Business

Globe welcomes significant progress in the Senate on bills to strengthen the country's 26-year-old Intellectual Property Code (IPC) and combat online content piracy through site-blocking measures.  A Senate committee level hearing wrapped up on April 29, paving the way for a Technical Working Group to convene and start working on the details of the proposal.  This development marks a major step forward in Globe's long-standing #PlayItRight advocacy to help promote and protect the country’s P1.6-trillion creative industry from the damaging effects of piracy, a press release from the firm  said,.  "We laud the Senate for recognizing the urgency of updating the Intellectual Property Code to address the rampant cases of online piracy," said Yoly Crisanto, Chie...

In line with its campaign to make the Internet safe for all, Globe has blocked an increasing number of illegal online gambling sites, with a total 1,345 domains filtered off its network in the first quarter of the year. The Q1 total represents a staggering 967 percent increase from the same quarter last year, when a total of 126 sites were barred. Of the total, 260 sites were blocked in January, 855 in February, and 230 in March, a press release from Globe said. Through a combination of network-level blocking measures and the deployment of content filtering systems, Globe is fighting to keep its customers safe from the harmful effects of online gambling operations. "Illegal online gambling can have devastating financial and social consequences, fueling problematic gambling be...

Globe is transforming its network by shifting to energy-efficient solutions and phasing out outdated equipment, a move that demonstrates its foresight in harnessing advanced technology for sustainable growth and enhanced operational efficiency.  These efforts have led to reduced power consumption by around 3,808 MWh and total reduction of 2,811 metric tons in carbon emissions, equivalent to exhaust from 669 gas-powered vehicles for one year, a press release from the firm said.  One major solution is the system-on-chip-based plug-in cards, which have allowed Globe to double the number of supported cells and halve its energy consumption, enabling greater scalability and site coverage with a reduced environmental impact, it said.   Globe utilized this advance...

Vinci Ermita, Brand Assistant for McDonald’s App,  explains the Crave and Claim Deals at the Bacolod launch.*  McDonald's Philippines launched its  Crave and  Claim Campaign, featuring hot summer deals exclusively on the McDonald's App, in Bacolod City on Monday, April 22.  Initially announced in Davao, these deals are now available nationwide and include a selection of McDonald's favorites at discounts of up to 40 percent, starting at just P99. These deals are running until April 30 and can be availed for purchases made through Dine-In, Take-Out, and Drive-Thru.   To launch the campaign, McDonald's Philippines organized a city-wide initiative  in Bacolod City, embedding QR codes at various tourist attractions. The QR codes allow access to...

Barangay Singcang-Airport was named champion in the 2024 Lupong Tagapamayapa Incentives Award (LTIA) in Bacolod City, the Department of the Interior and Local Government- Bacolod announced on Thursday. April 18.  Brgy. Singcang-Airport is this year’s LTIA Champion of the city and will be the official nominee of Bacolod in the Regional LTIA Highly-Urbanized City Category, the  DILG Bacolod said in a Facebook post.  The barangay is headed by Punong Barangay Caesar Distrito.  Following Singcang-Airport is Brgy. Granada as 1st runner-up, Brgy. Montevista - 2nd runner-up, and Brgy. Estefania - 3rd runner-up.* 

Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding company of tycoon Dr. Andrew L. Tan, achieved a record-breaking net income of P30.3 billion, up 20 percent year-on-year despite higher inflation, which pushed overall costs and expenses up during the period.   Attributable net profit stood at a new high of P19.6 billion, reflecting a 2 percent increase from the year before, a  press release  from AGI said.  Consolidated revenues hit an unprecedented level of P211.2  billion, reflecting a robust 15 percent growth from P183.6 billion the year before.  Kevin L. Tan, AGI chief executive officer, said  “2023 was a historic year for the Group as it delivered excellent performance across all of its businesses, led by its real estate, tourism and consume...

Mobile leader Globe reported a significant drop in the volume of spam and scam text messages blocked on its network in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, a downtrend reflecting gains in the company's stringent anti-spam measures. The total number of blocked spam and scam SMS plunged from 1.1 billion in Q1 2023 to just 362.8 million in Q1 2024, a remarkable 67 percent year-on-year decline. Bank-related spam and scam messages, which often attempt to lure victims into revealing sensitive financial information, also saw a steep 74 percent drop from 4.07 million in Q1 2023 to 1.04 million in the recent quarter, a press release from Globe said. At the same time, the number of customer-reported scam SMS received via Globe's Stop Spam portal declined 44 per...

GCash, the Philippines’ top finance app and largest cashless ecosystem, recently received the recognition of Company of the Year Award for the Philippines' Financial Technology Industry from leading global analysis and growth strategy consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.  The award recognizes GCash’s pioneering use of digital solutions and innovative financial services and its strong overall achievements in the financial technology space—highlighting its  “deployment of best practices and strategic analytics across a value chain”, a press release from Gcash said  Friday, April 12.   The practices and strategies identified by Frost & Sullivan, include:  GCash’s promotion of financial inclusion through a streamlined banking application proces...

Encouraged by the Supreme Court decision upholding the right of the Social Security System (SSS) to take legal action against employers who have been remiss in settling their contribution delinquencies, SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet ordered an increase in the frequency of its Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) Campaign nationwide.  “Our RACE Campaign must be working,” Macasaet said as he reported that the amount of unremitted members’ contributions from delinquent employers have plummeted by almost 40 percent in 2023.  Macasaet said that uncollected contributions in 2022 stood at P92 billion, but SSS successfully brought it down by 39 percent to P56 billion in 2023 on the back of aggressively pursuing delinquent employers and con...

Globe is offering free connectivity support, including roaming call, text and data services, to Filipinos in Taiwan following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Wednesday morning, April 3 .  To help them get in touch with loved ones or make emergency calls, Globe postpaid and prepaid customers and TM users currently using roaming services in Taiwan will get free 15 minutes of incoming and outgoing calls, 15 texts to all networks, and 1GB data (whichever service is currently available) good for 7 days at no extra cost, a press release from Globe said.   To avail of the free roaming service, Globe and TM customers only need to connect to Globe’s roaming partners  -Taiwan Mobile and Chunghwa Telecom. The free roaming service offer requires no registration ...

Globe continues to cement its position as the undisputed leader in the Philippine mobile industry, logging a 54.7 percent  mobile revenue market share as of the end of 2023. This sustains Globe’s majority revenue market share (RMS) for seven consecutive years.  RMS is widely considered the true measure of competitive market leadership in the telecom industry as it reflects actual consumer spending and accounts for all mobile revenue streams: voice, SMS, and mobile data services, a press release from Globe said.  Globe has maintained an RMS ranging from 51.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 54.9 percent by the third quarter of 2023, peaking at 56.8 percent in the first quarter of 2019.  The company’s mobile revenues soared to a record ₱112.4 billion...

Globe has called on the public to be extra vigilant and never engage with text messages with links directing customers to click to redeem Globe Rewards, as these are scam SMS sent out by fraudsters via spoofing.  Customers have reported receiving spoofed messages impersonating Globe’s sender ID, inviting them to click dubious links supposedly to claim their Globe Rewards.  These malicious links are meant to steal personal information, including credit card details.  Fraudsters are apparently taking advantage of Globe’s push for customers to claim their Rewards before the expiry on March 31, 2024.  All official SMS from Globe do not contain links.  “We call on our customers to please never click on links in SMS pretending to be from Globe. Any text ...