Celebrating Women's Month with Mary Rose Marbil: A Story of Love, Compassion, Family and Service

She was all smiles when she went in. Donned in a white crisp top, hair tucked back and a presence I couldn't put to words. She has this presence signifying power, poise, posture that make known strictness. But once she uttered words, it felt like we were welcomed home, like no strangers... getting a warm hug. 

She's the beautiful Ms. Mary Rose Marbil, loving wife to PNP Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil and caring mother to recently engaged Robyn Marie Marbil. She's also the PNP OLC Foundation, Inc. (previously Officer's Ladies Club) Adviser, an honor she doesn't treat as an obligation, but an opportunity to help through charitable causes, now geared to help PNP Personnel and their families. This is also something that she is passionate about. 

Photo from the PNP OLC Foundation, Inc. Facebook Page

 

This strong disposition must have come from somewhere, so I asked about who she gets the inspiration from. She immediately answered her Mom. She says "The woman who made a big impact is my Mom. Not just because she is my Mom, but because of how she is, and how she handled things. She's always objective about things. When we got married, we stayed with her for 3 years. She didn't want me to stay in PSG quarters because there would be a lot of chismis there. It might have been difficult to have 2 queens in one castle, but it wasn't with her. If there are conflicts, she never asked why, but just be present and be there for me. Even with the siblings, she's the most level headed. That's my Mom."

With the PNP OLC Foundation, Inc., she was involved in spearheading their ongoing project called LAB Virus (which they coined from Love and Blessings). She usually goes with the PNP Chief in various locations in the country but didn't participate much in efforts. With the project, she was able to start helping PNP personnel and their beneficiaries. With the foundation, she didn't have to wait for a regional visit to help people. It also rarely happens, and this was able to put them in a more pro-active state. 

The foundation sought help from health services to identify over 500 individuals that are critically ill. This was a huge number, even the Chief PNP was surprised. Much of them were suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease and needs lengthy dialysis treatments in their respective regions. They provided them needed financial assistance that would help for medical bills and for their daily spend. 

While it was a huge help, they wanted their actions to also be more sustainable. One of the regional leaders in Cebu was teaching life skills in making soap. It's a business they could easily teach PNP personnel and their beneficiaries, so they could fend for themselves, and put food on the table after getting help from the PNP OLC Foundation, Inc. Very soon, they will also be teaching and giving away business kits to street sweepers in Camp Crame. They are excited to do this in Manila/Laguna too.

 Here's our interview with Ms. Mary Rose a few days ago:

Spreading love with every touch, the PNP OLC Foundation, Inc. is continuously going around regions including BARMM. With help from private individuals who signified support through their organization, they would be able to lend a hand to more people especially PNP personnel and their families.

Recently, they also had a concert with singing PNP personnel to raise funds for the foundation. They also get help from individuals, other foundations (and the public) so they could come to the aid of more people in times of need. Her experience in the corporate world has helped her organize a structured operation to cater the underprivileged. They now have officers that will be able to continue efforts and ensure it would be addressed after her term. This is such a selfless and noble task, but she finds insurmountable fulfillment doing this.  

Her message to women out there, "There's always something you can do. You're not just a wife, let's not limit ourselves to what people think you can do. We are limitless, especially as women. It shouldn't be a hindrance, I even think there's more power in that. We have our charm, use it to move and make things happen. With our talents, we can use it for the welfare of the people around us. Do what you need to do!" Her story of love, compassion, her family and the service the foundation does for others is so inspiring.

Thank you for sharing your time Ms. Rose, it was certainly a pleasure getting to know you!

AKTOR.PH and 24 Other Groups File National Artist Nomination for VILMA SANTOS

Aktor.ph the League of Filipino Actors and several groups just set a nomination for the Star for All Seasons Ms. Vilma Santos Recto, for the order of National Artist for Film and Broadcasting. In the event, educational groups, celebrities and Aktor.ph were at the event signifying their support for this move. 

Dingdong Dantes says "You are seeing 20+ groups calling for this nomination that we are talking about, our Star for All Seasons Ms. Vilma Santos. Motion picture in the Philippines is the oldest in Asia. It serves as representations and aspirations. Being our nation's storyteller at AktorPH, we imagine being in the persona of a proud Actor. We envision them to be a nation builder and we wholeheartedly share one of our members Ms. Vilma Santos Recto. We celebrate her, her versatility, and unparalleled passion of Philippine cinema. Her immense talent breathed life to different roles, as the most awarded actress, she leaves an indelible mark in every Filipino. She inspires, starting from Trudis Liit as a young star, then to Darna and Dyesebel. Her chameleon like ability on how she tells the truth, her numerous projects and challenging roles tells how much she deserves this. Her range is unparalleled, captivating audiences in different generations. Her contributions go beyond showbiz, as a public servant, she stands as a symbol of empowerment and resilience. 6 decades of movies, television and public service, we would like to honor her as a cultural champion. In behalf of our officers, advisers, we fully support this nomination as National Artist!"

Here's our video coverage of the event this morning:

They filed all supporting documents yesterday at NCAA and believe it would take at least 1 and a half years to verify the information and decision to have the President approve of it. Dingdong and the rest of the organization pushing for the recognition is hopeful that if all falls into place, the honor would be bestowed upon Ms. Vilma Santos Recto soon. 

Whoscall Launched in the Philippines

Have you been scammed online or through calls? Well, you're not alone. There are thousands of people who fall victim to these unscrupulous individuals every day. Yes, you can block numbers one by one, but it isn't a permanent solution. They can call you using a different number, or use a link to trick you into thinking it's a legitimate website.

Popular app "WhosCall" is now in the Philippines and is pushing for a Scam Free Pilipinas, a movement to put a stop to these scams. Their app is free to download (on Google Play and the App Store) and use database comparison for those unknown calls, with the aim to trustworthy communication wherever you are in the world. Aside from that, those unnecessary telemarketing and non business related calls could be identified, to of course, have less anxiety if someone calls you out of the blue. Scammers are also being so creative, but with Whoscall AI features, you can up your security.

At the New World Hotel in Makati, broadcaster Karen Davila, tech blogger Gian Viterbo, and youth leader Aileen Montalbo shared their real life experiences about being scammed. Albeit a bit on the techie side, they still fall prey, and this threat is real for a lot of Filipinos. For a safer mobile space, Whoscall was developed by Gogolook.

Jeff Kuo the CEO of Gogolook says "Our company was built by 3 college friends 3 years ago. We tried to raised funds to see our vision. We tried to explain the differences between communication types, and whoscall reveals the names of people behind numbers, to empower everyone on the internet. This is a community and partnership, with this, we can assure a scam free Pilipinas!"

COO of Gogolook Manwoo Joo says "We are happy to introduce Whoscall in Taiwan, HK, Thailand and other areas, we are excited to introduce it to the Philippine market. It's getting more high tech lately even after the pandemic. This will be one of the options to keep people from scams, our first campaign is about Scam Free Pilipinas, where our database will team up with telecom and government agencies, not only for metro areas but provinces too. Hope the things we did in other countries would be implemented well in the Philippines."

 

Gian also adds "You need to enable to block spam, Whoscall is a layer of security. I also advice to not to connect to public networks unless it's an emergency. I have installed it on iOS and my Android devices, it checks numbers, tells me when it's a scam and add new ones if needed."

Col. Joey Fontiveros of the Philippine Army says "The internet has been a source of vulnerability, complexity and criminals have been stealing information and do scams, frauds. It's a major concern for the military, by experience, you can often know how scams work. Even charities, trouble with the government, your family, a virus on your computer, could be something that scammers would say to get your account compromised. They want you to pay through crypto currency, electronic payment systems, and hackers can see what you do. We need to limit sharing of data, and this innovation is useful for all consumers whether you are connected to the internet or not."

With over 2.6 Billion numbers in their database, they can show you who's calling or sending the sms. You can also search for it, and see if there's a url or fraud links which you can do for free. They have collaborated with law enforcement and government agencies. Go download the app today and get yourself protected.