PLDT
DOST & SMART expands RapidPass Project Provides 540 cell phones for police manning 180 checkpoints

Going through quarantine checkpoints in the entire Metro Manila area is about to become easier for frontline personnel and other people authorized to travel under the COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions.
To achieve this, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) are expanding the RapidPass Project, an online registration service for frontliners, to cover the whole of Metro Manila.
Developed by DevCon Philippines and the DOST, RapidPass.ph is a website that provides for free a unique QR code that serves as authorization for frontliners like health workers and people delivering food, medicine and other essential supplies to go through checkpoints quickly and securely. The QR code can be printed on paper and placed on vehicles, or, saved on smartphones to be shown to uniformed personnel manning Quarantine Control Points (QCPs).
To enable the service to work throughout Metro Manila, PLDT Inc.’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, has provided the DOST with 540 smartphones loaded with voice, SMS and data packages. The mobile devices will be used by the Philippine National Police (PNP) at the QCPs to read and confirm the validity of the QR codes being shown by frontliners, thus facilitating their movement.
“Your company’s support to the government to realize the full operationalization of RapidPass will affect millions of Filipinos who will benefit from the decongestion of Quarantine Control Points, as well as the health of PNP personnel at the control points as they will now be able to exercise social distancing with the use of RapidPass,” said DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Pena in a letter to PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan who approved Smart’s support for the initiative.
At the launch of the RapidPass service in early April, PLDT, through its Enterprise Business Group, supplied an initial batch of 200 smartphones for the trial implementation of the system. The first phase of the project covered the main checkpoints at the boundaries of Metro Manila which helped authorities to set up RapidPass lanes in the highways leading to and from the metro area.
To expand RapidPass coverage to all of NCR, the DOST needed an additional 340 mobile phones to bring the total count to 540. These phones will be used to equip with three devices each of the 180 checkpoints which daily process an estimated 1 million people in Metro Manila who are allowed to go out of their homes for work or other essential purposes.
Moving forward, the IATF is thinking of using the RapidPass system for the entire country, even after the COVID-19 Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) is lifted, either entirely or partially. This will help the government control the movement of traffic even after restrictions are relaxed and thus help prevent the continued spread of the coronavirus.
“We hope that this initiative of the DOST, DevCon, DICT and the IATF will provide a positive example of how we can fight the COVID-19 pandemic in a smart way, using digital technologies,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT President and CEO and SVP & Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.
“We are grateful to the DOST and IATF for giving us the opportunity to help make life easier for our frontliners as they provide services that are so vital to the public,” said Jane B. Basas, SVP & Head of Consumer Wireless Business.

PLDT
Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort Delivers Stronger Connections with PLDT Enterprise

PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of largest fully integrated telco in the country, recently partnered with one of the most premiere resorts in Cebu, the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, to deliver robust and reliable connections for their customers and their hotel experience.
“At PLDT and Smart, we are all about providing customer-focused digital innovations. That is why we are honored to provide world-class Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort with unparalleled connectivity that is at par with their mission of giving a luxurious experience to its guests,” says PLDT Customer Relationship Management Head, Kent De La Calzada.
“One of the highlights of the partnership is that the resort is now powered by PLDT’s Dedicated Internet Access service, or iGate–a service that provides businesses with guaranteed bandwidth as well as reliable and managed connectivity to the Internet.” This will positively impact the resort’s operations in terms of easier and faster transactions and communication for staff, and better service and connectivity for guests, especially for business travelers.
Other connectivity solutions that are in place at Sheraton Cebu Mactan are the PLDT SIP Trunks, powered by fiber technology, which will provide quality and stable incoming and outgoing voice calls, and SMART Postpaid, powered by the latest Smart 5G network, for the mobile communication of the employees.
There is also Smart Broadband which will be provided for guests traveling from the airport to the hotel and vice versa. All these efforts align with Sheraton’s vision of being the best welcoming resort destination in the Philippines.
“We value the time our guests spend with us at Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, and indeed, part of that guest experience is connectivity,” says Dottie Wurgler-Cronin, General Manager at Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort. “We want them to feel connected while staying with us–be it at the hotel and the world-class services we provide or simply to each other and their loved ones back at home.”
“With our partnership with PLDT, we are confident that we can bring that deep sense of togetherness and that unique Cebuano hospitality we are known for to all our guests,” adds Ray. G. Manigsaca, President and CEO of AppleOne Properties, Inc.
Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort is a 261-room premium resort property at Mactan Island in Lapu-Lapu City, a 30-minute drive from Mactan International Airport.
Digicon
#PHDigicon2022: “When I think about BOUNDLESS, I think that’s Magic Johnson!”

Philippine Digital Convention 2022 headline speaker Earvin “Magic” Johnson talked about his journey from being an NBA Hall of Famer to philanthropist and businessman
After two years of holding the country’s most prestigious and one of the most sought-after thought leadership events in the Asia-Pacific Region virtually, Enterprise held the Philippine Digital Convention (PH Digicon) last October 27-28, 2022, face-to-face at the Marriott Grand Ballroom with a simultaneous broadcast online.
Highlighting the 2-day convention was the live interview with the legendary basketball icon Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson who strongly relates to the PH Digicon 2022 theme of BOUNDLESS. Hosted by PLDT Group Corporate Communications Head, Cathy Yap-Yang, Johnson fondly shares, “When I think about Boundless, I think that’s Magic Johnson!”
Raising awareness
In 1991, Johnson officially retired from his basketball career following the announcement of his diagnosis with HIV. In the same year, he founded the Magic Johnson Foundation, one of the most recognizable philanthropic organizations around the world today, which serves as a single-disease organization that works to raise funds for community-based organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs.
Looking back, Johnson recalls the stigma and discrimination that used to rule the disease and how people talked in “hushed voices”. Now, people can openly talk about and discuss HIV/AIDS–all in the name of raising awareness of the disease.
Johnson’s ‘retirement’ didn’t hold him back to do what he loves most when he came back to play in the 1992 All-Star Game and won the All-Star MVP Award. He was also a part of the ‘Dream Team’ that won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona during the 1992 Olympics.
“When I look at our team and our achievements, we changed the world when it comes to the NBA and when it came to basketball,” he says. “What we were able to accomplish in Barcelona, the way that the world accepted us, we’ve never seen anything like it. We won the gold medal, but we changed the game of basketball around the world forever. And I am happy to be part of that.”
Raising the next generation of entrepreneurs
Johnson is also the founder and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, a global empire with a wide range of business endeavors that range from sports ownership, food service, to media and entertainment. He may have come a long way from bringing coffee shops and cinemas into Urban America, but he remains committed to his mission of creating jobs and opportunities for minorities and women-owned firms. When asked about retirement, the NBA Hall of Famer laughingly replied, “I am not built to slow down. I am a worker; I love to work, [and I bring] passion to my job every day.”
To prepare the next generation of dreamers and entrepreneurs, the NBA Hall of Famer, businessman, and philanthropist advised them about having a positive attitude despite setbacks, the importance of believing in one’s self, and having mentors–a role that he continues to play for many businesses, athletes, and his fans.
“My life is boundless. When I think of my journey, that’s the word I would use. I did everything that was not supposed to be done. When I think about boundless, I think that’s Magic Johnson! I was the first to go through a lot of doors, a man of color. Trust me, you can do it. Everybody out there, you can do it, you can have it, you can go do it, it’s all up to you.”
30 years later, after countless successful ventures, he shared, “Today, Magic’s court is the business world.”
For more information, visit https://pldtenterprise.com/.
PLDT
PLDT reinforces PH as Next Hyperscale Hub in Southeast Asia at Telecoms World Asia

The PLDT Group bolsters its mission to help make the Philippines Southeast Asia’s next hyperscale hub. At the recent Telecoms World Asia conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, PLDT Enterprise’s Asia-Pacific Regional Head, Jeff Mendoza, emphasized the critical role played by PLDT in creating the digital infrastructure required by the country’s transformation into a regional hyperscale powerhouse.
“Over the past few years, we have witnessed unprecedented digital adoption in the region, especially in the Philippines,” says Mendoza. “Google’s latest e-Conomy SEA report shows the Philippines as the frontrunner in Southeast Asia with its digital economy expected to be sustained at a CAGR of 20% through 2025.”
PLDT’s efforts to help drive the Philippines as the next hyperscale hub is guided by an even bigger mission to help build a sustainable future for Filipinos. PLDT remains dedicated to its efforts and initiatives that strongly support UNSDG No. 9: ‘Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation’.
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