PH richest Congressman Mikee Romero awarded Hidilyn Olympic Gold Medalist

True to his words and commitment, Congressman Mikee Romero personally handed over to the first ever Olympic Gold medalist of the Philippines, Hidilyn Diaz, the P3 million check, for winning the first ever Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. She got the gold for competing in Weightlifting in the Women’s 55kg category.

(PIC of Hidilyn Diaz receiving the check from Cong. Romero) 

Caption: Hidilyn Diaz receives P3M additional incentive from Congressman Mikee Romero

It will be recalled that Congressman Romero committed an additional P3 million, P2 million and P1 million incentive for gold, silver and bronze Filipino medalist/s in this year’s Olympics. He announced this last July 20 before the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum. He took this initiative to be able to add motivation to our competing athletes and this is out of his own company’s expense.  

As we know, Congressman Romero is the richest lawmaker in the land and 46th in the Forbes magazine list of wealthiest Filipinos in 2020 with a net worth of US$135 million or P6.5 billion. Aside from being a lawmaker, Romero is also the chairman and president of Globalport 900, Inc.

A sportsman himself and a true supporter of the Filipino athletes, Congressman Romero also reiterated the call for the establishment of a Department of Sports to support athletes in their careers. He said, “Our athletes need to train outside of the Philippines because we don’t have enough infrastructure and facilities. With the Department of Sports, it will have the mandate to put as many infrastructures as possible.”

He is yet to award the P2M and P1M incentive to Silver medallist Nesthy Petecio, boxing, women's feather and Bronze medallist Eumir Marcial, boxing, men's middle, respectively.

(PIC of Congressman Mikee initiatives)

For his efforts and countless initiatives to help the people, either in Congress and as an individual, Congressman Mikee Romero has recently been chosen by American Association of the Philippines, to join its roster of “Profiles in Excellence” as an Outstanding athlete, Entrepreneur, and Public Servant award. He will also be one of the honouree in this year’s Asia Leaders Awards to be held this November, 2021.

Asia Leaders Awards (ALA) is the largest business awards event in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It is only the recognition giving body whose awards committee is composed of respected leaders from different organizations and embassies. It’s main objective is to promote the Philippines as a premier business hub and destination in Asia. One with this goal are the ALA major sponsors, Alfamart, Asian Tigers Mobility, AsiaPrime Corporation, Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc., Fredley Group of Companies, Frontrow Enterprise, Grab, Jollibee Group, and J&T Express.

For more information about Asia Leaders Awards, visit https://www.facebook.com/AsiaLeadersAwards

Your Fav Durian

According to reports, Durio graveolens, sometimes called the red-fleshed durian, orange-fleshed durian, or yellow durian, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae. It is one of six species of durian named by Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari. The specific epithet graveolens is due to the odor. 

In the Philippines, one of the famous in durian farming is Bernard Bautista of “Bautista Plant Nursery - Prutasan at Halaman sa Tabing Daan” in Makilala, North Cotobato. He sent this variety to Grace Bondad Nicolas—The Manila Times business writer, Entrepreneur and CEO of Hidden Hills Farm By Josefino to taste.

Taste and Texture according to Grace 

“One of my favourite fruits, Durian. Seeing this kind of variety, makes me curious and receiving the fruits from Bernard, I’m thankful. I actually went to different countries just to have the taste of different varieties and even paid Php 1K per kilo for Musang King. I even asked a friend to join me in Davao just to satisfy our cravings.”

“In our farm, we have 40 trees of native durian and with Durio Graveolens, hoping to have this addition to our variety. The taste actually is like a crossbreed of Jackfruit and Durian, the smell is the same also, Jackfruit or Langka in the Philippines. Its like also with a taste of wine. So if you like both, this is a catch. As for the texture, it’s more fine and creamy.” 

The durian is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio. There are 30 recognised Durio species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit, with over 300 named varieties in Thailand and 100 in Malaysia, as of 1987.  The famous in the Philippines, Puyat is the Philippine's main commercial durian variety. It's exported to different countries and is the main durian variety you'll find if you visit Davao City. 

To order, please check their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063782420956

Engr. Grace Bondad Nicolas: The Action Lady

Asia Leaders Awards 2021 (ALA 2021) is set to celebrate “Women in Power”, at the awards ceremony to be held on November 11 at the Embassy of Singapore.  Several

 

women stood tall and proud to have made their marks in the fields of business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and corporate social responsibility.

Women, powered by grit and determination is really unstoppable! And a Filipina, with these traits, alongside with a big heart, would really excel and rise above the rest. Leading this year’s awards ceremonies is no less than the co-founder and CEO of TAG Media Group, Grace Bondad Nicolas, the brains behind the Asia Leaders Awards, an engineer, host, events organizer, PR specialists, a well-rounded certified empowered woman! 

She is currently the president of the American Association of the Philippines (AAP), the first woman to assume the position since the organization’s establishment 73 years ago. Concurrently, she is the vice president of the Makati Tourism Foundation and the Lieutenant Governor Elect of Kiwanis Club, Division 3A, for 2022-2023, under whose auspices are clubs in Makati, Manila, Pasay, and Taguig.

She is also a Go Negosyo certified Mentor for several years now, selflessly sharing her knowledge and experiences to aspiring entrepreneurs handling modules in Entrepreneurial mind setting, marketing and business development. An entrepreneur herself, she launched just last year her very own line of brands, under AAA Cosmetics and Trading Company, GlamHigh Cosmetics, Glutaglow Drinks, Immune Cee and Graceful Skin.

As if she has not enough on her hands, she is also a certified Plantita, nurturing a 2-hectare farm land in Calauan Laguna, Hidden Hills Farm by Josefino. She is living up to her Dad’s dream of making the farm a destination for family full of love, joy and laughter. 

A mother of 3 sweet and pretty kids, Andrea, Alexis and Alexa, better-half of Tag Media CEO Mr.Troy Nicolas,  Engr. GRACE BONDAD NICOLAS took her Masters in Management Major in Engineering Management (MMEM) at Colegio De San Juan De Letran. She credits what she is right now to the foundation and unconditional training she received from her entrepreneur parents. 

Other women awardees of ALA 2021 are:  

• Lerma Manzano Bernabe, President and CEO, AsiaPrime Philippines Corporation (APPC)

• Architect Kaydee Velasco, CEO of KMV Asia Corporation

• Jaie Flores Ador, Founder and CEO of 3D Container & Packaging Philippines Corp.

• Cris Albert, President of FILA Philippines;

• Rosemarie P Rafael, President of Airspeed International Corporation;

• Vanessa Tanco, President and CEO of iAcademy

• Liza Timbol, President of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines 

• Merle Balicao, President and Founder of Mer-nel’s Cake House

• Virginia Lane - One of the most glamorous ladies in Manila Society

Asia Leaders Awards is the only recognition giving body whose awards committee is composed of respected leaders from different organizations and embassies. It is the largest business awards event in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Its main objective is to promote the Philippines as a premier business hub and destination in Asia

Major awards sponsors are Alfamart, Asian Tigers Mobility, AsiaPrime Corporation, Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc., Fredley Group of Companies, Frontrow Enterprise, Grab, Jollibee Group, and J&T Express.

To know more about Engr. Grace Bondad Nicolas, check out her FB page https://www.facebook.com/gracebnicolas or her Tag Media official page https://www.facebook.com/TAGmediaPH

Read more about the Asia Leaders Awards at https://www.facebook.com/AsiaLeadersAwards

More than a pretty face, an excellent Architect and Thought-Leader, Kaydee Velasco

 

Asia Leaders Awards 2021 (ALA 2021) is set to celebrate “Women in Power”, at the awards ceremony to be held on November 11 at the Embassy of Singapore.  Several women stood tall and proud to have made their marks in the fields of business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and corporate social responsibility.

One of the empowered women honouree on the spotlight for ALA 2021 is Arch. Kaydee Velasco.

Known to many as a prime advocate and practitioner of Green Architecture, Arch. Kaydee is the CEO of KMV Asia Development Corporation and has been a recipient of the Young CEO of the year award the past years for her success  in creating thoughtful, strategic, and expert solutions for a multitude of urban industries including construction, architecture, and design - creating a diverse, learned assessment on real estate, not to forget her never ending support to outreach programs to provide assistance to those mostly in need in this time of pandemic. 

Secretary Panelo has only good words for her, being the young protege of Arch. Felino “Jun” Palafox who is the respected and premier urban planner of our generation. He commended her bright ideas on city planning, green architecture and urban housing.

KMV Asia under her leadership recently won the Best Real Estate Development and Management Company in the Philippines at the Real Estate and Property Awards 2020, being one of the most innovative and energy-efficient architecture firms in the country today. 

Arch. Velasco established her company with the dream of designing eco-friendly homes and buildings. The passion and determination exudes in her pretty face, to make a difference, to contribute to society through service that influences the lives of others in the most innovative and sustainable ways possible. Indeed, she matters!

Other women awardees of ALA 2021 are:  

• Lerma Manzano Bernabe, President and CEO, AsiaPrime Philippines Corporation (APPC)

• Jaie Flores Ador, Founder and CEO of 3D Container & Packaging Philippines Corp.

• Cris Albert, President of FILA Philippines;

• Rosemarie P Rafael, President of Airspeed International Corporation;

• Vanessa Tanco, President and CEO of iAcademy

• Liza Timbol, President of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines 

• Merle Balicao, President and Founder of Mer-nel’s Cake House

• Virginia Lane - One of the most glamorous ladies in Manila Society

Asia Leaders Awards is the only recognition giving body whose awards committee is composed of respected leaders from different organizations and embassies. It is the largest business awards event in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It’s main objective is to promote the Philippines as a premier business hub and destination in Asia

Major awards sponsors are Alfamart, Asian Tigers Mobility, AsiaPrime Corporation, Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc., Fredley Group of Companies, Frontrow Enterprise, Grab, Jollibee Group, and J&T Express.

To know more about KMV Asia, visit https://kmv-asia.com/ 

Want to know Arch. Kaydee Velasco more? Check out her FB page, https://www.facebook.com/archkaydee

Get updates from Asia Leaders Awards at https://www.facebook.com/AsiaLeadersAwards

Asia Leaders Awards 2021 will Celebrate Women in Power at the Embassy of Singapore on November 11

Asia Leaders Awards 2021 (ALA 2021) will celebrate “Women in Power” and to acknowledge them on November 11 at the Embassy of Singapore by recognizing the achievements of fabulous women who have made their marks in the fields of business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and corporate social responsibility.

Leading this year’s awards ceremonies is no less than the co-founder and CEO of TAG Media Group, Engineer Grace Bondad Nicolas, the brains behind the Asia Leaders Awards.

She is currently the president of the American Association of the Philippines (AAP), the first woman to assume to position since the organization’s establishment 73 years ago. Concurrently, she’s is the vice president of the Makati Tourism Foundation and the Lieutenant Governor Elect of Kiwanis Club, Division 3A, for 2022-2023, under whose auspice are clubs in Makati, Manila, Pasay, and Taguig.

 

Also present will be Lerma Manzano Bernabe, president and CEO of the Philippines’ leading toll company, AsiaPrime Philippines Corporation (APPC), which is one of ALA 2021’s major sponsors.

Joining them is Architect Kaydee Velasco, CEO of KMV Asia Corporation, who won as last year’s Asia Leaders Awards Young CEO of the Year in Real Estate with her company bagging Green Company of the Year.

 

Other inspiring women leaders who would be honored this year are:

•          Jaie Flores Ador, founder and CEO of 3D Container & Packaging Philippines Corp.

3D Container & Packaging Philippines Corp. is the 2019 National Winner for Small Establishment, Industry Category, Region IVA, during the 2020 ASEAN Business Awards 2020.

•          Cris Albert, president of FILA Philippines;

She is the sole distributor and licensee of FILA products in the country. With 420 outlets, FILA Philippines is present in more than in 280 department stores and 150 shopping malls.

•          Rosemarie P Rafael, president of Airspeed International Corporation;

Elected as the first female president of the Air Cargo Forwarders Association, she has opened the Philippine logistics industry for female corporate leaders while steering Airspeed to greater heights.

•          Vanessa Tanco, president and CEO of iAcademy; and,

Under her, iAcademy has been recognized as the first and only Toon Boom Center of Excellence in Asia and, for two consecutive years, as the Most Innovative Education Provider in the Philippines.

•          Liza Timbol, president of GRBank.

The president of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines representing 429 rural banks with a combined resources of P301 billion is also the first Capampangan and woman to hold the post.

 

The rest of the “Women in Power” honorees to grace the momentous ALA 2021 awarding are Merle Balicao and Virginia Lane who were also featured in the Asia Leaders Awards Women who matters last March 2021.

 

Asia Leaders Awards, the only recognition giving body whose awards committee is composed of organizations and embassies, is the largest business awards event in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

 

The awards exist to promote the Philippines as a premier business hub in Asia and the world. Thus, Asia Leaders Awards’ annual awarding ceremonies is considered a must-attend occasion for business and government leaders, both Filipino and foreign.

 

Major awards sponsors are Alfamart, Asian Tigers Mobility, AsiaPrime Corporation, Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc., Fredley Group of Companies, Frontrow Enterprise, Grab, Jollibee Group, and J&T Express.

 

Read more about the Asia Leaders Awards at www.asialeadersawards.asia.

Always in FRONTROW with Tag Media Group outreach efforts

Frontrow, the Philippines number 1 Multi Level Marketing Company with over 2 million distributors globally never ceases to help out. As we all know, Frontrow, true to their name, took the forefront in helping out the less fortunate ones most affected by the pandemic. They were even tagged as the biggest celebrity donor last year.

July 14, 2021, Headed by Kiwanis Philippine Luzon District  Division 3A, 2022-2023 Lieutenant Governor Elect Grace Bondad Nicolas and her mother Remy Bondad, another community outreach was held, this time for the farmers in Barangay Imok, Calauan, Laguna, in cooperation with the Department of Agrarian Reform. One of its objective is to connect the farmers to the Department in order to air their situation and needs.

Frontrow has long been supporting all outreach efforts of Engr Grace. They have been partners for this endeavor for several years now. Not even the deadly virus can stop them, Engr. Grace quips.

 

 “It is actually second nature for us to reach out to the Filipino people even before the pandemic. When we were starting in 2009, in 2010, we were really struggling….. but Multilevel marketing, when done properly, when done with the purest intentions, and when done with your whole heart and spirit that you just want to help alleviate every problem that the Filipino has, I think GOD UP ABOVE will give his guidance and blessing.” - RS Francisco during the American Association of the Philippines George Washington Charity Dinner, where “Frontrow Cares” got the Outstanding Pandemic Public Health Service Award.

 

FRONTROW is an exclusive distributor of credible, tried and tested, award-winning health and beauty products. Its main products are health supplements – LUXXE White Enhanced Glutathione, LUXXE Slim L-Carnitine and Green Tea Extract, LUXXE Protect Pure Grapeseed Extract and LUXXE Renew Anti-Aging 8 Berry Extract.

To know more about Frontrow, visit their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/FrontrowPHOff/

 

The other major contributors in all activities initiated by GBN in all of her outreach projects under the organizations she represents includes Mer-Nel’s Cakes headed by Ms. Merle Mendoza Batican and AsiaPrime Philippines Corporation headed by Lerma Manzano Bernabe.

 

Engineer Grace Bondad Nicolas is also the current President of the American Association of the Philippines, the first female to assume the position in the organization’s 73-year history. She is also the Vice President of the Makati Tourism Foundation.

Arid and Aroids Founders with Grace Bondad Nicolas

Famous right now with 20 hectares nursery in Quezon, business partners; Horticulturist Boyet Ganigan and Dr. Fernando Silvestre Jr. are not just helping the community right now by providing affordable, accessible and local & imported plants but also innovators in their own ways.

 

Lots became Plantitos and Plantitas, those individuals who loves to collect and plant ornamentals that started last year during the height of this global health crisis to ease the anxiety brought by this pandemic. So the arrival and launching of different branches of Arid and Aroids became very popular because of the growing demand for plants.

 

Grace Bondad Nicolas (First female President of American Association of the Philippines, Business & Lifestyle writer of different broadsheets nationwide, Entrepreneur, Host, Blogger and Plantita) interviewed one of the co founder of Arid and Aroids, Boyet Ganigan at Silang, Cavite, the main showroom with endangered and one of a kind plants globally.

 

“We have 400 registered resellers and all are very passionate on what they do to serve the customers. We’re here to give accessibility and that’s why we’re checking different sites to put our collection to showcase and sell the Plantitos and Plantitas. Soon we will be in Cebu. We will have soon a one of a kind marketplace where the customers can just use a cart and pick their favourite plants. We will also provide other materials for planting. We just launched our showroom in Alabang and recently finished one in Baguio.” - Boyet Ganigan

Boyet Ganigan, Grace Bondad Nicolas and Fernando Silvestre Jr

 

The showroom with landscaped showcasing the different varieties of local and imported plants is amazing with Administrator, Vrent Garcia touring around the guests discussing the origin, price and stories of the plants from local to rare and from Php 50 pesos to Php 2M per pot.

 

Under construction also is the soon to be Coffee shop in the area to cater the guests who just like to discuss their favourite plants and at the same time to just enjoy the scenery as if you’re inside the jungle with so much varieties to inspire all the plant lovers.

 

“I am in awe at Arid and Aroids because of the different varieties they are showing to the public. These are precious plants. Not only that, for me as a collector, I’m amazed with the selections. Also, it’s better to visit their branches, choose your fave and bring it home satisfied. Also, very affordable and lots to choose from. I love the landscaped showroom, you’re gonna have an idea on what to do also in your area. Artistic and innovative. Definitely all who will visit will have something after with happiness.”- Grace Bondad Nicolas

According to Boyet, what makes these premium plants exceptional is that, not only are they tended and locally propagated under them, but this is also the first time that they will be offered to the public. There are new different forms, shapes, and kinds of plant varieties that only the nursery locally propagates like a rare philodendron esmeraldense which you can find in the branches but most endangered you may see now in Silang, Cavite. 

 

Arid and Aroids Branches;

•520 Hoyo Road, Tartaria, Silang Cavite

•9035 Brgy Paco San Rafael, Bulacan

•Arid and Aroids The Village Square Alabang