Why GCash is planting trees at the Ipo Watershed

Earlier this year, Manila was gripped by a water crisis. At its peak, large parts of Metro Manila had zero water supply, prompting water rationing from local governments and concessionaires. There were viral videos of condominium dwellers fetching water from their pools and barangay residents fighting around water trucks. 

It was traced to the late onset of the rainy season, coupled with demand that has outgrown available infrastructure. Much was heard about the then declining water supply at the Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s main water source, and the La Mesa Dam, the emergency reservoir.

But there wasn’t much talk about the Ipo Watershed, the deforestation of which is believed to be one of the root causes of depleted water supply in the reservoirs. 

The Ipo watershed was declared a protected area by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) but forest cover in the watershed is now only at 40%, a drastic drop from 85% several years ago, according to WWF-Philippines. 

Metro Manila relies on the Angat-Umiray-Ipo watershed system for nearly all of its water supply (98 percent, to be exact). This makes it imperative to prevent the watershed’s further degradation, which has been blamed on human activities such as illegal logging and charcoal-making by illegal settlers in the area. 

The Philippines’ leading mobile wallet GCash has partnered with WWF-Philippines for the reforestation of the Ipo watershed, aiming to plant 365,000 trees in a year. The partnership launched GCash Forest in June, a feature in the GCash app that allows users to plant trees at the Ipo watershed using green energy points. 

Green energy points are earned through frequent use of the app in transactions such as scan to pay and bank transfers, among others. Green energy may also be earned through shifting to more environment-friendly everyday practices, including switching to reusable food containers and utensils in place of single-use plastics. 

On Oct. 12, GCash brought its first batch of tree-planters to the Ipo watershed to plant yakal trees within the 300 hectares that GCash has adopted for GCash Forest in Norzagaray, Bulacan. These were GCash users who had earned over 20,000 green energy points. 

WWF-Philippines will monitor the growth of trees planted by GCash and identify other native tree species suitable for planting in the watershed. 

Through GCash Forest, GCash users are able to do good by Mother Earth while at the same time helping ensure water supply for themselves and future generations.

Money transfer tips from a frugal mama

I am someone you may call stingy. I count down to the cent when I compare prices. Shampoo A is more expensive by P2.25 than Shampoo B? Then B it is. 

When it comes to my banking activities, it’s the same. Given the choice between a long queue on my bank’s ATM and no queue at another bank’s cash machine, I always opt to fall in line to avoid the withdrawal charges. 

I’ve brought this habit to my online transactions. Over the past year, I’ve found myself relying more and more on online shopping: it saves time and spares me the trouble of traffic. From clothing to personal hygiene items, I buy what I need—and what I occasionally want—from social sellers and online shops.

Thing is, the merchants I deal with use different bank accounts, while I only use one for online shopping so for a while it was a problem; I was incurring bank charges! I have long been a BPI user, and fund transfer to other banks costs P50 each. That could cover the shipping fee! The frugal/practical side of me ached every time I made fund transfers to merchants. 

Around summer time, I heard that GCash had developed an app which made it easier to use! I used it manually before and later via *143# but having it as an app made it cooler! At first, I thought the mobile wallet was exclusive for Globe, but it works in all networks! So I downloaded it immediately and checked how it could help address my issue. And you know how much it charges for bank transfers? ZERO. Nil. NADA. I couldn’t be happier!

I did the math. It’s good I kept my online receipts. In the first four months of the year, I had a monthly average of four online purchases that involved payments to banks other than BPI. That meant I was charged P50 16 times. That amounts to P800 over months. 

If I had kept it up for the rest of the year, that would mean paying P50 for 48 times over 12 months. This means an extra cost of P2,400! That’s a decent pair of shoes or jacket! 

I was just so thankful I found out about GCash app. Now, I can make bank transfers without spending extra money I could use elsewhere. This frugal mama is happy—and hunting for a new pair of boots for our autumn trip!

Fun and seamless shopping experiences at SM's "Everyday is Play Day" with PayMaya and Gcash!

Play is an important part of a child's early development. Playing helps young children's brains to develop and for their language and communication skills to mature.

EVERYDAY IS PLAYDAY is having a HUGE comeback as SM North Edsa, along with 17 other malls, celebrate all play, all fun, all day for kids and the whole family. Making all SM Supermalls a venue for everything play.

During the next months, more than twenty global brands will be launching their latest toy collections in SM City North Edsa. Likewise, more than 60 characters and brands such as Spongebob, Shimmer and Shine, Beyblade, Hasbro Gaming, and Shopkins, will tour all the 18 malls in the series of exciting shows and meet and greet sessions.

This year's campaign is set to be much bigger and stronger with SM's growing partnership with "Sony Playstation", that will bring fun and exciting technology in days of play, "Fujifilm Instax", which will capture the best and fun memories from kids to kids at heart, and "Pay Maya" and "Globe G-cash" that will offer 30% rebate on its loyal customers who wants to avail their favorite toys through mobile payment.

"Shimmer and Shine", "Beyblade", and "Hasbro Gaming" lead the way this year.

Kicking off the campaign is the launch of the new "Shimmer and Shine" toy collection at the Block Atrium at SM City North Edsa on May 5 - 6. This top rating Nickelodeon show is about a twin genies-in-training who grants wishes to their human friend Leah. It highlights the importance of teamwork, resilience, and overcoming obstacles. This is a show that our little girls will surely wouldn't want to miss.

90's kids will enjoy the huge comeback of "Beyblade", on August 31- September 2 at The Annex Activity Area at SM City North Edsa. It is known in Japan as Explosive Shoot Beyblade, a Japanese manga series, written and illustrated by Taiko Aoki, to promote sales of this spinning tops called "Beyblades". After the success of Beyblade Championship Tournament in SM City North Edsa the Annex early this year, wherein the winner will be sent to Japan this April to compete in the Asian Championship. This upcoming second leg's winner will be sent to compete in the World Beyblade Competition in Paris, France.

The whole family will definitely love the "Hasbro Gaming" which will have activations at SM City Fairview, SM City Novaliches, SM City San Jose Del Monte, SM City East Ortigas, SM City Bicutan, and SM City BF Paranaque from April to October of this year. Hasbro engages families and friends through toys and games. In this upcoming leg, SM Supermalls is set to create its very first life-sized versions of gaming toys including Monopoly, Jenga, Pie Face, Connect and Twister.

Kids who love combining entertainment and education will surely get excited for "Nutty Scientists" which will have roadshow all around SM Metro Manila malls. They create fun, spectacular, interactive activities and uses educational techniques in the form of shows or workshops for kids. Children will be active participants on the hands-on activities they offer that will be led by professionals.

Also this year, with the help of "SM Cares", Everyday is Playday will be bringing DSWD partner charities and organizations including SOS Children's Villages Philippines to SM's series of shows and events. Watch out for more exciting toy launches and events this year.

Indeed EVERYDAY IS PLAYDAY at SM Supermalls!

Boosting excitement in the malls, SM Supermalls brings cashless payments to all its mall events starting this April through two of the biggest digital wallet service providers in the country- PayMaya  Philippines of the PLDT Group and Gcash of Globe Telecom.

Making its debut at the 2018 'Everyday is Play Day at SM' kickoff at SM City North EDSA, the scan-to-pay technology takes shopping experiences to a whole new level as SM begins to promote this service in 68 SM malls nationwide.

"As we launch scan-to-pay services with Gcash and PayMaya, SM continues to make its mark as a trailblazer in the industry," said Jonjon San Agustin, Senior Vice President for Marketing of SM Supermalls. "This is just one of the many exciting things to watch out for this year as SM delights customers with meaningful innovations and bigger family fun events."

On this second year, SM's Everyday is Play Day' is even bigger and more exciting with new toy launches, character meet-and-greets, and the integration of fun technology in favorite playtime activities. Plus, SM shoppers can now enjoy 30% cashback with a maximum of P500 when they make purchases with PayMaya or Gcash at the event - in partnership with Toy Kingdom and The SM Store.

"PayMaya is thrilled as we elevate the fun and excitement at SM's 'Everyday is Play Day by providing quick, easy, and hassle-free cashless payments through PayMaya QR," said Raymund Villanueva, Vice President and Head of Consumer Business of PayMaya Philippines.

Raymund Villanueva, Vice President and Head of Consumer Business of PayMaya Philippines

"Enabling today's lifestyle with cashless payments with allow more Filipinos to enjoy value-adding experiences through their smartphones. 'Everyday is Play Day' is an amazing opportunity for us to partner with SM as Gcash powers this event with scan-to-pay technology, added Anthony Thomas, CEO of Mynt, the operator of Gcash.

Anthony Thomas, CEO of Mynt, the operator of Gcash.

So,what are you waiting for? Bring the whole family and experience fun and seamless shopping experiences at SM's "Everyday is Play Day" with PayMaya and Gcash!

#EverydayisPlayDayAtSM