Equicom Group and JE Holdings of the Gokongwei family partner to reinvent healthcare through Maxicare

 

 

The Equicom Group, the company behind Maxicare, the leading HMO company in the Philippines, and JE Holdings, Inc., announced a strategic partnership that will allow Maxicare to revolutionize its mission of helping Filipinos live their best lives.  

JE Holdings, a privately-held investment company of the Gokongwei family, will become a co-equal shareholder of Maxicare alongside the Equicom Group. The partnership agreement, approved by the Insurance Commission on May 5, 2022, will result in a bigger and stronger Maxicare due to the synergies to be derived from the partnership.  

The Equicom Group, led by Chairman Antonio Go, is a diversified conglomerate engaged in the areas of healthcare, information technology, banking, and financial services.   

According to Mr. Go, the agreement entered with JE Holdings is a partnership of equals that will give Maxicare a stronger foothold in the country’s healthcare industry. “Maxicare is already the top HMO provider in the Philippines; this partnership will only strengthen our lead in the healthcare sector and will help us deliver industry-defining services that will benefit Filipino consumers,” Go said. 

For his part, JE Holdings Chairman Lance Gokongwei said the company is very excited to work with the Equicom Group on this noble undertaking that will further democratize the delivery of essential healthcare services to our countrymen.

“We share Maxicare’s vision for the future of healthcare in the Philippines.  As their partner, we commit our support as they continue to innovate to help bring a better and comprehensive healthcare system in our country. We have high hopes that the synergy from this partnership will provide unparalleled customer experience,” Gokongwei said.

Maxicare CEO Sean Argos shared that the partnership between Equicom Group and JE Holdings will create new opportunities that will elevate healthcare services in the country.  

“We imagine a future where healthcare services in the country will be further enhanced through a new industry-leading healthcare ecosystem that will benefit Maxicare’s medical provider partners and provide Maxicare members better customer experience, affordability, and availability,” said Argos.  

He also shared Maxicare’s plans to expand into new products and services in order to reach and serve more Filipinos, details of which will be announced in the coming months. By leveraging the combined Equicom and Gokongwei ecosystem, Maxicare will now have access to more than 36 million customers, he said. 

Established in 1987 by an esteemed group of doctors and businessmen with the vision to deliver a better healthcare system, Maxicare Healthcare Corporation is one of the pioneers in the health maintenance organization (HMO) industry in the Philippines. 

As the largest HMO provider in the country, Maxicare continuously provides Filipinos comprehensive healthcare programs via its wide network of medical providers fortified by a strong customer support system. Currently, it services the largest number of HMO customers across the country from corporate segment, small and medium-sized enterprises to families and individuals via its more than 24,000 affiliated doctors and specialists, 1,400 hospitals and clinics, 1,000 dental clinics, 180 rehabilitation, dialysis, and eye centers. 

Why Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Important?

 

File photo: Flooding brought about by Typhoon Ondoy 2009

A person's safety during calamities is mainly dependent on their community's disaster preparedness. No matter how ready they are for all possible catastrophic scenarios, every bit of preparation can go down the drain if their community cannot respond effectively to such events. 

It is why a community-based disaster risk reduction and management plan (CBDRRMP) is essential. It places the responsibility of being prepared for calamities and other emergencies on the community as a whole, ensuring that organizations, households, and individuals can work together in making their community more resilient in the face of disaster.

CBDRRMP is important, especially for countries highly vulnerable to disasters, such as the Philippines. Situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire and typhoon belt, the Philippines is frequented by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and typhoons respectively. The country ranked 9th in the world in terms of vulnerability to calamities in the 2020 World Risk Index. 

One of the most common events experienced by the Philippines is flooding, which underscores the importance of effective floodwater management. There are many ways that local government units are doing this. Efforts range from structural measures such as sizeable underground drainage systems, floodways, pumping stations, flood warning systems, and urban greening to non-structural measures such as minimizing plastic waste, a primary culprit in urban flooding.

With the country situated on five active fault lines, Filipinos must also prepare for earthquakes. It is why many buildings are equipped with earthquake-resistance features. Taking earthquake resilience in the country further are the periodic earthquake drills implemented at the national and organizational levels.

These are good examples of effective CBDRR, where both the authorities and the citizens work together to ensure the safety of life and property in their communities.

SM City Masinag has a rainwater collection tank that can store 17,681 cubic meters of water.

As a trusted and responsible developer of integrated properties, SM has always been committed to promoting Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) in its communities, which is evident in many of its malls that employ infrastructure design centered on disaster resilience. SM allocates 10% of its capital expenditures to incorporate disaster-resilient features, of which installing water management design features is one of them. 

Artist's illustration of SM's rainwater collection facility in 22 SM Malls nationwide.

A few examples of these are SM City Marikina, elevated by several rows of concrete stilts to protect tenants and mall-goers during extreme floods. SM Mall of Asia was built with a storm surge barrier for added protection during storm surges, and several malls employ catchment tanks for recycling rainwater.

Across the country, there are 22 SM Malls that have rainwater collection tanks under the mall. All these malls combined can catch and store 79,880 cubic meters of rainwater, equivalent to 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools. 

“Wherever SM is, we try to help our communities become resilient to changing weather patterns,” explains Arch. Fides Garcia-Hsu, Vice President of SM Engineering, Design, and Development.  “Nationwide, we have 22 malls equipped with rainwater catchment facilities that help rainwater management to avoid flash floods for surrounding communities.”

SM City Olongapo Central's rainwater collection tank can hold up to 14,580 cubic meters of water.

Supporting these are several initiatives focused on capacity-building for its stakeholders. It includes workshops & learning sessions on Disaster Risk Resilience Management and regular participation in the quarterly national simultaneous earthquake drills for its employees, and the annual Emergency Preparedness Forum for persons with disabilities and the elderly, two of the most vulnerable sectors of society during disasters.

Similarly, in line with its multi-stakeholder approach, SM Prime has also continuously built long-term partnerships with organizations that advocate for a disaster-resilient Philippines. It includes collaborations with ARISE-Philippines, the National Resilience Council, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Office of Civil Defense, and the Bureau of Fire Protection, to name a few.

SM City San Mateo's rainwater collection tank can collect 10,800 cubic meters of potential floodwater.

Sustansarap, Sustansaya! A series of online nutrition Classes

  

Sustansarap, Sustansaya!, a series of online nutrition classes 

Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (APC) recently launched Sustansarap, Sustansaya!, a series of online nutrition classes and cooking demonstrations, through a Facebook Live on Cookmunity by Ajinomoto page. The project aims to help Filipinos improve their nutrition knowledge and cooking skills with the help of food experts. It is set to run on a quarterly basis on the brand’s official Facebook page.  

“We, at Ajinomoto, believe that nutrition education is vital in taking care of our families’ health. However, for most, nutrition information can be intimidating and difficult to understand.  With day-to -day busy schedule of homemakers and budget limitation, we understand that nutrition usually takes a step back when preparing meals. Sustansarap, Sustansya! makes nutrition information fun, simple, accessible and proves that easy, affordable, nutritious, and delicious meals are possible, especially with the help of Ajinomoto products,” said Roann Co, Ajinomoto General Manager of Corporate Planning and Public Relations. 

Class #1: BawAsin Natin! (Delicious Salt Reduction)

The livestream launch features the first Sustansarap, Sustansaya! online class titled “BawAsin Natin.” The pilot session focused on delicious salt reduction wherein health and nutrition experts Dr. Dex Macalintal and Bea Menorca, RND shed light on the adverse effect of excessive sodium intake in our health and why it is important to reduce salt intake.  They shared a practical tip that it is not difficult or costly to reduce sodium in daily meal preparation.  One easy way is lessen teaspoon salt and use monosodium glutamate (MSG).  MSG contains only 1/3 amount of sodium compared to table salt.  With MSG, sodium intake can be reduced by up to 40% while maintaining overall deliciousness of food.

“It is important to know that high blood pressure or hypertension can cause complications such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack, and kidney failure. Among the factors is the frequent consumption of foods high in sodium. According to the World Health Organization, the recommended sodium intake per day is below 2000 mg. But for Filipinos, the actual intake is more than twice this recommendation. One way to reduce sodium intake is reducing intake of salty foods.” shared Dr. Macalintal, Lifestyle Medicine Specialist. 

“To help and encourage Filipinos to clear their worries and struggle on practice of salt reduction, the BawAsin® campaign was started by APC. It aims to share how it is important to reduce sodium intake for our health and not sacrificing the taste and deliciousness of our meals,” said Menorca, APC Specialist - Science Communication. 

For more information, checkout BawAsin® section in APC’s official website. The site features 100 less sodium creative recipes that help individuals enjoy meals that contain less sodium yet enjoying same deliciousness.

Sofie Conejos, RND APC Manager – Culinary Nutrition

After the lectures, Sofie Conejos, RND APC Manager – Culinary Nutrition demonstrated two Less Sodium Recipes: Upo Kalabasa and Sotanghon Soup and Chicken Eggplant Omelette, made delicious by  AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning. She reiterated that lessening sodium in diet is not difficult and does not mean sacrificing deliciousness of food.  For other easy-to-follow delicious less sodium recipes checkout ajinomoto.com.ph/whats-new-archive/sodium-recipes/

The Sustansarap, Sustansaya! Online Class is in line with the brand’s “Eat Well, Live Well” promise, that aims to propel meaningful initiatives that will improve the health and wellbeing of Filipino families. This project is also one of the actions made by Ajinomoto to fulfill its ultimate goal of extending the healthy life expectancy of 1 billion people.

“With Sustansarap, Sustansaya! online classes, we hope to educate, empower, and enable families to live a healthy and happy life, one nutritious and delicious meal at a time, ” said Co. “We have more classes and cooking demonstrations in store and we’re eager to encourage more people to learn about nutrition and apply them in their own kitchens.”

To catch the next Sustansarap, Sustansaya! online class, follow and stay tuned at Cookmunity by Ajinomoto facebook page.