Huwebes, Mayo 4, 2023

World Vision and Eco-Waste Coalition host PHINLA Global Waste Management Conference In Manila




With the alarming waste generation posing massive health risks and environmental degradation globally, concerned individuals and groups from around the world have also taken concrete action to address and mitigate irreversible impact to the envoronment and the vulnerable sector including the waste collectors.


In the Asian Region, World Vision's solid waste management (SWM) program PHINLA, funded by the German  government and development agency BMZ and in partnership with local actors, has strengthened eco-friendly initiatives in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Ondonesia through innovation and enhancements of effective waste management practices at the village or community level. The PHINLA program aims to empower waste workers and communities affected by poor waste management by harnessing waste collection and management processes to provide additional livelihood source  assisting local government in developing/enhancing their solid waste management systems and raising public awareness and involvement in addressing waste challenges in different country context.




Following PHINLA's successful implementation in the last four years, International development and advocacy agency World Vision in partnership with Eco-Waste Coalition, organizes the Global Waste Management Conference in Manila with the theme "Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Waste Management: Innovations, Partnerships, and Empowerment", to be held on May 4-5, 2023  8:30AM-4;30 PM at the Heritage Hotel Manila Pasay City, Philippines.




Nearly a hundred International delegates and the media are expected to attend from the Philippines  Sri Lanka, and Indonesia including representatives from different government and country offices, private providers, and multi-sectoral stakeholders on solid waste management at the local and community level.


The global conference also aims to highlight and celebrate what worked in the participating countries, especially the lessons and promising practices worth replicating and scaling up in the region. The eco-inspired event also hopes to highlight the Philppine government's contribution to Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) including SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Martes, Mayo 2, 2023

Elected as President for 2023-2025 by Los Baños Chamber of Commerce & Industries: Engr. Grace Bondad Nicolas




Engineer Grace Bondad Nicolas—the woman behind successful shows, marketing adviser to billionaires, and serial entrepreneur—recently added another feather in her cap by being elected President by the Los Baños Chamber of Commerce & Industries (LBCCI).


As the co-founder as well as the face and energy behind her four flagship companies—AG Builders and Developers, TAG Media and Public Relations, AAA Cosmetics and Trading Company and Rising Tigers Trading—all registered in Los Baños, Laguna, the post is apt and well-deserved.



“It’s a pleasure to serve in Los Baños this time, my 4 companies are registered in this beautiful nature city and to contribute in the business sector under LBCCI is a plus point in what I usually do. I am excited to do more. ,” said Nicolas, a super-productive and tireless achiever in various fields and industries.


She is now concurrently the first woman President of the American Association of the Philippines (AAP), Lieutenant Governor of Division 3A (Metro Manila) of the Kiwanis Philippine Luzon District, Vice President of the Makati Tourism Foundation, and certified mentor of “Go Negosyo” under the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship. 




Producing Successful Shows


An indefatigable entrepreneurial mind, Nicolas through her brainchild TAG Media Group—and American Association of the Philippines’ Chairman’s Awardee for Communication—has produced and launched blockbuster concerts and events for the music and business industries. 


She has produced the music industry’s ALIW@40 Concert and the Best of ALIW Concert in partnership with ALIW Awards, and launched Asia’s Best Singing Competition—Season 3 and Pandemic Heroes—CEOs Series online with The Manila Times, where she writes about business. 


TAG Media’s signature event, however, is the annual Asia Leaders Awards, whose fourth-year recognitions were held at the Embassy of Singapore. The recognition body acknowledges leaders who continue to make a difference in the Philippines and beyond. 


Staying Grounded 


Despite wearing multiple hats for multiple organizations, Grace remains gorgeous as she is grounded. 


She has took up her father’s legacy by founding and managing Laguna’s newest eco-tourism destination, Hidden Hills Farm by Josefino, named after her father who was also her inspiration and mentor.




“In this crisis, it’s your time to prove your worth and make a difference. Even while in lockdown, you can still do something productive and be of help to others by sharing your blessings,” she said, encouraging everyone to follow her lead.


Grace, who holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and took an MM in Engineering Management degrees from Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Certified in Marketing and Entrepreneurship in Asian Institute of Management and Ateneo is a devoted wife to Troy and mother to Andrea, Alexis, and Alexa. A proud daughter of Josefino and Remedios Bondad of Calauan, Laguna.