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Darwinbox raises $72M, to invest in Southeast Asia talent

DARWINBOX, an Asia-based human resources (HR) technology platform, is looking to invest in more talent in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, after it raised $72 million from a new funding round.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) startup raised $72 million through a funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). This boosted its valuation past $1 billion.

“We made a conscious decision to really invest in offices and people in the Philippines,” said Juancho Jerusalem, Darwinbox’s vice-president and head of expansion in Asia Pacific and Japan, at a virtual briefing on Tuesday. “We want to revolutionize the user experience of every person. We want to help both white-collar and blue-collar workers.”

Darwinbox provides a cloud-based platform that caters to digital HR needs in all industries across the entire employee lifecycle, from the recruitment and onboarding process to streamlined employee data and work force management. 

It is used by over 650 enterprises across the globe, including Filipino enterprises such as JG Summit Holdings, Inc., Robinsons Bank Corp., and NutriAsia, Inc. among others. Most recently, it partnered with Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. to optimize HR tech for over 1,000 employees.

With a 300% revenue growth year on year, the platform aims to grow the team by three times in the Philippines in order to sustain this momentum, added Mr. Jerusalem.

“A lot of things have happened globally that have fast-tracked the recognition of HR management solutions in all industries… Entering the pandemic, it’s unanimous that companies now believe that the most important piece in the puzzle is people,” he said.

He also noted the wide range of industries that can benefit from Darwinbox, including retail, banking and finance, manufacturing, which has a large number of blue-collar workers, and fast-growing startups that want systems to sustain their growth.

Jayant Paleti, co-founder of Darwinbox, pointed out in a statement the importance of technology in helping organizations unlock their employees’ potential.

“This has especially found resonance in this rapidly evolving world of work over the last two years, with companies having to rethink how they attract, manage and retain their talent,” he said.

Mr. Jerusalem added they are in talks with some Philippine universities interested in partnering for training programs.

POC withdraws recognition of Philip Ella Juico as PATAFA chief

PATAFA President Philip Ella Juico — PHILIPPINE STAR FILE PHOTO

THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) upheld the decision of its executive board declaring Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) President Philip Ella Juico persona non grata in its hybrid general assembly (GA) meeting on Wednesday.

POC president Abraham Tolentino said 36 members, headed by athletes’ commission representative and Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn F. Diaz, voted in favor of the withdrawal of recognition from Mr. Juico.

There were five who were against, three who abstained, and 10 who did not vote.

“We’re just following the procedure and he (Mr. Juico) was given a chance to speak, explain his side,” said Mr. Tolentino.

This came less than a month after the POC executive board upheld the recommendation of the ethics committee to withdraw sanction from Mr. Juico for alleged harassment that Ernest John “EJ” Obiena had accused him for.

The PhilCycling chief said they could withdraw the decision if PATAFA and Mr. Obiena patch things up.

“Anytime Mr. Juico and EJ can reconcile and EJ withdraws his complain, the GA and executive board can revisit it,” said congressman from Tagaytay.

But it looked like the persona non grata tag could remain for a long time since Mr. Obiena declined the mediation proposed by the Philippine Sports Commission that could have put an end to the issue. — Joey Villar

PAL says passenger insurance now has COVID coverage

An airplane is seen on the runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila, March 14, 2016. — REUTERS/ROMEO RANOCO/FILE PHOTO

PHILIPPINE Airlines, Inc. (PAL) on Wednesday said its insurance package for passengers now covers coronavirus-related medical expenses.

The package includes emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, travel cancellation in case the passenger or a family member is infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) within 30 days prior to flight departure, and trip curtailment in case the passenger is hospitalized due to COVID-19, the airline said in a statement.

“Passengers departing from the Philippines and traveling within the Philippines may avail of the COVID Max Protect for maximum coverage during their travel,” it added.

The underwriter is the flag carrier’s program partner Alliedbankers Insurance Corp.

The insurance package includes a medical expense benefit of P1.2 million for domestic travel and up to $125,000 for international travel.

Policyholder must be a minimum of one month old up to 75 years old.

“With the ongoing pandemic, it is important to invest in peace of mind and preparedness,” said Oscar Enrico Reyes, PAL senior vice-president for marketing and sales.

“PAL’s travel insurance with COVID coverage is designed to give our passengers a financial cover against their medical expenses, if affected by the virus. One can select from a variety of insurance packages for their flights,” he added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Senate passes bill on PDIC charter amendments

THE SENATE on Wednesday passed on second reading a bill amending the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) charter that would make it an attached agency of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Senate Bill 2365 is seen to enhance the coordination between PDIC and the BSP to boost the former’s operations. The PDIC is currently an attached agency of the Department of Finance.

Banking groups previously pushed for the passage of the bill as it would require the PDIC board of directors to review the maximum deposit insurance coverage every three years and allow them to increase the coverage based on inflation and other economic indicators that may be relevant.

To do this, the PDIC board will be allowed to get the service of independent actuarial consultants and other experts to consider the feasibility and sustainability of a higher maximum deposit insurance coverage.

At present, the PDIC provides a maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 per depositor for each bank.

Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, who chairs the Senate finance committee, read out accepted amendments proposed by Senate Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto.

New provisions include those on the assessment rate of member banks. The bill said the assessment rate will be determined by the board of directors provided that it will not exceed one-fifth of 1% per annum.

“The board of directors shall consider a mechanism that adjusts the assessment rate depending on the creditworthiness or the risk profile of the bank.”

It also said the board must establish the risk-based assessment system and impose a commensurate risk-based adjusted rate per annum per bank to ensure the sustainability of the corporation while rationalizing the financial burden on lenders.

The assessment of each insured bank will be determined by multiplying the adjusted annual assessment rate with the assessment base, but in no case should the assessment be less than P5,000 in words and figures.

Based on the initial copy, the board may establish a risk-based assessment system and rate that does not exceed two-fifths of 1% per annum multiplied by the assessment base. The semi-annual assessment for each insured bank was to be calculated from one-half of the assessment rate multiplied by the assessment base, noting still the P5,000 limit.

The assessment base will be the amount of the liability of the bank for deposits based on the total sum insured of the bank. The operating expense requirements of the corporation will be distinguished from the calculated risk pool of the bank and excluded from the calculation of the assessment base.

Mr. Angara said in case there is an increase in maximum insured deposit, the PDIC board will have the authority to adjust the assessment rate for banks, taking into consideration the current economic conditions and the adequacy and sustainability of the deposit insurance fund.

The corporation and the board of directors must maintain transparency in conducting all of these activities, he added. — A.N.O. Tan

Neil Young to Spotify: Either remove my music or Joe Rogan podcast

Neil Young — TORE SÆTRE / WIKIMEDIA

NEW YORK —  Neil Young has threatened to pull his music from the Spotify streaming service in protest of its relationship with podcaster Joe Rogan, who the prolific singer-songwriter accuses of spreading misinformation about coronavirus disease 21019 (COVID-19), according to media reports on Tuesday.

Mr. Young, who survived polio as a child, briefly posted a letter on his website addressed to his manager and his record label, Warner Music Group, demanding that Spotify no longer carry his music. The letter was later deleted.

“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform. … They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Mr. Young wrote in the letter, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” the newspaper quoted Young, 76, as writing.

Rogan, 54, is the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, the top-rated podcast on Spotify, which has exclusive rights to the program.

As of Tuesday, Young’s music, including such songs as “Heart Of Gold,” “Rocking In The Free World” and “Old Man,” was still available on the service, as was Rogan’s podcast.

Spotify, Warner Music Group, and The Joe Rogan Experience did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Young could not be reached.

Mr. Rogan, who began his career as a stand-up comedian, has long stirred controversy with his views on the pandemic, government mandates and vaccines to control the spread of the coronavirus. He has questioned the need for COVID-19 vaccines on his show and said he used ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug that has no proven benefit against COVID.

In the letter, Young singled out one episode in which a Rogan guest was pushing debunked anti vaccination theories, the Journal reported.

Mr. Young’s letter noted that Mr. Rogan’s podcast draws 11 million listeners each episode and highlighted that Spotify lacks a misinformation policy, the newspaper said.

Spotify began carrying Mr. Rogan’s podcast in September as part of its efforts to transform itself into the Netflix of audio. Mr. Rogan maintains full creative control over the show.

Earlier this month, 270 scientists and medical professionals signed an open letter to Spotify to take action against Mr. Rogan, accusing him of spreading falsehoods on the podcast. —  Reuters

Google offers new replacement for advertising cookies after ‘FLoC’ falls short

ALPHABET, Inc.’s Google on Tuesday announced its second try at enabling advertisers to buy ads based on users’ browsing interests without having to rely on what it has described as privacy-invasive tracking cookies.

Google wants to block tracking cookies in its Chrome web browser by the end of next year, which would prevent advertising companies from logging the websites someone is visiting. Advertisers, website owners and privacy groups have all raised alarms over the planned transition, and complaints have led antitrust authorities in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere to watch Google’s plans closely.

Online ad buyers and sellers are weighing successors to the cookies. Options include tracking users by asking for their e-mail addresses to access websites or adopting new technologies that Google, Mozilla and other browser makers could build into their software.

Google’s initial solution, known as Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC, aimed to constantly group people into big baskets designed by algorithms based on websites users visited in the last week. Advertisers could show ads to a preferred basket, but they would not know the individuals in it or what interest they shared in common.

But in tests last year, some advertisers found FLoC less effective than cookies for choosing users to target and the system carried the risk of exposing an individual’s browsing history, Google product director Vinay Goel told Reuters.

Companies in the $250-billion global online display advertising industry fear the loss of cookies will make them more reliant on buying ads from Google and Facebook because of their big user databases.

The new browser system, which is called Topics, groups each user in up to 15 baskets out of about 350 human-designed choices such as “fitness” and “travel” based on three weeks of browsing. Advertisers will see up to three baskets per user as they decide whether to show that individual an ad.

Mr. Goel said browsing is tracked only on websites that enable Topics, and users can dissociate from a topic or turn off the technology altogether. Testing will begin within months, he said. — Reuters

Jenelyn Olsim raring to face Jihin Radzuan anew

JENELYN OLSIM — ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

JENELYN OLSIM will always be a go-getter through and through.

And with another opportunity arising, the Team Lakay rising star is seizing the opportunity as she steps back inside the ONE Circle at “ONE: BAD BLOOD” on 11 February in Singapore.

Ms. Olsim reacquaints herself with Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan in a women’s atomweight fight that is three months in the making.

The two fighters were supposed to fight at “ONE: NEXTGEN II” last November in an alternate bout in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix until changes had to be made.

Ms. Olsim stepped up in place of the injured Itsuki “Android 18” Hirata in the Grand Prix semifinal, as she valiantly fought Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat on short notice, losing via unanimous decision.

The changes, unfortunately, left Ms. Radzuan without a match.

Curiously, Ms. Olsim once again steps in the place of Ms. Hirata, who was originally intended to meet Ms. Radzuan in this card but had to pull out due to injuries.

Ms. Olsim’s focus, however, is on Ms. Radzuan now as she hopes to put into work the lessons she got from her last fight against Ms. Phogat in her quest to become a more complete fighter.

Daring as her move to take the fight in such a short time frame, Ms. Olsim also pointed out that she wouldn’t change it for the world as she has gained another perspective in fighting here at ONE — a blessing in disguise all the more in the leadup to this match against another capable striker like the Malaysian Ms. Radzuan.

The clash between Ms. Olsim and Ms. Radzuan will be part of a loaded undercard for ONE: BAD BLOOD, which will be headlined by the heated rivalry between fellow Brazilians Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes and John “Hands of Stone” Lineker for the ONE Bantamweight World Championship.

Shakey’s starts employee COVID-19 booster shot program

SHAKEY’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. has launched its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine booster shot program for its fully vaccinated employees as well as their dependents.

All employees of its company-owned stores have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Shakey’s said. It also procured vaccine booster doses with another Po-led listed company, Century Pacific Food, Inc.

“The health and safety of our employees and our guests remain paramount,” Shakey’s President and Chief Executive Officer Vicente L. Gregorio said in a statement on Wednesday.

“With the Omicron variant’s high degree of transmissibility, we have made it our imperative to implement vaccination and boosting to continuously protect our people and community,” he added.

Shakey’s said the COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be administered for free for employees, as well as for employee dependents. The company said it will also provide support for its suppliers’ personnel.

As pandemic regulations shift according to the country’s COVID-19 situation, Shakey’s assures its customers that it can readily adapt to capacity restrictions after putting in place “strategic pivots.”

This includes adopting operational efficiencies and improving the company’s off-premise business.

“We built smaller stores aimed at delivery and carryout, launched a new and improved delivery app, and rolled out our 31-minute delivery guarantee anywhere in Metro Manila,” Mr. Gregorio said.

Despite the pandemic, the company was able to launch 31 stores last year, exceeding its 30-store target.

Shakey’s also reassigned employees to ensure that they are only 30 minutes away from their assigned stores for the health and safety of their personnel and to minimize disruption of operations.

Shakey’s shares on the local bourse declined 0.95% or nine centavos on Wednesday to close at P9.41 apiece. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Dining In/Out (01/27/22)

Kenny Rogers Roasters’ Chipotle Spicy Roast and Ribs

KENNY Rogers Roasters gets hot and fiery this month with the Chipotle Spicy Roast and Ribs. The chicken and ribs are roasted and grilled to an orange-golden brown with spices on the surfaces. To elevate the juicy roasted chicken and ribs, the meat is cooked with smoked hot chili taste and aroma balanced with herbs and spices. Complementing it are two new sauce options: the Salsa Caliente to bring the spice to the next level, and the Salsa Verde to balance and cleanse the palate with its citrus flavors. Customers can choose between Chipotle Spicy Roast (P320) Solo B Plate which includes a quarter chicken or the Chipotle Spicy Ribs (P525) Solo B Plate which comes with half slab rib. Both come with two side dishes, java rice, a muffin, and the two new sauces. Kenny Rogers Roasters also offers the Chipotle Spicy Roast Group Meal (P1,130) which includes a whole roast chicken, and the Chipotle Spicy Ribs Group Meal (P1,915) which comes with a whole slab rib. Both options come with the Salsa Verde and Salsa Caliente, java rice, four side dishes and muffins, and 1.5 liters of Coke. Customers can add the new Creamed Corn side dish. To complete the Mexican fiesta experience, customers can also avail the Grilled Tortilla as an add-on for P20. The Chipotle Spicy Roast and Ribs are available at Kenny Rogers Roasters nationwide for dine-in, takeout, or delivery through Kenny Rogers Roasters website (www.kennyrogersdelivery.com.ph), the hotline (8-555-9000), or via Grab Food and Food Panda.

Krispy Kreme introduces new Original creations

KRISPY KREME opened 2022 with a fresh slate of Original creations which are available for a limited time only. These include fun proportions of its best-selling doughnuts, the return of a new DUOghnut, and a unique take on a staple campfire treat. Following the success of its Original Glazed bites, Krispy Kreme has now introduced Minis — bite-sized versions of its doughnuts. Starting at P215, Minis are sold in boxes of 16 and are available in the following flavors: Original Glazed, Dark Chocolate Glaze, Chocolate Sprinkles, and Strawberry Sprinkles. Available until Feb. 28.T hen there are the over-the-top Choco Overload DUOghnuts, made in partnership with Hershey’s and Nestlé. There are the Hershey’s S’mores — an unglazed dark chocolate doughnut drizzled with vanilla icing and rich dark chocolate, topped with crushed and chopped grahams, mini marshmallows, and Hershey’s dark chocolate chips; and the Double Choco Crunch — an unglazed dark chocolate doughnut spread with chocolate crunch icing, overloaded with chopped red chocolate lentils and Nestlé Crunch, and then finished-off with a milk chocolate drizzle. They are available until Feb. 15 and priced at P59 each. The Choco Overload DUOghnuts are available by the piece, in a box of six, or a dozen. Krispy Kreme also has a new limited-edition drink: the Hershey’s S’mores Chiller. This iced-blended drink is made with a kreme base, Graham biscuits, double chocolate syrup, and sea salt kreme around the cup’s wall, topped with whipped cream and Hershey’s chocolate bar and milk chocolate syrup. The Hershey’s S’mores Chiller is a part of Krispy Kreme’s celebration of “All Things Chocolate” that runs until March 31 and is headlined by the Chocolate Chocolate Chiller. The new Minis, Choco Overload DUOghnuts, and Hershey’s S’mores Chiller are available for a limited time only at participating Krispy Kreme stores.

Tip-Top offers chicken for home cooking

C-JOY– CARGILL Philippines’ joint venture with Jollibee –launches Tip-Top’s “Easy and Tasty,” a selection of marinated chicken for the use of home cooks. Tip-Top Chicken originated in 1958 as a family business serving roasted and fried chicken in Nicaragua and has grown since then. Today, Tip-Top’s “The Easy Choice!” Chicken is available worldwide. With the option of taking home fresh or flavored chicken, home cooks are able to create different recipes and use a variety of cooking methods to produce versatile dishes. Tip-Top Chicken is also available in premium quality choice cuts — drumstick, wings, breast, thigh — and as a whole fiesta size dressed chicken or the selection of “Easy and Tasty” marinated versions that makes preparing meals easier. It is already seasoned with flavors like “hot & spicy” and coming this April, sweet BBQ, allowing beginner cooks to deliver restaurant-grade meals from the comfort of their home kitchens. Tip-Top Chicken is manufactured in the C-Joy Plant in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. The facility has been accredited by the National Meat Inspection Service as an AAA Production Facility — the highest accreditation of its kind. Tip-Top’s chicken products are available at supermarkets, FrozenMNL and Zagana. It is also offered in local wet markets, meat shops and community reselers.

Panda Express offers new Honey Sesame Chicken entrée

AMERICAN Chinese dining concept Panda Express is welcoming the New Year with a new entrée: Honey Sesame Chicken. Available for a limited time only, the Honey Sesame Chicken is made with thin, crispy strips of all-white meat chicken (raised without antibiotics) and tossed with fresh-cut string beans, and crisp red bell peppers. It is coated in a honey sauce and topped off with sesame seeds. Starting Jan. 29, Honey Sesame Chicken will be available across all Panda Express stores for dine-in, take out, and delivery through order.pandaexpress.com.ph, GrabFood, and foodpanda. To get more information about Panda Express, visit www.facebook.com/PandaExpressPH/ (Facebook) and @PandaExpressPH (Instagram).

YouTube will explore NFT features for creators

YOUTUBE is exploring features for its video creators to capitalize on non-fungible tokens (NFT), its chief executive officer said on Tuesday, becoming the latest tech company to tap into a digital collectibles craze that has exploded in the past year.

“We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,” wrote YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki in a letter on the company’s 2022 priorities.

NFTs are a type of digital asset which exist on the record-keeping technology blockchain. They have seen a surge in popularity over the last year, with people buying artwork and video highlights from sports games as NFTs.

Sales of NFTs reached some $25 billion in 2021, according to data from market tracker DappRadar, although there were signs of growth slowing toward the end of the year.

A spokesperson for Alphabet, Inc.’s YouTube declined to share more details about the potential NFT features, which were first reported by Bloomberg News.

Last week, Twitter, Inc. announced the launch of a tool through which users can showcase NFTs as hexagonal profile pictures. The Financial Times reported this month that Meta Platforms, Inc. was working on ways to let users create and sell NFTs on Facebook and Instagram. In December, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company was exploring NFTs.

The popular short video app TikTok in September ventured into the craze, announcing an NFT collection designed by some of its top creators.

Reddit Inc. has also been exploring the space: recent job listings from the company on LinkedIn advertised for several engineer roles for a “rapidly growing team that aims to build the largest creator economy on the internet, powered by independent creators, digital goods, and NFTs.” — Reuters

Sibol launches nationwide search for different esports titles

SIBOL, the bemedaled Philippine esports squad, has kickstarted its own preparation for the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Hanoi, Vietnam this May with registration and tryout for national team selection of different esports titles.

Powered by SMART Communications, Inc., Sibol on Wednesday launched its nationwide search for players in Arena of Valor, Free Fire, League of Legends and FIFA Online after beginning the national tournament for other events last week.

One of those is the gold medal-favorite Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), which the country dominated in 2019 when esports was launched here as an official SEA Games medal event.

Sibol is already in the second phase of the MLBB national team selection process with eight squads left led by world champion Blacklist International, Onic Philippines and SMART Omega Esports,

Apart from MLBB, Sibol also ruled Dota 2 and StarCraft II in the last SEA Games edition on its way to the overall championship with three gold, one silver and one bronze medals.

Dota 2 and StarCraft II, however, are not included this time in Hanoi games that will feature a total of eight esports titles.

Still, hopes are high for an overall title repeat bid of Sibol under the supervision of Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) as the country’s national esports association. — John Bryan Ulanday

Performance of Philippine Agriculture (Q4 2021)

PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURAL output contracted by 1.7% in 2021, despite growing by 0.6% in the last three months, the statistics agency said on Wednesday. Read the full story.

Performance of Philippine Agriculture (Q4 2021)

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