Patient Summit to Strengthen Connection of Non-COVID-19 Patients with Doctors

Based on an SWS survey of 1200 adults across the country, 91% of Filipinos fear contracting COVID-19. Due to fear of contracting COVID-19, non-COVID-19 patients deferred preventive and routine health check-ups. Honestly, I am one of those who failed to go back and see my doctor again.

This is actually very risky since neglecting our health issues may actually worsen our condition. The good news is both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients battling any of the Philippines’ top chronic non-communicable diseases can now resume regular consultations with their doctors via various means.  

This issue will take focus on the upcoming Patient Summit on Friday, November 24. It is a free interactive virtual event organized through the collaboration of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO), Mercury Drug Corporation (MDC), and Boehringer Ingelheim (Philippines), Inc. 

The Patient Summit aims to address the pain points patients encounter during the COVID-19 pandemic when seeking medical attention for diseases that remain deadlier than the virus, namely heart diseases, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and pneumonia.   

According to a report by the Philippine Statistics Authority, in 2020 alone, 100,000 Filipinos died from heart disease, over 60,000 from cancer, almost 40,000 from diabetes, roughly around 35,000 from pneumonia, and 25,000 from hypertension. 

Event attendees will get to learn the various technologies and guidelines healthcare professionals and facilities are adopting to make patients of chronic non-communicable diseases feel comfortable seeing doctors once again. 

The Patient Summit will happen on November 26 at 4pm. Those who wish to attend can watch it live on the Facebook pages of Philippine Star or Mercury Drug Corporation.

It is about time that we take control and be more resourceful in taking care of ourselves. We cannot continue to postpone or neglect to address our health issues because, in reality, the virus is not yet going away soon. 

Sharing with you the event page, should you be interested to attend. Just click GOING to let them know that you're joining. 

This is an initiative of Kumusta Dok, an advocacy that aims to empower patients to reconnect with their doctors during the new normal and to increase awareness of the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of the top causes of mortality in the Philippines, which includes heart diseases, cancer, stroke, pneumonia, and diabetes. The program also gives tips and updates on the channels available for patients to strengthen their partnership with doctors throughout their health-seeking journey. It shares efforts being done by healthcare facilities that ensure the safety of patients and healthcare staff. 

How Fighting the Money Taboo Protects Your Financial Future

It is often considered rude or embarrassing to speak openly about money matters. Local and international articles and financial experts have discussed this “money taboo” and found the main reasons behind this dilemma.

First, people are afraid of being judged—either they are thought of as a bad provider if they admit they’re struggling financially, or they’ll be judged as "mayabang" if they talk about their financial gains.

Another reason is that they’re afraid of people asking them for money or that people’s friendship or affection will only be based on greed: how much people can get from them. These are valid fears. right?

But research has shown that the refusal to discuss money within the family and the lack of trust and communication between parents and children—especially when it comes to money talks—can result in financial losses.

When parents are not able to properly discuss something as important as managing money, children fail to learn such essential skills—and as grownups, they would be more prone to making wrong decisions on spending, saving, and investing.

Help your child grow up without being hampered by the money taboo. Discuss finances as part of the family conversation. Depending on the age of your child, you should discuss, in an appropriate way, the family’s expenses: payments for rent, utilities, tuition, groceries, etc. Discuss them in a way that helps your child appreciate the value of hard work and of earning money and spending it wisely.

Then you can talk about income, salaries, allowances, and how important it is to stick to a budget and to put away savings and investments. Talk about how all these go together in making your family financially secure now and in the future. When these financial conversations happen regularly, as ordinary family talks, it does much in reducing the power of taboo over your family’s financial assessments and decisions.

One family conversation you should look forward to with your child is their first savings account. Opening your child’s own savings account is one of the first steps in teaching them financial skills. You can visit the online product page of a kiddie savings account like BDO Junior Savers and discuss what a savings account is and why a person would need one. Go through the requirements and explain to your child the steps involved in opening the account.

The next topic would be what you and your child could do to grow the savings account. Teach your child how to put away savings from his or her allowance to be deposited in the account. You could then discuss and set up a Junior Savers Plan where money can be transferred automatically into your child’s account. This can be done by enrolling your child’s account in your BDO Online Banking account and setting up scheduled ‘Send Money’ transfers from your account to your child’s account.

Money is too important to avoid talking about. A proper discussion of finances within your family ensures wiser financial decisions and a better future for your children.

Maximize Your 13th Month Pay with ShopeePay

Your 13th-month pay is just around the corner, and as much as you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor and check out everything in your cart, it’s best to be wise about spending your hard-earned money. 

With ShopeePay, not only can you save more, but you can also enjoy big rewards while embracing the season of giving. Here are three tips on how you can make the most out of your year-end bonus with Shopee’s integrated mobile wallet, ShopeePay.

Be on the lookout for the best deals for big savings

Filipinos start the holiday shopping season as soon as the -ber months hit. If you’re thinking of saving up for holiday gifts to your friends and family and you're on a budget, why not check out ShopeePay’s ₱1 Deals? Get your aunt a Christmas basket from Puregold or your nephew delicious treats from Potato Corner, Bonchon, Candy Corner, and Goldilocks. If you want something useful or educational, National Bookstore has some great finds, too. Want to give load to a student doing online schooling or reconnect with friends and loved ones via video phone calls? Load up using ShopeePay and get up to 10% off on load and promos from all networks.

Pay your bills ahead of time -- and get cashback too!

With the busy holiday season up ahead, being able to save time doing errands is a big help. With ShopeePay, you can conveniently pay for all your monthly bills with just a few taps on your phone. Not only that, you can even get up to 25% bills cashback for Electricity, Landline, Internet, Water, Postpaid Mobile, Credit Card, and TV Cable companies such as Meralco, Maynilad, Globe, Smart, PLDT, BPI, and over 60+ ShopeePay partner billers.

Cash in for more cashless transactions

Other than Christmas gifts, we also need to take care of other responsibilities this holiday season; like buying load, paying bills, and even buying groceries for our holiday festivities. ShopeePay makes it easier to go cashless when checking off our Christmas to-do list, as users can now cash in their ShopeePay wallet for free via InstaPay! You can cash in instantly from your bank apps such as RCBC, Metrobank, BPI, Chinabank, Unionbank, and more. Even better, until December 5, 2021, you can skip the added fees when you get up to ₱25 cashback on your InstaPay fee*.

Though it can be tempting to buy all the gifts to treat ourselves and our loved ones, it’s important to keep in mind that we should be practical on how we spend our money, even with our 13th-month pay. With ShopeePay, not only can you enjoy greater savings, but you can also look forward to plenty of rewards. Activate your ShopeePay now and experience seamless online transactions when you Buy Load, Pay Bills, and Scan to Pay with ShopeePay. 

How to Cancel Globe Broadband Unli BB Bundle? Oh, it's such a nightmare!

If you got a Globe Broadband plan a 1-2 years ago, you probably at see a promotion - UNLI BB BUNDLE included on your monthly bill. If you have no idea what it is, it is a special promotion/ add-on from Globe that allows you to call Globe and TM numbers for free using your landline.

Most plans have this special promotion free for two years (24 months) after which you will be automatically billed Php 99 per month. I believe this is actually a good deal if you are making a lot of calls to Globe and TM however if you think that you do not really need it, then you may want to cancel this to avoid that extra Php 99 charge on your Globe internet bill. 

How to cancel the Globe Broadband Unli BB Bundle? 

Before the new normal, we simply have to call the customer service hotline to cancel. However since Globe's customer service hotline is not available anymore (let's say it's hard to get a hold of a live person), the best way to contact them is through their social media pages.

TIP: If you send them directly a private message, more likely you'll end up with a chatbot which is not your goal. So, it might help if you send them a message then make sure to leave a comment on their posts too and from there they might send a reply and ask you to continue the conversation via private messaging. 

In my case, after weeks of trying, I have finally chatted with a live person and was advised to answer this online form.  

Here's the link to the Google form -- http://glbe.co/UnliG2G-optout. Just fill this out to file a request for your unli bb subscription removal. Based on their instructions, once you're done answering all the needed details, kindly submit it and free your line and their support team will keep you updated regarding your concern.

Here's a bit of a warning! Answering the form doesn't mean that your concern has been resolved. You have to follow up and ensure that it has been removed if you don't want to be charged extra. 

In my case, the promised turnaround time of 24-48 hours to process my request was not true. No one from their support team contacted me too. 

I had to answer the form multiple times after making a follow-up since it was still not processed. I guess this is the sad reality of Globe customers. Getting help from customer service nowadays is really challenging. 

Let me share our detailed experience of this very simple request. 

It was October 6 when finally, I was able to get hold of a live agent. I was really happy because I was running in circles with their chatbot on Facebook messenger. I thought that finally my concern will be resolved. I made time to report before the new billing cycle so, that I don't need to see extra charges on our bill. 

After more than a week (October 15), since I never heard anything from Globe, I made another follow-up.

After another week had passed, I still did not hear from Globe so I made another follow-up last October 22. This time I was already frustrated but the agent said that he will expedite the process. Well, let's see. I decided to wait longer and extend my patience. 

So, after almost a month (November 20) -- I still did not get call nor my concern was resolved.  I have no choice but to follow up again for the 3rd time. 

And guess what? Here's what the agent told me. 

So, yes, it is such a nightmare! I feel that I am on a dead-end now but have no choice but to wait for the next update. 

Since I never heard from Globe ever despite their promises of a callback, I decided to seek help from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and sent them an email. 

I was happy that I immediately received a reply from NTC. They asked for more information about my concern and said that they will act on it accordingly.

True enough, I received a call from Globe's head office last December 24. They said that they received my complaint through NTC and they are willing to assist me. After 72 hours, I already saw adjustments on my account, and finally, the UNLI bb bundle has been canceled. 

In a nutshell, Here's How to Cancel Globe Broadband Unli BB Bundle? 

1. Contact Globe Customer Service via Facebook Messenger. Answer the online form that they will give you. 

2. After 48-72 hours, follow-up and check if it has been canceled. If it is still not resolved, try for the 2nd time (yes, we are understanding and they deserve a second chance!) 

3. Follow up again in 48-72 hours. If still not resolved, file a complaint in NTC. 

Our government agencies work and they can be contacted easily online.
There is even no need for you to go to their office. 

To report or file a complaint, you can just email NTC at consumer@ntc.gov.ph. 

P.S. This may not be the best way to have your Globe customer service concerns get resolved but this is the only way that worked for us after the 3-month ordeal and multiple follow-ups.

How about you? Do you have any experience adding/ removing paid services with Globe? How was your experience? Feel free to share on the comments section below.