Cebuana Lhuillier Rises Above Asia-Pacific Competition as Most Awarded Philippine Company at the Content Marketing Awards 2026

 

Cebuana Lhuillier reinforced its leadership in content marketing excellence by earning five awards at the Content Marketing Awards Asia-Pacific 2026, hosted by MARKETECH APAC, making it the most awarded Philippine company at this year's competition. The recognition underscores the company's success in delivering impactful campaigns that strengthen brand engagement, advance financial inclusion, and drive measurable business results.

"At Cebuana Lhuillier, every campaign begins with a clear purpose—to create meaningful value for the Filipinos we serve," said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier. "Whether we are advancing financial literacy, empowering entrepreneurs, promoting financial protection, or strengthening customer relationships, we believe communications should inspire action. These recognitions affirm that authentic storytelling creates lasting impact, and we are proud to represent the Philippines among the region's best."

Leading Cebuana Lhuillier's victories was the Silver Award for Best Purpose-Driven Content Campaign for Money Guro: A Purpose-Driven Content Ecosystem for Financial Inclusion, recognizing the company's commitment to making financial education more engaging, accessible, and relevant for Filipinos. The initiative continues to transform financial literacy into an ongoing conversation, equipping individuals and families with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions.

The company also earned a Silver Award for Best B2B Content Campaign for Kanegosyo Center: Transforming Education into Entrepreneurial Success, in recognition of its efforts to equip micro, small, and medium enterprises with practical business knowledge, mentorship, and growth opportunities. Together, the two silver-winning campaigns reflect Cebuana Lhuillier's long-standing mission of expanding economic opportunities while promoting financial inclusion across the country.

Completing the company's five-award haul were three Bronze recognitions that highlighted the breadth of its integrated communications strategy. Buwis Buhay: Turning Everyday Risk into Daily Protection won under Best B2C Content Campaign for making insurance education more relatable and accessible to everyday Filipinos. Cebuanamazing received a Bronze Award for Best Brand Awareness Campaign, celebrating Filipino resilience while strengthening the Cebuana Lhuillier brand. Meanwhile, Pasasalamat: A Celebration of Gratitude and Financial Inclusion earned recognition in the Best Customer Retention Content Campaign category, reinforcing the company's commitment to building lasting customer relationships through meaningful engagement and shared milestones.

For Emirosco Michael Sena, First Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Cebuana Lhuillier, the awards affirm the company's belief that the strongest campaigns are those that create real value for the people they serve. "Our approach has always been to build campaigns that go beyond visibility and genuinely make a difference in people's lives. Every recognition reflects the dedication of our teams to telling authentic Filipino stories, solving real customer needs, and communicating with purpose. We're honored that our work continues to resonate not only with our customers but also with industry leaders across the Asia-Pacific region."

The five-award performance reinforces Cebuana Lhuillier's leadership in purpose-driven content marketing excellence, demonstrating how strategic communications can drive business growth while advancing financial inclusion. As the company continues to innovate across its products, services, and customer experiences, it remains committed to creating campaigns that educate, empower, and inspire millions of Filipinos—proving that when marketing is rooted in purpose, it creates impact that extends far beyond the message itself.

The Electric Cooperative Reform the Philippines Can No Longer Ignore

  

In Catanduanes, the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, or FICELCO, has been managing a power supply crisis that pushed daily brownouts to as many as eight hours for its over 62,000 Member-Consumer-Owners earlier this year.

A combination of generator failures, unsettled subsidy obligations involving its power supplier, and a stalled competitive selection process for a new supplier left consumers on an island with no reliable timeline for relief.

In Albay, the struggles of the Albay Electric Cooperative, or ALECO, have become a flashpoint for a national debate on whether struggling cooperatives should be reformed or privatized. A P1.2 billion government rehabilitation program is currently underway, yet the specter of premature privatization continues to hang over a cooperative still finding its footing.

Last July 6, 2026, the people of Palawan did not wait for a congressional hearing or a regulatory investigation. They went outside and made themselves heard.

Member-Consumer-Owners of the Palawan Electric Cooperative gathered in front of PALECO's offices to deliver a message that no performance scorecard had managed to capture. They were not asking for the impossible. They were asking for what every Filipino household deserves: electricity that is affordable, reliable, and built to last.

It was a peaceful rally. But behind it was years of accumulated frustration.

Triple-A on Paper. Brownouts at Home.

In May 2026, PALECO achieved the highest performance rating for electric cooperatives in the country. Based on NEA's 2025 Annual Overall Performance Assessment, the cooperative was awarded an AAA distinction, scoring 97 percent. The cooperative's management celebrated. The mood in El Nido, Puerto Princesa, and Narra was considerably different.

John, a small business owner in Puerto Princesa, put it plainly. "We are paying premium rates. What we are not getting is premium service. The lights go out in the morning, come back, then go out again by afternoon. That is not Triple-A. That is triple the frustration."

According to MCO Tony Cabrestante a phrase now quietly circulating among PALECO's Member-Consumer-Owners. AAA, some consumers now say with a tired laugh, no longer stands for excellent performance. It stands for "Araw-Araw, Ara Kuryente." Every day, no electricity.

The joke draws a knowing smile. The reality behind it deserves a serious response.

Lisa, a small transient house owner in El Nido who depends on steady electricity to serve the tourists visiting one of the country's most celebrated destinations, shared her frustration quietly. "Guests are patient. I try to be patient. But after years of the same thing, patience runs thin. The lights should not be going out this often in a place like this."

What the Rating System Is Not Measuring

Nic Satur Jr., chief advocate officer of PARE, said the gap between PALECO's AAA classification and the daily experience of its consumers points to a deeper flaw in how electric cooperative performance is currently evaluated.

"Consumers are not looking at scorecards. They are looking at their electric fans, their refrigerators, their children doing homework at night. The rating system must be reformed to reflect what consumers actually experience, not just what institutions report about themselves," Satur said.

He added that questions have been raised about the credibility of a rating system where the same agency overseeing an intervention also evaluates its results. Those questions deserve transparent, public answers from NEA.

PARE has formally urged NEA to incorporate direct consumer feedback into its evaluation framework, including customer satisfaction data, complaint resolution rates, and power restoration performance during calamities and emergency situations.

"The ultimate measure of performance is a simple question every member-consumer-owner asks every morning: will the lights stay on today? Until that question has a reliable answer, a Triple-A rating is not a milestone. It is a gap that needs to be explained," Satur said.

PALECO Is Not an Isolated Case

The frustration in Palawan is real. But it is not unique. Across the country, consumers in cooperative franchise areas are living versions of the same story.

In Catanduanes, the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, or FICELCO, has been managing a power supply crisis that pushed daily brownouts to as many as eight hours for its over 62,000 Member-Consumer-Owners earlier this year. A combination of generator failures, unsettled subsidy obligations involving its power supplier, and a stalled competitive selection process for a new supplier left consumers on an island with no reliable timeline for relief.

In Albay, the struggles of the Albay Electric Cooperative, or ALECO, have become a flashpoint for a national debate on whether struggling cooperatives should be reformed or privatized. A P1.2 billion government rehabilitation program is currently underway, yet the specter of premature privatization continues to hang over a cooperative still finding its footing.

In Batangas, consumers of the Batangas Electric Cooperative, or BATELEC, have been enduring recurring outages that prompted a provincial government intervention and a public debate about private sector participation. A recent survey found that an overwhelming majority of consumers in the area experienced multiple outages per month.

In Zamboanga, the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, or ZAMCELCO, has faced its own rotational brownout episodes driven by supply and infrastructure challenges. In the Visayas, BISELCO consumers have similarly raised concerns that the service they receive does not match what they pay for every month.

"PALECO is one face of a national problem. Consumers from Catanduanes to Zamboanga are asking the same questions, enduring the same disruptions, and paying rates that do not reflect the service they actually receive," Satur said.

"This is not a cooperative-by-cooperative issue. This is a systemic failure in governance, oversight, regulation, and accountability that demands a national response."

What Consumers Are Asking For

The MCOs who gathered in front of PALECO on July 6 were not demanding the extraordinary. They were asking for the basic.

Affordable rates that reflect prudent and efficient management. Reliable service that does not interrupt livelihoods, education, and community life. Transparent governance that places Member-Consumer-Owners at the center of every major decision. And accountability from PALECO, FICELCO, ALECO, BATELEC, ZAMCELCO, BISELCO, and every cooperative in between, as well as from NEA, DOE, and ERC, for the state of the service consumers are paying for every single month.

"Consumers fund the entire system. They deserve a system that works for them, not one that works around them. That is the reform PARE is calling for. Not just in Palawan. Nationwide," Satur said.

The lights should not be going out this often. Not in Palawan. Not in Catanduanes. Not anywhere in this country.

That is not too much to ask.

PARE: End the Double Standard on Systems Loss Charges

 

During his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a resounding call for the removal of systems loss charges from electricity bills.

The Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy (PARE) commends this effort to reduce power rates — a move that will undoubtedly face opposition from parts of the power industry.

July 28, 2026, Makati City – During his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a resounding call for the removal of systems loss charges from electricity bills. 

The Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy (PARE) commends this effort to reduce power rates — a move that will undoubtedly face opposition from parts of the power industry. 

However, the consumer advocacy group believes the President's remarks have also shone a spotlight on an even bigger injustice: the deeply unfair, two-tiered system that continues to penalize millions of consumers served by electric cooperatives.

Under the current setup, consumers are forced to shoulder the inefficiencies of power distributors, but the financial burden is distributed unequally. There is a glaring double standard in how these inefficiencies are treated under existing regulations:

Private Distribution Utilities (DUs): Capped at 5.5%

Electric Cooperatives (ECs): Allowed recoverable system loss caps of up to 12.25%

PARE highlights the irony of this disparity. 

Consumers in highly urbanized areas such as Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao — served primarily by private distribution utilities — pay significantly lower systems loss charges. 

Meanwhile, consumers in the rest of the country, who are predominantly served by electric cooperatives, pay more than double. Electric cooperatives provide electricity service to around 70 million Filipinos, meaning the majority of electricity consumers are subjected to this unequal treatment. Worse, actual system losses among many cooperatives currently average between 11 and 12 percent, with extreme cases reaching a staggering 37 percent.

If it is unjust for a private utility to pass on a 5.5 percent systems loss to its consumers, PARE argues that it is even more unjust that electric cooperatives are legally permitted to pass on more than double that amount.

"The President hit the nail on the head during the SONA — we should not pay for losses we did not create," said Nic Satur Jr., Chief Advocate Officer of PARE. "But the current system allows electric cooperatives to pass on inefficiencies that consumers have no control over. Consumers connected to electric cooperatives are paying for double, triple, or even six times the inefficiencies shouldered by consumers served by private utilities. That is fundamentally unfair."

As a practical and immediate reform, PARE is calling on Congress to establish a uniform 5 percent recoverable system loss cap for every distribution utility and electric cooperative in the country, with no exceptions and no extended timelines for compliance.

"Filipino consumers already pay electricity rates that rank among the highest in Asia. We are entitled to nothing less than the international efficiency standard of 5 percent in return," Satur emphasized. "

You cannot charge world-class prices while expecting consumers to absorb excessive system losses.

The President's speech made it clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable."

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About Partners for Affordable & Reliable Energy

Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy (PARE) is a national, independent consumer coalition advocating for affordable electricity, reliable service, energy justice, and meaningful consumer participation in the Philippine energy sector.

 

MOLD Manila Introduces Croma PolyPhil Polynucleotide Treatments in Quezon City

 The addition of Croma PolyPhil, Croma PolyPhil S, and Croma PolyPhil Eye broadens MOLD Manila's non-surgical treatment portfolio, providing clients with physician-guided regenerative skin treatments tailored to different aesthetic concerns.

MOLD Manila has announced the launch of the Croma PolyPhil range, expanding its portfolio of non-surgical aesthetic treatments with polynucleotide-based regenerative injectables from Croma, an Austria-based manufacturer specializing in aesthetic medicine.

The new range includes three treatment options designed for different skin concerns: Croma PolyPhil for overall skin quality and rejuvenation, Croma PolyPhil S for clients with acne scars and textural concerns, and Croma PolyPhil Eye for the delicate under-eye area.

The Croma PolyPhil range offers regenerative injectable solutions tailored to different skin concerns.

Polynucleotides have become an area of growing interest in aesthetic medicine because of their role in supporting the skin's natural regenerative processes. According to Croma, the PolyPhil range is developed using the company's proprietary PN-HPT™ (Polynucleotides High Purification Technology), which is designed to deliver highly purified polynucleotides for aesthetic treatments.

Each treatment is performed following a professional consultation, allowing providers to evaluate the client's skin concerns, discuss treatment goals, and recommend an individualized treatment plan.

Every Croma PolyPhil treatment begins with a personalized consultation and skin assessment.

"At MOLD Manila, we continue to invest in technologies and treatments that support personalized, science-driven aesthetic care," said Adrielle Costales, Founder and CEO of MOLD Manila. "The addition of the Croma PolyPhil range allows us to offer our clients more physician-guided options focused on skin quality and regenerative aesthetics."

The introduction of the Croma PolyPhil range reflects MOLD Manila's continued commitment to expanding its treatment offerings while maintaining its philosophy of combining science, artistry, and individualized care.

Every treatment is carefully prepared using physician-guided protocols in a clinical setting.

MOLD Manila provides a range of non-surgical aesthetic services, including facial sculpting, skin rejuvenation, body contouring, and wellness treatments. The addition of regenerative injectables further strengthens the clinic's comprehensive approach to personalized aesthetic care.

The Croma PolyPhil range is now available at MOLD Manila's White Plains and Baesa branches in Quezon City.

Clients interested in learning more about the treatment may schedule a consultation to discuss their skin concerns and determine whether the Croma PolyPhil range is appropriate for their individual needs.

Mold Manila | Book your Appointment

About MOLD Manila

MOLD Manila is a premium, clinician-led aesthetic clinic based in Quezon City, Philippines. Known for its technology-driven, non-surgical treatments and personalized care, the clinic specializes in skin rejuvenation, non-invasive contouring, laser treatments, and IV wellness therapies. MOLD Manila is committed to education-first, results-driven aesthetics designed for real Filipino skin.