampers Power Mom Janice Lagman-Lizardo with baby Jace 
enjoying his rice sensory bin to boost play and learning.

In partnership with Power moms all over the Philippines, Pampers holds “It’s a Mom’s Life” livestreams on Facebook where moms share insights on how they are coping through practical means and creating new habits while at home.  

“#PampersPowerMom Hacks” content is also available at Pampers Lazada page, featuring practical ideas from experts and moms that families can try at the safety of their homes. Moms can access all of these at Pampers Philippines Facebook page.

For more smart hacks that you can do at home, visit Pampers’ Lazada page. 

Through providing practical quality products, and practical hacks that families can do for their kids, Pampers aims to help #PampersPowerMom course through crises, in the smartest way possible. 

*On speed of absorbency and rewet vs. cheaper diapers, L-size, SRP 

About Pampers®    

For more than 50 years, parents have trusted Pampers to care for their babies. Pampers is a part of The Procter & Gamble Company and is the #1-selling diaper worldwide. Every day, more than 25 million babies in 100 countries around the world wear Pampers. Pampers offers a complete range of diapers and pants designed to provide protection and comfort for every stage of baby’s development. Visit www.pampers.com to learn more about Pampers products, and find ideas and information to help your baby get the most out of love, sleep and play.    

About Procter & Gamble    

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadershi p brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.  

Spotify teams up with Jose Mari Chan and Tatak Pinoy All-Stars on First Asia-made Holiday Single

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Tatak Pinoy All-Stars Line-Up includes Ben&Ben, December Avenue, I Belong to the Zoo, Jose Mari Chan, Julie Anne San Jose & Moira Dela Torre

What is Christmas in the Philippines without Jose Mari Chan’s beautiful holiday songs ringing throughout the nation? Today, Spotify has partnered with this legendary crooner and some of the hottest OPM artists to deliver an early gift under the tree; a fresh rendition of his 1990 classic “A Perfect Christmas”. Available exclusively to stream on Spotify as part of Spotify Singles: Holiday,  “A Perfect Christmas” sees Jose Mari Chan teaming up with Ben&Ben, December Avenue, I Belong to the Zoo, Julie Anne San Jose and Moira Dela Torre who each bring their own unique sound to the track. The single, which was produced by Ito Rapadas and Marvin Querido, will feature on Spotify’s Paskong Pinoy playlist.

“We are thrilled to be working with Jose Mari Chan and these talented OPM artists for the launch of Spotify’s first Asia-made Holiday Single. Christmas is one of the biggest cultural moments in the Philippines and we want to celebrate it with our listeners,” says Kossy Ng, Artist & Label Marketing Lead, Spotify, Southeast Asia. She adds, “We kick-started 2019 with a relaunch of our flagship OPM playlist Tatak Pinoy and we’re excited to end the year with yet another big OPM moment, which is a testimony to our continued support of the thriving local music scene!”

Jose Mari Chan says, “When I recorded the track back in the 90s, I never dreamed that it would become the quintessential Christmas song it is today; that it would be listened to year after year and loved by generations. To me, the spirit of Christmas is being able to give and share your love and Christmas isn’t ‘perfect’ without someone special, someone you love.”

“This collaboration with Spotify pays tribute to a holiday classic while reinventing what a Christmas special can be and we are so excited to be a part of its history,” says December Avenue. Moira Dela Torre adds, “The song is close to my heart. It has always been one of my favourite Christmas songs and now it feels even more special to me.”

Ben&Ben says, “We actually had the opportunity to do a cover of Jose Mari Chan’s song “Beautiful Girl” earlier this year for the Spotify Jams: OPM Love Songs campaign. Being able to collaborate with him on one of his Christmas classics is an absolute honour.”

For I Belong to the Zoo and Julie Anne San Jose, a perfect Christmas means being able to spend more time with family; celebrating the holidays with their loved ones. Julie Anne San Jose adds, “For me, Christmas is also about showing gratitude and being able to share and give your blessings to other people.” 

“We are delighted to work together with Spotify, Jose Mari Chan, and the all-star line up to bring to life this reimagined version of “A Perfect Christmas” for the Christmas season. This collaboration has presented itself as the perfect opportunity to celebrate what makes it a well-loved track, the amazing talent we have in the country, and the true reason behind the season,” says Kathleen Dy-Go, Managing Director of Universal Records, Philippines.

For more festive cheer from the artists behind the Single, fans can look out for a special Tatak Pinoy All-Stars video coming soon to Spotify Philippines Facebook’s page.  And for fans wanting a taste of even more reimagined yuletide classics, they can head over to the Spotify Singles: Holiday playlist featuring artists from around the world, including Liam Payne, The Lumineers, Tori Kelly, Reik and Adam Lambert from Monday, 25th November.

5 Financial Tips to Help Your Family Plan for the Future

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In Filipino culture, the family is the most important thing. The concept of filial piety is strong in the Philippines, and unlike in the West, most families would rather support aging parents than let them stay in a home for the elderly. Many of the decisions you make will have to be for the good of your household, and that especially includes decisions about finances and budgeting.

An SWS survey conducted in 2018 found that the outlook of Filipinos on their quality of life and the economy has dropped to record lows, and it’s no wonder. With prices rising all the time and an uncertain economy, money troubles loom large in people’s minds. If you’re worried about your family’s financial stability in the future, then here are five things you can do to help ease your mind.

Budget It Out

Whether it’s set for the next month or the next five years, it’s always important to keep track of your expenses. A study by the World Bank found that Filipinos who planned their finances were more likely to have funds left over after paying for basic necessities. Knowing how much money you have and where it’s going will make it easier for you to keep track of your spending, and to save a bit for future emergencies.

Set Aside

Saving is always easier said than done, and when you’re struggling to make ends meet it might seem impossible. You don’t have to save Php 10,000 all at once, but if you set a minimum per month and simply add to it when you have the extra cash, you’ll definitely be better off in the long run. Setting aside a percentage of your income before spending for necessities may seem difficult now, but when an emergency comes along— such as an accident or sudden illness— you’ll be happy to have the extra cash.

Keep An Eye On Your Credit

Having a credit card can be a double-edged sword, so be sure to use yours wisely. Credit scorer TransUnion found that debt payment delinquencies in the Philippines were likely to remain low, but that doesn’t mean that families can’t fall into the trap of credit card debt. Try to make sure that you only use your card in times of emergencies, and make sure that you have enough money in the bank to pay at least half of what you’re buying right away. This way, you can avoid falling into debt, and are less likely to be hurt by interest rates and hidden fees.

Invest in Insurance

Insurance payments might feel heavy on the paycheck every month, but in times of emergency, you’ll be grateful that you invested. Many families might find looking at insurance plans intimidating, but luckily not all are so unforgiving. Paramount Direct’s PrimeCare Cash Plan has premiums as low as Php 212.95 per month, and you can pick coverage that’s specific to your needs. Reading up on the right insurance may take a while, but it’s definitely one of the best investments you can make for your family.

Set Your Goals

By simply setting a goal, you can also create a structure that will help you go about achieving that. If you’re struggling one month, you can simply save a little more later on when you’re in a better state. This is also something you can teach your children, who can have their own small financial goals per month, which will help them become more fiscally responsible.  Also, not all goals have to be money-based— you can aim for a house, a car, or a college fund. Just pick what’s best for your family, and be sure to include them in the journey.

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For more fun planning with your family, check out this article on planning a road trip on All Around Mom!