Emirates Group rolls out COVID-19 vaccination program

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Emirates Group rolled out a COVID-19 vaccination program for its substantial UAE based workforce in coordination with the Dubai Health Authority and the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

The inoculation drive began this morning, with priority being placed on its frontline aviation workforce, including Cabin Crew, Flight Deck, and other operationally focused roles.

The airline, along with dnata, are among the first transport and air services organizations in the world to offer employees the option to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Over the course of the pandemic, Emirates and dnata have implemented multiple layers of safety measures, to ensure the health and safety of customers, employees and the communities served. The rollout of its vaccination program is another step forward, helping to safeguard the health and well-being of aviation employees who serve the travelling public and help move essential goods around the world. 

The Emirates Group is making both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm vaccines, which have been approved by the UAE health authorities, conveniently accessible to its employees at various company locations across the UAE. Inoculation appointments will run 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure as many essential aviation workers as possible can get the vaccine. Like all citizens and residents, Emirates Group employees in the UAE can also opt to get vaccinated at government designated medical centers and clinics, as the UAE’s leadership and health authorities have spared no effort to make vaccines free and accessible to the population.

According to the data compiled by Our World In Data, a research website based at Oxford University, the UAE is ranked second highest in the world for vaccination rates, with over 19.04 doses administrated for every 100 people, and close to 1.9 million vaccinations have been given to citizens and residents since their rollout in December 2020. The UAE is also on track to inoculate over 50% of its population by the end of March.

La Vita E Bella: Life Made More Beautiful with Koibito’s Gelato

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In Lipa City lies the first and only authentic premium Italian gelato in the country

こいびと koibito - (n) lover; sweetheart

There is a Bible verse that says: “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). 

And if we have to pick one brand that epitomizes this from end to end — from the time the business was born to where it is now — we pick Koibito’s World of Gelato.

In a world where most of us are hardened by hardships, pains, and heartaches, Koibito’s World of Gelato reminds us that love is, indeed, a powerful force. It helps create a successful business out of a hobby, and a world-class brand out of passion.

Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending

Since the Koibito’s World of Gelato story emanates with so much love, it is only right to compare Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers with Roger and Angelina Lantin-Monsale, owners of Koibito’s World of Gelato.

In 2012, Roger was on the road to fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a pilot. He was already in flight school in the US when he and Angeli decided to get married. Angeli then asked Roger to stay in the Philippines instead of returning to flight school in the US — a request Roger happily obliged. 

Roger chose his wife over his passion for flying, and the newlyweds settled in Angeli’s hometown of Lipa, Batangas. Roger then decided to make his sacrifice worthwhile by pursuing another passion: gelato. 

This quickly became a good obsession.

Gelato training in Bologna

Roger and Angeli’s love and passion spilled over into their passion to make a successful business out of their love for Europe and gelato. Roger then traveled to Bologna, Italy (said to be the rightful origin of the gelato), where he took his formal training in gelato making.

He was in search of a perfect and original recipe, something that would help him fulfill his new dream of creating the best gelato in the world. This search led Roger to Venice, where he found the gelato flavor that would become his favorite, the Cremino. The store where he found it was nondescript, yet it paved the way to what would become Koibito’s World of Gelato.

Cremino not only became the inspiration for Koibito’s but also its benchmark. Imagine this: layers of hazelnut and salted caramel gelato with chocolate hazelnut ganache. Now close your eyes and imagine this gelato embracing your tongue and kissing every corner of your mouth.

Want this multi-sensory experience? Get it only at Koibito’s World of Gelato.

Authentic Italian, proud Filipino

Nationalists might frown at the thought that a Filipino brand is claiming to be the “home of rare and authentic gelato.” Why not create the Filipino sorbetes and promote Filipino ice cream instead? Here is the simple answer:

Koibito’s World of Gelato features Filipino ingredients, sourced from their origins around the Philippines (like cashews sourced all the way from Antipolo). Roger, the Koibito’s gelato artisan, has masterfully applied the techniques he learned in Italy with the ingredients he can get from his home country.

This then results in another spillover of his love and passion: Koibito’s World of Gelato is able to help Filipino farmers by buying straight from them, making this a farm-to-gelato￾machine initiative and advocacy. 

Other Philippine ingredients they use are the tablea (“Chocolate tablet” in English; small traditionally home-made tablets of pure ground roasted cacao beans) and the Philippine coffee, hailed as “the next best thing” in coffee around the world by Coffeerama. When one supports Philippine coffee, they also support fair trade, environmental health, and —in war-torn areas where coffee is grown — peace. (People trade their guns so their community can buy coffee processing machines. But that’s another story.)

Roger’s heart may be for gelato, but it beats for his country and its farmers. 

Now that is truly Filipino.   

Italy in a cup

Koibito’s mission is to educate the world to know and only prefer the best gelato. Their tagline is “A little piece of Italy” because, with every small batch of gelato they make in the exact Italian way, they want their customers to feel like they are right there in Italy, enjoying the best that it has to offer. 

Koibito’s is not an imitation of Italian gelato, nor is it Roger’s take on the Italian gelato. 

Koibito’s is Italian gelato — and in a country pervaded by ice cream and other iced desserts left and right, Koibito’s is the only way one can experience authentic gelato.

A rare opportunity? Definitely. But is it accessible to everyone? Most definitely.

One also has a world of Koibito’s gelato flavors to choose from:

● ChocoHazelnut Bon Bons

● Wild Berries

● Strawberry Cheesecake

● Mango Cheesecake (seasonal)

● Kapeng Barako

● White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

● Batangas Tablea

● ChocoPeanut Bar

● Cashew Butter

● Nocciola (hazelnut)

● Caramel Panna Cotta

● Salted Caramel

● Nutty Strawberry

● Cookie Butter

● Bubble Gum

● Cookie Monster

● Sweet Cream and Cherries

● Oreos and Milk

● Salted Sweet Corn

● Mexican Vanilla 

● Mango Sorbet (seasonal)

No sugar added:

● Pistachio 

● Giandujia 

In Manila, Koibito’s World of Gelato is available in Lipa Grill Makati in Chino Roces Avenue. Avid and loyal fans also travel all the way to their only branch in The Outlets at Lipa, Batangas, which is also popular for its authentic Italian vibe and the beautiful Insta￾friendly design. 

Koibito's in your home

Like any business in all industries, Koibito’s World of Gelato felt the impact of the COVID￾19 pandemic, which is why they procured a new mission: to get families to celebrate over gelato in the safety of their own home.

And as a gift to all families, shipping is FREE.

How does one order? Simply visit their website www.koibitos.com and click on “Order Now.” They even share recipes to help their customers make the most of the 101% gelato experience — perfect to share with friends and loved ones (or even alone!).

Order the gelato flavors of your choice in pints, delivered in a special Koibito’s thermal bag to ensure quality control. Add a pack or two of waffle crisps and you’ll be exclaiming “DELIZIOSO!” in no time. 

Koibito — a Japanese term of affection that owners Roger and Angeli call each other. It is the same kind of fondness that led them to Italy to train in the art of making gelato. It is the same passion that took Koibito’s from being a hobby into a thriving business. 

It is the same love that helps Filipino farmers with every batch of gelato they make. It is the same devotion that allows Filipinos to enjoy only the best authentic gelato.

Get on the love train and order the best gelato in the country — try Koibito’s today.

Tugade joins Bello in the awarding of ‘Nego-Karts’ to Isabela residents affected by ‘Ulysses’

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade joined Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III in the awarding of ‘Nego-Kart’ franchises to residents of the province which was extremely affected by the series of typhoons, particularly Typhoon Ulysses.

During the ceremony for the ‘Nego-Kart Project’ on Saturday, 16 January 2021, Secretaries Tugade and Bello awarded the livelihood project franchises to deserving recipients who lost their means of income due to the massive flooding in the province brought by the typhoons.

The 100 ambulant vendor-beneficiaries, coming from different cities and municipalities of Isabela, each received a vending cart and cash which they can use in products.

The effort aims to help the typhoon-affected province recover, and jumpstart the economy, especially with the imposition of a less strict quarantine measure. Isabela was placed under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) this January.

The Nego-Kart (Negosyo sa Kariton), a project by the DOLE under the leadership of Secretary Bello, is for ambulant vendors in major cities of the country. It has been made possible in Isabela through the encouragement of Secretary Tugade.

The project provides ambulant vendors with services/assistance that will enable them to increase, upgrade, and/or diversity their products or services, and market these to a greater number of buyers or customers. Through the project, the vendors' existing livelihood undertaking will be able to grow into a profitable and sustainable business.

It will cater to ambulant vendors of legal age who trade their goods or services without the necessary market business permits in sidewalks, buses, community market places, and other public places.

Before the event in Ilagan, Isabela, Secretaries Tugade and Bello donated 100 fiber glass fishing boats to fisherfolks in Claveria, Cagayan who were also affected by Typhoon Ulysses.

In Cagayan, the two Secretaries emphasized the goal of the government to help the fishermen in the municipality of Claveria in their recovery, and the rebuilding of their livelihood that was devasted by the floods due to typhoon Ulysses in November 2020, amid the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secretaries Tugade and Bello were also joined by Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano III, Isabela Vice Governor Faustino Dy III, Congressman Allan Ty, and various Municipal Mayors, as well as DOTr Chief of Staff/Asec. for Procurement and Project Implementation Giovanni Lopez, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago, and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General Jim Sydiongco.