Ben&Ben to release a song inspired by a fan’s heartbreaking story

Award-winning Filipino band, Ben&Ben will drop their new single, “Lifetime” on June 4 (Thursday) via Sony Music. 

The intricately produced, folk-pop ballad was written as a response to a fan’s YouTube comment on their hit song “Pagtingin,” which to date, has amassed more than a hundred million streams on YouTube and Spotify combined. 

The fan, who goes by the alias of “Anne Jou,” shared her story of regretting not being able to express her feelings because she was afraid to lose the friendship.

GCash Send Money safer vs traditional remittance

Facing a pandemic forced the whole world to reconsider the ways of human interaction to avoid the risk of virus transmission. 

Social distancing protocols should strictly be followed for those who need to go outside for essential tasks. Face masks are now indispensable when going outdoors. While most of these are common knowledge and are deemed as the norm in the current situation, there is also a need to avoid physical exchange of money bills and coins as this can also be a way for COVID-19 to spread.

Gentle Bones & Joie Tan Captures Hearts With Dreamy Duet, 'Shouldn't Have To Run'

Riding the wave of two notable collaborations this year, Gentle Bones is back with another captivating duet, Shouldn’t Have To Run, sung alongside Singapore’s melodic sweetheart, Joie Tan. Written by Gentle Bones and Fulses, one-third of R&B band, brb., Shouldn’t Have To Run explores the wistful relationship of two lovers whose stars are struggling to align.

“When Joie came on board to finish the song up with us, it became this beautiful duet that we knew we had to get out to the world.,” says Gentle Bones. “Joel and Fulses are both amazing artists I was thrilled to work with and I'm so happy with how the song turned out,” Joie adds.

Having discovered each other in the YouTube stratosphere almost a decade ago, this collaboration makes perfect sense when listening to the track. Gentle Bones and Joie Tan’s dulcet tones combined with the beat’s futuristic vibes transports listeners into a fantastic and curious dimension; whilst detailing the efforts of someone trying to reach out to his lover, but to no avail.

PLDT Home extends Speedboost and Double Data offers until June 30

As the general community quarantine takes effect in many parts of the country, PLDT Home responds to the increased demand for strong home internet as it extends its best value offers for the benefit of families working and studying at home. The leading telco and digital services provider extends the FREE Speedboost for Fibr subscribers, while its prepaid customers can continue to enjoy P995 and 2x data for all sites and apps until June 30, 2020.

The nationwide FREE Speedboost provides Fibr customers a minimum speed of 25 Mbps, which is beneficial for homes that have multiple Internet users at home. This is the ideal speed for families who simultaneously access sites for online meetings, browsing, downloading files, and video streaming. 

Shopee partners with CJ ENM to bring KCON online, featuring Kpop icons GFRIEND, (G)I-DLE, ITZY, MONSTA X, Stray Kids, and more

Shopee Live Kpop Fest kicks off on June 10, with an exclusive free screening of KCON:TACT 2020 Summer from June 20-26

Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, partners Asia’s leading entertainment and lifestyle company CJ ENM to bring KCON, the world’s largest Korean culture festival, online for the first time. KCON is a highly-anticipated annual event for Kpop fans across the globe, entering its ninth year of bringing the ultimate Korean culture fan experience worldwide including the US, Japan, and Thailand. It will go online for the first time in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, with Shopee as the official live stream partner for the KCON:TACT 2020 Summer concert. This partnership will see Shopee air live performances, concerts, and more from KCON:TACT 2020 Summer for free to users on Shopee Live.

OYO launches Sanitized Stays in the Philippines

OYO Hotels & Homes is rolling out its Sanitized Stays in the Philippines from 1 June 2020. Under the initiative, OYO will implement comprehensive hygiene protocols and step up vigilance measures pre and post-check-in and throughout its customer journey, to curb any potential spread of Covid-19.

Check-in & check-out: To ensure social distancing, OYO will revamp its guest check-in & check-out process to a minimal touch process. The hotel chain is in the process of acquiring the required approvals for guests to upload their IDs and complete their formalities at the hotel with minimal staff interaction. Similarly, check-out and payment processes are being restructured to ensure minimal staff interaction.

Minimal contact service: To ensure social distancing at all customer-facing touchpoints, OYO will introduce minimal contact room service and will train the housekeeping staff on the same

PLDT, Smart launch rolling store for frontline AFP workers through the PLDT-Smart Foundation

Frontline workers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are now able to avail of the special offers of PLDT-Smart products and services through the recently launched PLDT and Smart rolling store stationed in Camp Aguinaldo. 

Some of these offers include discounts on PLDT, Smart and TNT products and services. This includes a PLDT Home WiFi for only P995, the unli Fibr Plan 2899 with speed up to 100 mbps and a switch offer of 50% off for six months which is inclusive of free installation and activation fees. 

Meanwhile, PLDT mobile subsidiary Smart Communications and TNT will offer sims, discounted prepaid load top-up and Sim Upgrade to LTE. Both also include a retailer recruitment with a free Giga 99 for every new retailer with a purchase of P2,000 load wallet.

‘Keeping safe while mobilising’: Children and young people step up amidst the COVID-19 pandemic – World Vision research report

Amidst these challenging times, children and young people expressed high sense of social responsibility to fight the spread of COVID-19 in their respective communities while complying with lockdown measures, research report by World Vision finds.

The research ‘Children’s voices in times of COVID-19: Continued child activism in the face of personal challenges’ consulted over 100 children and young people in 13 countries to understand the various ways the health pandemic affected them and the actions they have taken to respond to the crisis.

GCash provides Filipinos access to savings amid COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the importance of keeping an emergency fund, studies show.

A recent consumer expectations survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed that more Filipinos are now building their own savings accounts, with 73.9-percent of respondents setting aside money in their banks for unforeseen situations.

GCash helps extend budgets during COVID-19 emergency with GCredit

GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines, is making it easier for Filipinos to have access to a credit line that they can tap amid the national health emergency caused by the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

GCredit, which works like a flexible loan or credit card, gives GCash access to money that they can use to buy groceries from supermarkets like Puregold, medicines from pharmacies like Mercury Drugs, and even utility bills.