GCash Insider Sessions Showcase Partner Solutions

It was a nice evening of letting GCash users know that there's more to the app than meets the eye during the GCash Insider sessions at XYLO in BGC. They called it Passion Forward, where harnessing consumer behavior for business success is being encouraged. GCash has really gone beyond just finance (and your ability to conveniently transfer funds) and show you how your passions can also be used to increase profit from your businesses, level up what you've been doing by utilizing their various solutions designed specifically for their partners no matte how big you are.

 

One of their guests Ms. Weng Rivera the Head of Travel for AirAsia Super App says "We are most decorated low cost carrier and in 2019 a lot of you have been traveling before the pandemic struck. It put us, our ground crew, and air personnel in a limbo. It was one opportunity to put one of our core values in front, we brought fresh produce to different places across the region helping out and opening doors in the country. Employees were given funds so they could put up their businesses, we didn't want to waste a crisis. A lot of things were uncertain, so we converted our usual airline to a more travel inclined super app, and people were ready for it. Hence, we became a digital airline quite fast. Now it's got flight, hotels, shops, transportation, ride, super plus, and rewards system in place. We now can connect you via land or sea, have more flights and redeem points every time you travel. Go download the app today and enjoy the discounts, travel is back with a vengeance! With GCash, we are now able to increase transactions and make travel affordable, and accessible. It is also our advertising platform, an effective one at that as it directly correlates with GCash transactions."

Mr. Franco Pantangco the Business Development and Partnership Lead of mgames also discussed about Hyper Casual Games where you compete, play and get rewards. In GCash initiatives, there are now in app advertising which resulted in phenomenal growth on engaging with GLife users, coming from leads of successful campaigns. It's a multifaceted segment, and their next move is to utilize mgames partnership with Tempo that also utilizes all Filipino music. 

Improvements to the app will certainly continue and they plan to use AI technologies to further fuel your passions with solutions that effectively increase what you can do with your business, make it easy use and safe at all points of transaction. If you want to see what they can do for you, head on to beta.gcash.com/partner-solutions and be connected to existing GCash users worldwide!

PIOLO PASCUAL for Historical Horror Flick "MALLARI"

The Philippines' most coveted leading man and muti-awarded actor Piolo Pascual is going to be portraying a role of a s3rial kill3r set in different timelines in Mentorque Productions "MALLARI". This is based on a true story of Juan Severino Mallari, a Catholic Priest who has taken the lives of supposed 57 individuals in the small town of Magalang, Pampanga. They'll be mixing in some fiction showcasing World War 2 and 2023 and tell how these in some way are connected, a scary premise which Piolo wanted to do since it is quite far from characters he has been reprising in previous movie projects. 

He initially said no to this movie because of the mere fact that it will be physically and mentally exhausting to do 3 roles in 3 different times plus the work required for prosthetics wouldn't be pleasing each shooting day. 

Producer Bryan Diamante of Mentorque Productions says "This is a dream project, Mallari is very challenging but I'm excited to bring this to the big screen. I strived to create films that bring the imaginations to movies, and I'm glad to be able to work with a heavily awarded director Derick Cabrido, and writer Enrico Santos. Thank you very much Mr. Piolo Pascual for accepting this project. Join us in creating a proudly Filipino production and concept."

Director Derick Cabrido has won several accolades in New York film festivals (medals in different years) and has worked in different documentaries, short films, indie films and full length ones that he's released in film festivals in different parts of the world. 

Piolo says "It's a relief that you don't have to think about results or box office because of the platforms, but we have a plan for the film. My being in the cinema, my only role is do your best, I don't have to think about commercial success, it's something that I am looking forward to do, I have these chances and I am thankful to do Mallari. I am grateful, when it happens, it happens. Initially I said no,  but in the same day I said yes, I just have to do what I have to do. I grew up in a Catholic family, school, and I respect them  everyday and in church. I wanted to become one when I was 18, attended Prex back in the day to have an easy life. They told me I need to study, I had a few attempts but ended up as an artista. Father's day was also special, my son was there and gave me an infinity necklace, he spent the day with me and we are doing projects together. He's a very talented young man, he's evolving, becoming a total performer, composed a few songs and I listened to it all day. We have a few dates in July for a concert. And hope a dance showdown happens in the last quarter of this year."

Today was just the contract signing and they plan to do a separate announcement for the cast which they have already chosen. Stay tuned for that and the actual movie which they plan to be part of the coming Metro Manila Film Festival this coming holidays 2023. 

Gwy Saludes Author of University Series "The Rain in España"

A couple years ago, I was scrolling on fandom Twitter posts when I suddenly found one that seemed to be a story. I went on opened the consecutive Tweets and saw how people have been reading it, getting obsessed, but no one knew back then that it was a 12 year old girl who wrote these things. Now, we finally got to meet the person who started it all. She's Gwy Saludes, a very talented writer and artist under OC Records.

Clad in a preppy shirt, this young lady is now 22 and taking up Legal Management at Ateneo de Manila University. Gwy says "It's about campus life, starting from a Twitter series which I likened to big 4 universities. When "Along Espana" became popular, I wanted to do a longer version of it hence the University series. Even then, there were a lot of people who took interest in it and wanted to know about the culture being in these schools. "The Rain in España" was made when I was already in college. It was all about my experiences, my friends and people around me during that time. It was in Wattpad when I started these all, but really blew up when I wrote book 3. I have 6 books in this series which includes "The Rain in España", "Safe Skies, Archer", then "Chasing in the Wild!", "Avenues of the Diamond", "Golden Scenery of Tomorrow", and "Our Yesterday's Escape". 

When asked about having her work become a series on television, she says "I'm very happy but at the same time, there is pressure because I know, there's a lot of people who are waiting for it especially the ones who read the books. I know they have a lot of expectations, I need to surpass this one when it gets shown when it gets adapted for TV. I act as a consultant for the show, I'm also very involved with the casting. I need to read and check the script, they listen to me if I wanted things to be changed since this is very collaborative." 

"The adaptation though does not include everybody else's thought bubble. We are a team and we need to meet in the middle for any decision. From auditions, to script reading, we really saw Marco and Heaven fit the role. The plot is very close to the book, you need to look at the value of friendship, love, academics, balancing it. Even if you don't read the book, you'll get to understand the story. It's up to you if you get hooked in the books, I've went twice while they were making the film."

Here's the rest of our chat with her over lunch a few days ago:

You may now stream "The Rain in España" on Viva One or watch it every Sundays on TV5 at 4PM. She also said that the next book might be coming real soon so if you haven't subscribed yet, you better do! Download the app on Google Play today!

Filipina-Israeli Shira Tweg Releases "Pag-ibig" Under Star Music

I've seen Shira Tweg a couple of times from her previous movie "Sugat Sa Dugo" back in 2021 (we interviewed her) and MMFF Summer entry "Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko" (she portrayed a young Sharon Cuneta) which talked about the life of Singer-Songwriter and hit maker Rey Valera. She's a Filipina-Israeli actress who I think looked like a mix between Salma Hayek and Catherine Zeta Jones. She's also a singer and this time, she just released a new single called "Pag-ibig" under Star Music

Here's our interview with her during the launch:

I like the song and its premise, of where a hopeful young girl still believes there's someone out there for her even though she already got hurt in past relationships. She's not a belter per se, but she sure has a unique voice and tone that's pleasing to the ears and an ability to tell a story. She gave us a show during the launch, albeit sick, she went ahead and performed for us. It was nice to hear her rendition of Sharon Cuneta's Mr. DJ and her new song "Pag-ibig". Her new single was also written by Direk Joven Tan who's also done a lot to help her in her music career.

Shira also plans to have her own business soon, and she's preparing a lot for that. She's an actress and she's raring to grab the opportunities presented to her, to hopefully also release more songs in the near future. About pageants, she's not that interested in doing it, but rather do modeling.  

She's had suitors, but prioritizing her career and education comes first. Love isn't perfect she says, but the song "Pag-ibig" gives you reasons to still believe in it no matter how many times you fail in relationships. It also tells a story of your struggles, on how you would take the courage in professing love for another person. She hopes you find this song to be about you in one stage of your life, and yes, you can stream this now on all digital platforms and YouTube for the music video.

She's got a long way to go, but she's talented and we hope they get to create even more songs for her so people would be able to listen to Shira Tweg and believe in love again. Congratulations on your new single dear!