AWARDS

Multiple wins at the Philippine Quill Awards

GMA Network won multiple honors at the 18th Philippine Quill Awards, considered as the country’s most prestigious awards program in the fi eld of business communications. It was organized by the International Association of Business Communicators Philippines (IABC Philippines), the fi rst IABC chapter in Asia.

GMA took home three Excellence Awards. The fi rst one was for its Corporate Social Responsibility project GMA Network Excellence Awards. Its regional arm, GMA Regional TV (RTV), gave the Kapuso Network two more honors for the Kapuso Barangayan on Wheels (KBOW) and Kapuso Campus Tour: The Regional Masterclass Series.

Recognized under the Communications Management Division’s Corporate Social Responsibility Category, GNEA is an annual nationwide search that honors outstanding graduating Filipino students of communication and technology-based courses.

Also winning under the same category is KBOW– the mobile version of GMA RTV’s Kapuso Barangayan which was originally a community activity held in key barangays across the regions. As various areas have been placed under community quarantine, GMA RTV modifi ed it last year to reach more communities and directly provide its residents the assistance they urgently need. On top of distributing essential items to thousands of families across the country, GMA RTV conducted lectures on proper health and safety protocols.

Meanwhile, Kapuso Campus Tour: The Regional Masterclass Series, also organized by GMA RTV, won an Excellence Award in the Communication Training and Education Division. The series, which was launched in 2019, saw some of today’s most talented Kapuso personalities sharing their thoughts on various topics—from mobile journalism to choosing the country’s next leaders in this digital age.

Moreover, the country’s longestrunning morning show Unang Hirit also won a Merit Award for its Serbisyo at Puso (SAP) and Ligtas-Padyak Project – special projects launched at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Delivering journalism beyond lip service, Unang Hirit has a tradition of news and public service spanning 21 years and counting.

The 18th Philippine Quill Awards honored several entries from professional and student communicators which exemplifi ed the global standards of excellent, effective, and purposeful business communication.

The Atom Araullo Specials: Batch 2020 wins at the 16th Lasallian Scholarum Awards

Shedding light on the struggles of Filipinos in the education sector, GMA Public Affairs’ The Atom Araullo Specials: Batch 2020 was named Outstanding Video Feature Story on Youth and Education at the 16th Lasallian Scholarum Awards.

Various GMA entries were also shortlisted in the same category.

1. iJuander: Edukasyon

2. #BetterNormalPH episodes

• Project WIFI: Ayudang free WIFI para sa estudyanteng Pilipino • National Teacher’s Month hindi ramdam ng mga guro ngayong new normal • Bayanihan para sa online class shed • Online classes ng mga anak, naka-enroll nga rin ba ang mga magulang? • Edukasyon sa New Normal • Paano hihikayatin ang mga kabataang magbasa ngayong quarantine? 3. RTx: Magkakapatid, naghihiraman sa isang cellphone makapag-aral lang sa online class! 4. GMA News Online: Here’s how schools can move forward amid COVID-19 threat (written by Kaela Malig, was also shortlisted under the Outstanding Online Feature Category).

De La Salle University’s Lasallian Scholarum Awards celebrates the outstanding professional and student media coverage of youth and education stories. The ceremony’s theme focused on “Adapt-ed: Youth and Education in the Time of Pandemic.”

Usapang COVID is an awareness campaign that forms part of GMA Network’s corporate social responsibility program. The campaign aims to provide COVID-related information —from safety guidelines to vaccine information, relevant news and health tips, wellness and self-care—to GMA’s internal community, powered by resources from across the Network’s platforms.

#JabWellDone

Free COVID-19 vaccines for GMA Network’s employees, talents

GMA Public Affairs launched “#JabWellDone, an online advocacy campaign that encourages

Filipinos to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and help curb its spread through informed choices.

TWO-PRONGED APPROACH

#JabWellDone addresses the public’s hesitancy on getting immunized against COVID-19. First, it answers frequently asked questions about vaccines. Second, it features the narratives of Filipinos all over the world who have already received the vaccine—especially the seniors, medical frontliners, and persons with comorbidities—to ease doubts of those reluctant to receive it.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK

#JabWellDone has earned praises and positive feedback from netizens. During the fi rst week of the campaign, the social media initiative organically reached over 8 million users on Facebook alone. The team also received hundreds of testimonials from Filipinos around the world who shared their experience before, during, and after getting the vaccine using the offi cial hashtag #JabWellDone. Various GMA News and Public Affairs personalities eagerly showed support by sharing their own #JabWellDone experience on their personal social media accounts. Kapuso employees also shared their vaccination stories to encourage their families and friends to get vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity to do so.

VACCINATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

With over 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccine administered as of April 20, 2021 based on the Department of Health’s report, the Philippines aims to achieve herd immunity against the virus that caused the global pandemic. Yet aside from the limited doses available in the country, the end of the pandemic remains elusive due to Filipinos’ plummeting vaccine confi dence. Amid the rise of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, 6 out of 10 Filipinos are still hesitant to get vaccinated, a recent survey from Pulse Asia revealed.

The Philippines remains the number one country in terms of time spent on social media (according to Digital 2021 Global Overview Report) and GMA Public Affairs sees this as an advantage to inform more Filipinos about the government’s COVID vaccination programs.

Filipinos deserve an informed decision on matters that concern them, especially when it comes to their health. And #JabWellDone aims to keep the public equipped with the right tools to make the right decision. In the spirit of Serbisyong Totoo especially when it comes to the health and safety of its workforce, GMA purchased doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines for its employees.

This is also in line with the government’s vaccination program and its efforts to fi ght the pandemic in the country.

GMA’s vaccination program covers regular and probationary employees, project employees, and exclusive talents on a voluntary basis. Additional details on the program will be announced by the company internally.

“Ensuring the health and well-being of our Kapuso is our utmost priority as we truly value our people as our best assets. As a result, this vaccination coverage will enable us to continue delivering Serbisyong Totoo to the public as we all strive to win against this pandemic,” GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon assured.

Meanwhile, GMA Network through GMA Kapuso Foundation continues to extend aid to frontliners and Filipinos in need as ‘NCR Plus’ is once again placed under enhanced community quarantine following another surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs

Here are excerpts from the Q&A session of GMA G.I.V.E.S. Zoomustahan, a regular learning session for GMA employee-volunteers, held last March 26 with World Health Organization’s (WHO) Dr. Nino Dayanghirang. He is a Program Management Officer of WHO in Ethiopia and has served WHO in various capacities around the world. For other questions, you may reach Dr. Nino at his Twitter @ninodal2013.

Question 1: May mga dapat bang preparasyon bago magpabakuna?

Dr. Nino: First, make sure you are in optimal health, wala kayong sakit, natetake ang medications ninyo, especially for blood clots… almost 50 percent ng Filipinos of adult age have clotting problems o malapot ang dugo nila pero hindi nila alam dahil wala silang nararamdaman.

Make yourself checked with your trusted doctor to be of good health during vaccine. Take maintenance medication, eat well, sleep well. Maaring makaramdam kayo ng konting fever o panghihina dahil tini-train ng vaccine ang katawan na labanan ang virus.

Question 2: I have been vaccinated by Vaccine A today. Later on, after a month, I discovered na mas okay pala ang vaccine na iba and it’s also available to me. Pwede ba akong magpa-vaccine ulit?

Dr. Nino: The important thing is you complete all the doses for that specific vaccine. For example, two doses yung nabigay sa iyong vaccine. So you take the 1st dose and the 2nd dose so that you can be fully immunized based on the dosing schedule. But since all vaccines are safe, there’s no problem if you want to have another vaccine after that. But kumpletuhin mo muna yung unang vaccine. Once macomplete mo ‘yun you can take any other vaccines ng COVID 19 as long as it is safe and procured from reputable sources. Question 3: Maraming lumalabas na ibatibang variants ng COVID virus. Covered na ba ito ng vaccines na available ngayon o may possibility pa bang maapektuhan ang efficacy ng vaccines? Para rin ba itong flu vaccine na yung effectiveness niya ay annual lang pang 1 year lang then kailangan turukan ulit ng panibagong bakuna sa mga susunod na taon?

Dr. Nino: With coronavirus, specifically COVID-19 or SARS COV 2, we don’t have enough information yet so we can’t predict kung anong lalabas next year. But for now, ang importante pong aksyon natin is that if the vaccine has become available for you, get it na po to make sure that you are protected from the current strains or variants. If in case po magkaroon ng isang variant that would lower the effectiveness of the vaccines there will be a concerted effort to improve the vaccines, to remodel it so that it addresses yung mga variant na lalabas. So for now, the main action is to take the vaccine available to you to make sure that you’re protected from all the strains/ variants of the current COVID 19 viruses.

Question 4: Paano naman yung mga may complications? Yung may mga pre-existing conditions like diabetes, hypertension, etc.?

Dr. Nino: Yung mga tao po na may comorbidities, best to check first with their doctor. Usually, people with diabetes, hypertension, cancer, etc. they have regular check ups with their doctors. If you can do a telemedical consultation using Messenger, What’s App, Viber that would be good to make sure that they are okay with you from getting the vaccine. So best to check first with your trusted doctors that’s handling your case to make sure that everything is okay prior to getting your vaccine.

Question 5: Iba-iba po ba ang effects ng vaccine depende sa health condition of one who will take it?

Dr. Nino: Like any other medication, iba-iba ang tama sa tao. Sa iba mas pronounced ang paggawa ng antibodies kaya ang iba ay nanghihina at sa iba naman ay balewala. Depende sa tao na tatanggap. Ang sinasabi namin is it is safe when it comes from reputable sources.

Question 6: Naririnig po na yung mRNA, since bagong technology siya for the vaccine, hindi pa po alam ang side effect niya sa body natin. So kung ganoon po ba, hindi po ba nakakatakot yun? Kung siya lang ang available, should we take it?

Dr. Nino: All organisms have RNA and DNA. mRNA ang nagbibigay ng code to replicate. This is one of the good innovations when it comes to vaccines. We are not using the full vaccine, but only a part of it so you can be safe. Before any vaccine is marketed or provided to government it goes through stringent and harsh process to make sure it is safe. Safety is always paramount. Don’t be scared of taking the Pfizer mRNA and Moderna as long as it is from reputable sources. Ang problem po maraming fake, falsified medication so marami sa news na hindi gumagana is because it’s fake or substandard.

Question 7: Some people take the vaccine but get infected. Why?

Dr. Nino: May pagkakataon na dahil hindi natin alam ang ating infectious status, maaring carrier tayo ng walang sintomas, pwedeng nagkasabay. Or mababa ang immunoresponse nung nagka-infection. Hindi nalabanan kaya nagkasakit. It can happen, even with measles vaccine. It is a known occurrence, no need to worry.

Question 8: Safe po ba ang vaccine for breastfeeding moms?

Dr. Nino: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) has recommended that the vaccine can be received whilst breastfeeding. This is in line with recommendations in the US and from the World Health Organization.