Mr. FENG XIN Chinese

B6

Friday, June 18, 2021

Choose comfort and style for your home with Mariwasa’s new flooring solution

PEOPLE value their personal space that they make sure it achieves the ideals of their dream home. Be it for a new family or a simple home improvement, they stay on the lookout for better but affordable products or technologies to attain a more comfortable and convenient living space, while maintaining a high aesthetic standard.

One aspect that gets a lot of attention is the flooring. Not only does it affect the overall design of a home, the functionality and accessibility of the space also rely heavily on the material used.

That is why Mariwasa, the country's leading home-building solutions provider, has recently come up with a new flooring solution that is longlasting and gives you a high-end appearance with more practical benefits and also lets you stay on your budget.

To continue their goal of becoming a one-stop-shop with all the essentials needed to build a quality household, Mariwasa released the Luxury Vinyl Tile or LVT Dry Back and the Stone Plastic Composite or SPC Easy Click floor planks as a part of their flooring solution for modest families.

Mariwasa LVT Dry Back is designed to replicate hard surface flooring materials, such as stone or wood, but is more practical than the mentioned materials. The tile uses a real photographic print film and a clear vinyl layer with a wide variety of design concepts such as Sierra Grey, Sierra Beige, Sierra Ivory, and Sierra Brown.

Meanwhile, the Mariwasa SPC Easy Click is an engineered luxury vinyl that combines limestones and stabilizers to create an extremely durable material, making it suitable for both residential LUXURY Vinyl Tile Sierra Brown and commercial use. It also comes in different designs such as Avana Grey, Avana Beige, Avana Brown, and Avana Dark Brown.

Benefits of using Mariwasa’s floor tiles

ONE common concern among homeowners is how to apply their new fixtures. Mariwasa created a solution to this in their new floor tiles with the Mariwasa SPC Easy Click that is built with a click-lock system that makes installation easier and faster. Only a few tools are required to accomplish this task.

Apart from being easy to install, several other features make Mariwasa’s new floor tiles stand out. These products are also resistant to various factors that could affect the overall quality of the tiles. This includes being scratch-resistant, water-resistant, spill and stain-resistant, as well as termite resistant.

Mariwasa LVT Dry Back and SPC Easy Click also prevent the growth of bacteria on their surfaces and other areas to keep residents safe from bacteria or diseases that may harm their health and their pets as well. The tiles are also easy to maintain since it only takes a wet mop to wipe them down clean. The tiles also have an ultraviolet (UV) coating and wear layer that makes the floor easy to clean and protected for daily use. Most importantly, both Mariwasa LVT Dry Back and SPC Easy Click were designed to be more than just easy to maintain and comfortable. Mariwasa made sure that the welfare of the environment is also taken into account as it used 100% recyclable materials to make their floor tiles.

With their LVT Dry Back and SPC Easy Click, Mariwasa provides homeowners with a practical option with several other features that set the products apart from the market. Not only are these affordable and easy to maintain, they’re also easy to install as well!

For more information, visit www. mariwasa.com or www.facebook.com/ MariwasaTiles/.

“Futures” for Philippine creative industries to be explored in upcoming digital conference

CREATE Philippines is gathering the creative industry in a special twoday digital conference, featuring leaders and experts, to inspire and discuss the future of the Philippine creative economy.

In its fourth edition, CREATE Philippines presents Creative Futures on June 28 and 29. The online event promises to be a productive convergence of creatives in the fields of Animation, Advertising, Communication Design, Game Development, Digitalized Creative Content, and Comics and Illustration, among others. Furthermore, the event serves as both a celebration of the inherent creativity of Filipinos and a take-off point for realizing the economic potential and business viability of the creative industry.

With prolific editor, writer, and composer Erwin Romulo as the Program Director, Creative Futures is packed with a curated line-up of speakers, features, and panel discussions that will tackle the future of the creative industry. Notable industry champions in the public sector, business leaders, and key people in the creative industry will share their stories of navigating the “new normal” and offer insight on how they see their industries advancing in the coming years.

The Creative Economy Council of the Philippines (CECP) named 2030 as the target year for the country to become the top creative economy in the ASEAN region. For Creative Futures Program Director Erwin Romulo, the target year factored heavily in the selection of programs that shaped the conference. “We took that very seriously and started with the mindset of presenting case studies, presentations, and conversations that would help in creating an environment for that goal to be achieved,” he explains.

One of the highlights of Creative Futures is the presentation of the Philippine Creative Industries Act. Authored by Congressman Christopher "Toff" de Venecia and filed by the Arts and Culture, and Creative Industries Bloc of the 18th Congress (ACCIB), the bill aims to provide an enabling policy and governance framework that will shape the Philippine creative industry, make it globally competitive, and ensure a sustainable future for the country's local talents.

Recognizing the vital role the government has to play in the rise of Filipino creatives, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is pushing institutional support by fostering enabling environments where creatives can flourish and develop ways to support and encourage future creatives.

“We wanted to put together an event that would treat creativity in such a manner that it presents options about how creative assets can be treated as ‘futures,’” CITEM Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan says.

The first day of the event features the following line-up of activities and speakers:

An adobo Magazine-produced panel of local creatives, including Design Center of the Philippines Executive Director Rhea Matute, Intramuros Administrator Atty. Guiller Asido, Curiosity’s Kristine Layaoen, Design Advisory Council’s Architect Royal Pineda, and Plus63 Design Co. Founding Partner Dan Matutina, who will talk about the role of data and graphic design in enhancing Intramuros’ urban planning and user experience

Trese creators Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, and director/showrunner Jay Oliva who will talk about the comic book’s journey to becoming a Netflix adaptation

Filipino-American comic book writer and artist Whilce Portacio who will share insights on telling Filipino stories to a global audience

Scheduled on the second day are:

KIDDO Cosio's presentation of La Union's The Great Northwest and talk on how they’ve run and managed their business, and navigated the lockdowns brought about by the pandemic

A presentation by Kumu Philippines, together with its Co-Founder and Social TV Chief of Content Angelo Mendez and Vice President for Marketing Vicky Herrera, on how it plans to make the country the region's latest technology hub.

A panel discussion on eSports with Evident Communications CEO Cecile Yujuico, Tier One’s Tryke Gutierrez, Gariath Concepts’ Joebert Yu, and eSports caster Mara Aquino

National Artist for Cinema Kidlat Tahimik's short film about empowering communities in storytelling.

A two-part curated program of short films from different regions of the country, presented by the Film Development Council of the Philippines with introduction from Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño-Seguerra, will also be happening on both the first and second days of the conference.

For more information about CREATE Philippines and the Creative Futures 2021 digital conference, register at http://bit.ly/ creativefutures2021. THE Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB), in collaboration with the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency (CQA), and the Guam International Airport Authority (GIAA) have officially launched the website for the Guam Electronic Declaration Form (EDF). This is the second and final phase of the EDF implementation, which was officially introduced earlier in March 2021. The first phase of the program had passengers in specific flights fill out the EDF through designated kiosks in the baggage claim area of the airport. “Guam is one of the first destinations in the world to implement this type of technology. Few countries, like Bali, are currently offering this convenient digital form for travelers. We want to thank Governor Lou Leon Guerrero for her continued support. She provided the resources to update our customs declaration forms and catapult the evolution of our tourism industry in this pandemic,” said

Sun Life honored for service excellence

SUN Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. (Sun Life) was bestowed the highest honor in the insurance category of the 2021 Quality Service Awards.

The winner was determined through a market research conducted by international publication Reader’s Digest covering 30 categories in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. Consumers were asked to vote which companies provided the highest level of service in the past 12 months based on the following pillars: Personalization, Understanding, Simplicity, Satisfaction, and Consistency. Sun Life was given the Gold Award after earning the highest rating in the insurance category.

“This recognition affirms that we are moving in the right direction as we strive to offer clients the best experience possible in their financial journey. What makes this even more meaningful is that it was achieved amid one of the most challenging years in our country’s history and in the same year we’ve kept our #1 position in the life insurance industry,” Sun Life Philippines CEO and Country Head Benedict Sison said.

Ever since the pandemic began in 2020, Sun Life has been taking steps to ensure seamless service for its clients. The company has made special accommodations for payments and claim forms submissions, and SUN Life Philippines CEO & Country Head Benedict Sison

has also launched innovations such as the Digitally-Enabled Selling process and Remote Online Medical Examination. Moreover, despite the restrictions brought about by the pandemic, Sun Life upheld its commitment to clients and paid a total of PHP 4.7 billion in claims and maturities in 2020, with a special expedited process for COVID-19 claims.

“We dedicate this recognition to our clients, who have trusted us to be their lifetime partner to a brighter future for over 125 years,” Sison said. “We also share this award with the Sun Life advisors and employees who, despite the various challenges, personify our company’s purpose and enabled Sun Life to maintain its standards of service.”

Scientists urge more action vs impending climate crisis

ENVIRONMENT scientists and advocates called for more aggressive climate resiliency interventions from government and the private sector to mitigate economic shocks because of worsening extreme weather and natural disasters.

In a recent online forum organized by Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi), Dr. Carlos Primo “CP” David, ADRi Program Convenor and Trustee, and Convenor of the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) said, “Climate crisis is still, unfortunately, not a top-of-mind issue for many economies, including ours.”

Dr. David said, “Our window to address climate change is 30 years or roughly one generation. Not acting on climate change during this period may prove to be devastating for the planet.”

“It is our generation that is starting to occupy the leadership roles of society. It is up to us then to recognize this threat and seriously address the climate crisis,” David said.

Dr. Mahar Lagmay, Executive Director, Project NOAH presented how early warning systems should be data driven and “peoplecentered” to save more lives and livelihoods.

Dr. Lagmay stressed that, “We must specify what kind of hazard will hit a community, and we must be able also to specify when that will happen. It must be time bound, using sensors, there’s a technology already available.”

“Take for example the area that was hit during (typhoon) “Ompong”, we have this landslide map that accurately predicted where the landslide would happen. If the people moved just 200 meters away, or maybe 300 meters away, that’s the safest place in that area, then they could have increased their chances of survival,” Dr. Lagmay said.

President of the Union of local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), National Chairperson of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, and Quirino province Governor Dakila Carlo “Dax” Cua for his part said, “We use an advanced Geographical Information System (GIS) to aid decision making with accurate information in almost all aspects of planning.”

“We have readily available risk assessment, hazard, vulnerability, capacity and resource maps that identify immediately the number of males, females, PWD, senior citizen, pregnant, etc. who for example, may be affected by flooding and landslides,” Cua said.

“As we chart our way through the challenges toward a sustainable recovery from this pandemic, may we find a deeper resolve and greater determination to seize every opportunity to proactively gear up toward sustainable and environment-friendly practices at least for the sake of our children’s future,” Cua said.

Stratbase ADRi President Prof. Dindo Manhit in his statement said, “Initiatives need to put emphasis on advancing the incorporation of circular business and economic models, investments in ‘green’ and sustainable urban designs, and the incorporation of digital technologies into services and infrastructure developments.”

“Philippine communities will constantly remain vulnerable to shocks if immediate mitigation and adaptation of sustainable and best practices are not widely implemented,” Manhit said.

Guam Visitors Bureau launches new traveler technology through the EDF

GVB President and CEO Carl T.C. Gutierrez. “Si Yu’os Ma’åse’ to Ike Peredo and CQA, as well as John Quinata and GIAA for their collaborative efforts to help make our island run more efficiently.” “After months of planning and testing, we are excited to move forward with the official launch of the mobile link for the EDF,” said Ike Q. Peredo, Director of CQA. With the mobile launch, all arriving passengers to Guam will be able to fill out the EDF on their personal computers or mobile devices up to 72 hours prior to their arrival on Guam. The mobile link marks the final phase of the EDF roll out which will enable global access to Guam’s mandatory declaration form. GVB encourages all travelers to take advantage of the three-day eligibility window prior to boarding for a completely touchless entry process with CQA.

“We originally planned for a controlled roll out of the EDF to ensure the system’s integrity and to protect passenger information throughout the process,” said Nico Fujikawa, GVB Director of Tourism Research. “The EDF is the long-term touchless solution that Guam will provide to all local travelers and visitors as we move forward.” The EDF can now be accessed online at cqa.guam.gov or guamedf. landing.cards. Designated EDF kiosks within the baggage claim area of the Guam airport will also be accessible.

To watch the EDF tutorial video, go to https://youtu.be/9GkePhd40rc.