The beauty contest that traditionally ranks women by physical attributes doesn’t necessarily require a minimum IQ, but intellect (or the seeming lack thereof) is so often used to criticize Binibining Pilipinas candidates. Business acumen doesn’t necessarily mean intelligence—as much as beauty or brains isn’t a measure of a person’s value—but it’s fascinating to find beauty queens who have also heard the call of entrepreneurship.
A business student‑turned‑fashion designer, a certified public accountant, and a restaurateur—three of the 40 candidates of this year’s Binibining Pilipinas have more than just a pretty face in the country’s biggest beauty derby. Check them out:
Armed with an entrepreneurship degree from De La Salle University, she moved to the US to study fashion design at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising where she finished magna cum laude. According to her profile on the Bb. Pilipinas official website, she’s been involved in the family’s clothing business since she came back home last year. Her LinkedIn profile says she worked as Assistant Designer at THML clothing, a brand that can be seen on the shelves of big name North American stores like Nordstrom and Dillards.
Business runs in the blood of this Filipino‑Chinese candidate. Her profile video says that as a certified public accountant, Ms. Ang, 24, worked for almost two years at SGV & Co. Philippines as an assurance associate. In an interview, she told SparkUp that she now manages her family’s own auditing firm, Topskill Consultancy Services. Topskill currently provides accounting, tax compliance and consultancy services to industries such as real estate, merchandising, and services. Ms. Ang also revealed that being able to sashay on the runway while practicing her accounting profession is her greatest achievement so far.
Aside from being a licensed interior designer, Ms. Asturias, 24, discloses through her official binibini profile that she is a restaurateur. She confirmed to SparkUp that she is behind Jose Karlo’s Coffee, a café located in Tacloban City, Leyte. It serves desserts that complement the caffeinated beverages. How she manages to be surrounded by sweets—including testing the products, and rechecking quality regularly—while maintaining a pageant‑worthy waist is another story.
GENEVA — An estimated 325 million people are living with hepatitis B or C and few are aware of their condition, with death tolls from the viruses rising, the UN said last week.
The World Health Organization’s latest hepatitis report identifies the condition as a grave public health threat that needs an “urgent response.”
Hepatitis killed 1.34 million people in 2015, a toll roughly in-line with HIV and tuberculosis.
But in contrast to HIV and TB, hepatitis deaths are increasing, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, recording a 22% mortality rise from 2000 to 2014.
Hepatitis is often symptom free, but types B and C can trigger liver cirrhosis and cancer if untreated.
Lack of awareness among those infected is driving the virus’ spread.
For hepatitis B — which is spread through bodily fluids like blood and semen — only 9% of those infected know their status.
And for hepatitis C, primarily spread through blood, just 20% of those infected are aware of their condition.
Lack of access to testing and treatment leaves “millions of people at risk of a slow progression to chronic liver disease, cancer and death,” WHO said in a statement.
The hepatitis B problem is most acute in the WHO’s Western Pacific Region, which includes China, Malaysia, and southeast Asia. An estimated 115 million people in the region have the virus.
Second worst is Africa, with 60 million hepatitis B cases.
An effective vaccine exists for hepatitis B.
WHO’s latest data shows that hepatitis C — for which there is no vaccine — is most commonly spread through unsafe injections, notably among drug users.
Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region are afflicted with the most hepatitis C cases at 14 million and 15 million respectively.
WHO is trying to ramp up the global hepatitis response, aiming to treat some 80% of sufferers worldwide by 2030. — AFP
THE GOVERNMENT posted a fiscal deficit in March that was smaller than the year-ago gap, as spending picked up with revenues despite the past year’s high expenditure base as the May elections then neared, according to data the Treasury bureau released yesterday. Read the full story.
As time goes by, the lines separating generational cohorts become clearer and more distinct. Now, a new tribe is emerging: the Gen Z or centennials, who were born between 1995 and 2010.
The “oldest” centennials, now aged 22, are starting to trickle into the workforce.
“They are very different from the millennials,” asserted Hannah de Lumen, corporate talent acquisition and development head of Nestlé Philippines. The representative of one of the largest food companies in the world was speaking at a forum organized by JobStreet to celebrate “HR (Human Resources) Day” at New World Makati Hotel in Makati City on March 31. “They were not brought up the same way,” she added.
She claims that centennials are the “first digital natives.” While they do have similarities with millennials, the latter spent the early nineties using the landline (and never daring to call “long distance”), acquainting themselves with floppy disks, waiting for the timeslots of their favorite TV shows and listening to the entire side A of a cassette tape before getting to the other half of the album. Centennials, on the other hand, were born into the age of the internet, and had their first taste of technology thanks to Nokia, Windows XP, YouTube and Limewire.
Among all the generations, centennials, she said, treat mobile technology as “oxygen.” Centennials upload life’s minutiae and send disappearing messages by the minute—all that while scrolling through infinite newsfeeds and various messaging apps.
That has an upside: centennials are the best multitaskers. Exposure to the world via the internet has also made them more global, more appreciative of individuality, and earlier starters than their older counterparts.
But to unlock their full potential, Ms. de Lumen advised employers to prepare as early as the recruitment stage.
She shared the following tips on how to effectively entice this generation to join a company:
With centennials yearning for new discoveries, Ms. de Lumen said companies should establish a recruitment process that is different from the traditional ones—one that “they will never forget.” She cited the Nestlé Management Immersion for Leadership Excellence (MILE) program, which includes a simulation in the plants in different provinces. Conducting such a program, she said, will enable a company to give centennials a glimpse of how it is like working for them.
“The Gen Z is [more] open to different cultures and backgrounds than any other generations. They are really very inclusive about gender rights, religions, because they live in a global world rather than a very local one,” Ms. de Lumen said.
With this, she said a company’s recruitment program should allow centennials to engage with colleagues from different schools and different fields.
The process should also provide centennials with guidance from their leaders. At the MILE program, she said, the young ones are paired with the company’s executives as to who can serve as their mentors.
“The Gen Z struggles in establishing meaningful relationships, so you have to make sure that you are able to give them a coach or someone they can go to if they have questions about the organization,” she said.
The whole company should participate in the recruitment program. Ms. de Lumen said everyone in the company—even the CEO—should understand the next generation of employees to make them feel like they are in one community.
“If you don’t understand them now, you won’t really be able to motivate them later on,” she said. “The sooner you bring them on board and make them part of the program, they will be able to show their potential.”
Leadership is important to centennials, as it is to other generations. Hence, Ms. de Lumen said a company should allow centennials to learn lessons from successful leaders for their future endeavors.
“Gen Z will always seek for inspiration, so you must showcase inspiring leadership,” she said.
A company should not only saddle their young applicants with the duties and responsibilities of the job, but also the value that it contributes to get the company closer to its goals.
“It’s not only about your needs as a company,” she said. Employers should also be able to guide them to realizing “what they can offer to the company.”
While these are all tips specifically for recruitment, it won’t hurt to extend compassion even beyond the job offer—and not only to centennials but to the rest of the organization.
“There are a lot of [projects] in the Philippines that only young, hungry tech startup founders can do,” declared Mario Jordan “Magellan” Fetalino III, founder and CEO of Acudeen Technologies Inc. His company, which lets small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises liquidate invoices in as little as 24 hours, became the Seedstars World Global Winner 2016 and took first place in Tech in Asia Tokyo 2016. He continued: “The startup culture is a big factor in changing old systems.”
During a forum organized by the Young Entrepreneurs Society Philippines on April 20 in Makati City, Mr. Fetalino recounted his journey so far. Although directed to tech founders, these takeaways can also apply to any kind of leader—startup entrepreneurs and corporate managers alike.
The tech scene is a wild, puzzling world, that only a few brave ones can handle. “You have to be ready to deal with all these people when you step into this road,” he said. “You may have the best technology, but if you don’t know how to work with all of these human beings it’s not gonna work.” Starting up a tech company? Here are the three types of people you need to be prepared to deal with:
A startup’s success begins with the right people. As early as job interview, Mr. Fetalino said startup founders should already share the vision of their companies with their applicants.
“You have to make sure that when you hire people, you understand them or else they will do random things. As early as day one you have to know what they’re trying to do,” he explained. “The moment you share them the vision you already replicated yourself to them, and that’s why you don’t need to dictate what to do [repetitively].”
While it is advisable to guide them in fulfilling their jobs, Mr. Fetalino noted that employees should have the freedom to do their tasks the way they want to.
“The best way for them to be effective is to give them a stage to own. A leader is not a dictator. A good leader doesn’t dictate because if you’re the kind of entrepreneur who tells people what to do every time, you’re not gonna grow. You have to trust your people,” he said.
Moreover, he emphasized that startup owners should allow their employees to fail.
“If entrepreneurs fail many times, why can’t your employees? And why would you penalize them for that? It doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “Don’t give them a job. Give them a stage that they will own and trust them. Give them that freedom.”
According to Mr. Fetalino, dealing with clients is “meant to be difficult.” Thus, tech startup owners should “make their message simple and understandable.”
“Don’t over complicate your product because at the end of the day, when you deal with clients they don’t care about the features. They care about how you’re solving a problem,” he said.
“[It’s] basic marketing,” he added. “When you solve a client’s need or want, then pretty much you can sell them anything.”
Startup companies should not sell a product’s features too much, which is a common mistake among startup companies, according to him. “When you deal with clients, don’t sell too much. Tell them how you’re solving, don’t tell them what you do.” He added: “There’s a lot of difficult clients anywhere and the only way to handle them properly is to give them an experience that, despite some glitches, they will enjoy.”
Mr. Fetalino said startup owners should choose an investor “who understands [the company’s] vision, and the right one one who will give real value more than money.”
He said some investors are still hesitant to fund startups because they still don’t know how they operate. But more than the financial aspect, he said tech startup owners should highlight their vision. “Investors are also humans,” he said. “In running a business, having investors at your back is important, and you have to deal with them properly as well.”
At the end of the day, he said a company’s desire to spark a change will determine the fate of its venture. More than the financial gains, he said entrepreneurs should consider the impact of their endeavours to the society.
“[Startups are] not lucrative in the beginning. If your aspiration is focused on the financial returns, you will not get anywhere,” he said. “It’s very important that what drives you is your vision to create impact or change. If it’s financial, you’re not gonna grow.”
“Don’t fall in love with your product. It is bound to change. Don’t fall in love with your partners because some of them will leave you,” he said.
A TAX AMNESTY the government is considering will make sense only if it brings more delinquents into the fold, experts said last week. Read the full story.
Afternoon light, swaying palm trees and the air vibrating with music. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, whose second weekend is happening this April 21 to 23 in Indio, California, is a tricky situation for a girl wearing makeup—one that Janina Vela, an 18‑year‑old Filipina makeup blogger, had already managed to handle.
She is currently over there, rubbing elbows with the Riverdale cast, after being sent by Maybelline New York to cover the hottest festival on the face of the earth. She’s survived Coachella in these makeup looks created with Maybelline, so there’s a large chance that us Coachella‑deprived mortals left here in Manila can brave the city with these on:
Photo Maybelline New York
Brows Fashion Brow Duo Shaper ₱199
Lashes Lash Sensational Mascara ₱429
Face Baby Skin Pore Eraser ₱299, Fit Me Concealer ₱299, Super BB Fresh Matte Cushion ₱749
Highlight Master Strobing Stick ₱249
Contour V‑Face Blush Contour ₱399
Lips Powder Mattes in Touch of Nude ₱299
Photo Maybelline New York
Shadow The Nudes palette ₱675
Eyeliner Hyperink Liquid Liner ₱199
Lashes Hypercurl Mascara P199
Brows Brow Pomade P399
Face Baby Skin Pore Eraser ₱299, Fit Me Concealer ₱299, Super BB Fresh Matte Cushion ₱749, Master Strobing Stick ₱249
Cheeks V‑Face Blush Contour ₱399
Contour Dream Velvet Matte Foundation ₱499
Highlight Master Strobing Stick ₱249
Contour V‑Face Blush Contour ₱399
Setting powder Dream Satin Powder Foundation ₱399
Lips Loaded Bolds in Fearless Purple ₱299
Photo Maybelline New York
Brows Fashion Brow Duo Shaper ₱199
Shadow The Blushed Nudes palette ₱675
Liner Hyperink Liquid Liner ₱199
Lashes Lash Sensational Mascara ₱429
Face Baby Skin Pore Eraser ₱299, Dream Satin Liquid Foundation ₱499
Contour V‑Face Blush Contour ₱399
Setting powder Dream Satin Powder Foundation ₱399
Lips Powder Mattes in Barely There ₱299
These products are exclusively imported and distributed by Maybelline and are available in Maybelline counters nationwide and on www.lazada.ph. For more information about Maybelline, visit www.facebook.com/MaybellinePhilippines.
