A Grand New Year’s Welcome at Rizal Park Hotel

Imagine welcoming the New Year from atop one of Manila’s finest hotels, basking in the panorama of Manila Bay fireworks with friends and family and raising a Champagne toast on December 31. Wouldn’t that be a spectacular way to celebrate the passing of a year?

Rizal Park Hotel is hailing 2023 in style with an array of offers, starting with the New Year Countdown Celebrate 2023 package. For only PhP 1,299 per person, guests will enjoy a festive view of the New Year’s Eve fireworks over the alfresco Deck Lounge’s signature cocktails, drinks, canapes, and Champagne toast. A live DJ performance will keep the countdown bright and merry all through the night.

For guests looking to unwind, Rizal Park Hotel is offering a 3D2N room package for guests staying between December 31 until January 2. For only Php 11,999, guests can relax inside a Deluxe Room and enjoy complimentary buffet breakfast and the Celebrate 2023 countdown festivities at the Deck Lounge on New Year’s Eve. An upgrade of only an additional Php 1,000 will entitle guests of the 3D2N stay to enjoy Rizal Park Hotel’s signature spa for two.

About Rizal Park Hotel

Opened in 2017, Rizal Park Hotel welcomes travelers to the historic boutique property that was once Manila’s social hall, the Army and Navy Club (ANC). Designed by the renowned architect William Parsons and unveiled in 1911, the ANC played host to Filipinos and Americans who relaxed, played sports, and enjoyed the high life within its grounds. Meticulously conserved and restored into a boutique hotel by Oceanville Hotel and Spa Corporation, Rizal Park Hotel features 107 rooms and an array of sumptuous dining options, such as authentic Chinese restaurant Imperial Court and all-day dining Rizal Cafe. The hotel also offers relaxing fitness and spa amenities and indoor and alfresco event spaces. Its proximity to Luneta, Intramuros, and Manila Ocean Park makes it the ideal place to stay and enjoy the city.

For more information and reservations, visit Rizal Park Hotel at South Road, Ermita, Manila. You can call (02) 8804 8700 or email reservations@rizalparkhotelmanila.com

PASASALAMAT Event: Cebuana Lhuillier extends heartfelt thanks to loyal clients for decades of trust, loyalty

For many of Cebuana Lhuillier pawning clients, their jewelries are more than valued accessories. To many, these items were heirloom pieces, fruits of their hard work, or precious investments. During times of need, they also represent a quick solution, an opportunity for a better life, or a fresh restart.

For more than 35 years, Cebuana Lhuillier has known these stories from its clients as they go through its doors during their times of need. More than its high appraisal rates, they comfort their clients by the assistance of well-trained branch personnel and the assurance that their precious pieces are safely and securely taken cared of. This eases the burden of parting with the jewelry for the clients, until the time that they come back to claim their pawned items.

Aware that the value of the items in their care goes beyond their weight in gold, Cebuana Lhuillier thought of a way to further give meaning to the Holiday Season for some of its most loyal clients.

Salamat, Ka-Cebuana

As part of its CSR initiatives, the company has made it its annual tradition to give back to those in need during the Holidays. Usually, these gift-giving activities were held every 6th of December in celebration of the Feast of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of pawnbrokers and the inspiration behind the legend of Santa Claus.

This year, Cebuana Lhuillier chose the best recipients—its valued clients, many of whom has stayed with the company for years, entrusting some of their most precious items in their times of need. The event, dubbed “Pasasalamat,” gathered more than 200 clients across eight regional locations nationwide in a simultaneous celebration of thanks and love from Cebuana Lhuillier. The gathering proved to be more than a celebration as attendees were feted to a day of fun and prizes, but the end of the program proved to be the most poignant of all when Cebuana Lhuillier, through its operations team, returned all the pawned items of its attendees as a special surprise.

Jean Henri Lhuillier, president and CEO, shared, “Pasasalamat 2022 is our way of giving thanks to our clients for the trust and partnership we have established in the last 35 years. We’ve known their stories—and were blessed to be with them as they chased their dreams and provided better lives for their loved ones. With “Pasasalamat,” we are returning this trust by gifting them with the items they pawned with us. We hope that through this small gesture, Cebuana Lhuillier is able to give further meaning to this season.”

A Season of Joy, Hope, and Giving Thanks

For many of the attendees of the Pasasalamat celebration, the unexpected blessings were more than expressions of gratitude coming from a long-time ally—it brought hope and joy as precious pieces, family heirlooms, and cherished investments find its way back to them.

For Grecilda Torres, a small business owner and client of Cebuana Lhuilier for 26 years, the unexpected return of her pawned items—all rings—brought to tears. “Nakaka-touch isipin na gumawa ng time si Cebuana Lhuillier na ipakita sa amin na importante kami. I am very much grateful and thankful na—yung 26 years naming magkasama, it keeps going lang. My business and the business of Cebuana Lhuillier, magkasama pa din kami. Nagka-doctor na akong anak, pero still, nandito pa din ako with Cebuana. And for that, I am very thankful,” she shares.

Meanwhile, Remigia Mejia, a 79-year-old cancer survivor and loyal client of Cebuana Lhuillier for 30 years, cannot believe that a pendant which her late husband gifted her before they were married has found its way back to her. She shares, “Hindi ko akalain na babalik yung mga alahas ko since pinag-iipunan ko din na matubos sila. Karamihan sa kanila, matatagal na sa akin, including yung pendant na bigay ng asawa ko and yung singsing ng anak ko which I gave her nung nag-debut siya. As much as possible, ayaw ko silang maremata kasi they are very valuable and sentimental pieces para sa akin. Kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa Cebuana Lhuillier for this event and for the many years na hindi nya din ako pinabayaan. Nagtra-trabaho pa lang ako, kasama ko na ang Cebuana Lhuillier and even till now, kami pa din ang magkasama.”

For Ana Marie Mendoza Rapido, a teacher from Cavite and a Ka-Cebuana since 2012, Cebuana Lhuillier has been a trusted ally during times of emergencies. Through their jewelries, Ana Marie and her siblings were able to sustain the hospitalization and medication of their mother who have been in-and-out of hospitals in the last ten years. “Ang Cebuana po, trusted na namin at lagi naming taga-sagip sa oras ng kagipitan, lalo na nung panahon ng pandemic,” shared Ana Marie who was in tears when she opened the box and saw her pawned item inside.

Grecilda, Remigia, and Ana Marie were just three of the many loyal clients whose continued trust and loyalty to Cebuana Lhuillier proved to be instrumental in the company’s continued reign as the country’s number one pawnshop.  With Pasasalamat, the decades-old financial institution was able to express and extend its thanks for the many whose continued patronage remains the reason for its longevity and its continuous desire to serve as an ally and a friend to millions of Filipinos and their journey towards a better future.

COMCO Mundo continues to make waves in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa

 

COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises (COMCO Mundo) is concluding the year 2022 with key milestones as it continues to make waves in the Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa markets. COMCO Mundo, which recently unveiled its newest global headquarters in the Philippines’ Makati Central Business District, is the parent and umbrella organization that houses trailblazing enterprises and ventures such as COMCO Southeast Asia (SEA), COMCO Middle East & Africa (MEA), SEA Wave Pop Culture Studio, Citizen COMCO Advocacy Program, COMCO Alumni Society, and TARO Digital AOX. With affiliate network presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, COMCO Southeast Asia continues its thrust of meaningful storytelling as it bagged various industry recognitions garnering a total of 140 awards from prestigious local, regional, and international award-giving bodies since its inception in 2016. 

The most recent wins and citations were from Marketing Interactive Asia’s PR Awards Asia-Pacific, PRCA APAC Awards, Campaign Asia Pacific’s PR Awards Asia, CIPR Global Excellence Awards, The Gold Standard Awards, Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards, Stevie Awards, and IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) Quill Awards. The Agency also continued to strengthen its client portfolio for its 6th year, winning major accounts such as APL GO, ASEANA City, AXA, European Union, Frit-Oh, Kone, Lalamove, MR. DIY, PHILUSA Corporation together with its wide range of brands (Rhea Generics, Cleene Alcohol, and Cotton, Cleene Clio, Babyflo Baby Care, and Love My Honey), Phinma Education, Remy Martin, Skechers, and Uratex; and renewing clients Eastern Communications, Lamoiyan Corporation, Jobstreet, LENOVO, Sunlife Asia Service Center, Takeda, Teleperformance, World Vision, and WWF. From 2021 to 2022, COMCO SEA grew its team by 61% and has a retention of 62%. Of its homegrown talents who started as apprentices and associates, 44% have been promoted to supervisory and management positions. In the MEA region, COMCO Middle East & Africa continues to reap success on its first year handling notable brands from various industries including Belcanto and Eden at Dubai Opera, Central Park Towers, Electric Pawn Shop, Global Educational Supplies & Solutions 2022, Hyde Hotel’s Katsuya and Hudson Tavern, Nolte Küchen, Holiday Inn Science Park, Issei at Radisson Damac Hills, Last Seen Live, Maison D’Vie, The Vault Real Estate, Tres Marias Coffee and Yas Plaza Hotels. The game-changing agency is also responsible for Empire Movies’ hottest premiers for the year including Bullet Train, Brahmastra, The Woman King, Lyle Lyle Crocodile, and Where the Crawdads Sing. It was also declared as the official PR agency of the Middle East Film and Comic Con 2023 and Najah Abu Dhabi and Dubai 2022.

In addition, COMCO MEA, together with COMCO SEA, recently conducted property roadshows for Philippine property firm RLC Residences in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as among the group’s first of many synergy initiatives. The teams will continue to showcase its strength in cross-regional PR through its new client, EZRA COUTURE, a trailblazing UAE-based fashion house that has dressed royals and celebrities like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Shakira, Nicole Scherzinger, Paris Hilton, Sonam Kapoor, Pia Wurtzbach and Heart Evangelista. 

COMCO Mundo Group Chief Executive Director and Lead Strategic Communications Counsel / Partner and Co-Founder Mr. Ferdinand L. Bondoy bagged the Gold Award for the PR Champion of the Year (Agency) at the PR Awards 2022 in Asia Pacific of Marketing Interactive Asia. He was also recently elected to the Regional Board of PRCA APAC (Public Relations and Communications Association Asia-Pacific) based in Singapore, the only Filipino to be elected in the position. He was also appointed anew to be part of the London-based CIPR’s (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) International Committee and the Lead for Online Events, representing not only the Philippines but also Southeast Asia and the rest of Asia-Pacific. In the Philippines, Mr. Bondoy is also a Board Trustee of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines serving as Corporate Secretary and Chair of Digital and Public Relations Committee and Youth and Student Programs. Meanwhile, Camp COMCO Mentorship Program, the groundbreaking and proprietary talent incubation initiative, industry linkage course, and apprenticeship platform of COMCO, is also opening its 19 th Cycle in the last quarter of the year. For over 6 years, Camp COMCO has already produced 100 graduates from 18 cycles and received multiple recognition for its contribution to the industry. 

As part of its thanksgiving to all of its partners and supporters, COMCO Mundo also successfully conducted the early "Holiday Movie Night with COMCOmigos” attended by more than 250 media, bloggers, clients, industry colleagues, Camp COMCO Mentorship Program alumni, and COMCO Mundo League staff. The activity was supported by APLGO, Eastern Communications, Jobstreet, LENOVO, Mediplast, MR.DIY, Philusa Corporation (Albatross, Cleene, and Mediplast), Starkaffea, and Teleperformance. COMCO also successfully held the virtual "Game Night with COMCOmigos”, another Christmas Thanksgiving Event this time with media, bloggers, content creators, and online communities from the provinces across the Philippines.

“Amid threats and challenges to businesses, we in COMCO Mundo League continue to thrive as we are driven by our goal to share stories that connect, ideas that transform, and campaigns that make a difference through our unique brand of Meaningful Storytelling. The year 2022 is the time where we cultivated the seeds of our 10-year master plan and we are looking forward to a more exciting new year as we continuously unfold the next phase of our ventures. Thank you so much to our COMCOmigos, our friends in our various publics for their unwavering support to COMCO all these years,” said Mr. Ferdinand L. Bondoy.

To know more about COMCO Mundo, visit comcomundo.com. Follow them on social media: facebook.com/comcomundo on Facebook, linkedin.com/company/comcomundo, and @comco_mundo on Instagram.