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JPI SUMMER OUTING 201623 April 2016
One of JPI's annual events is the much anticipated Summer Outing which was always held out of town. This year, the Employees Event Committee (EEC) 2016 brought the JPI Family last April 23-24, 2016 to Alahbiga Beach Resort in Laiya, Batangas. Let us look back at the highlights of this joyful and fantastic event.
A. Bus Activities The bus departed from Alabang at 11:30 AM and Cath of the 21st Batch lead the prayer for a safe travel. EEC prepared games to liven the atmosphere during the ride. The first game was called "JPI Trivia Quiz". This tested how observant and mindful the JPI Employees are. The group was divided into four teams according to their seat by columns. One answer sheet was given per team, and members of each team had to answer the questions consecutively. Answer sheets were passed from the front row to the back row, and vise versa until the teams answered all the 20 questions prepared by EEC. The team that had the most correct answers was declared the winner.
Some questions were, "What is the full name of our current Nihongo Sensei?" someone made everyone laugh by answering "Katsuzawa Maria" which was actually "Katsuzawa Shigeharu". Another one is "How many door does the locker near the SMD area have?" which was actually just 24 but it was answered as 4,12 and 20. Everyone got frustrated but eventually laughed when they realized that these were just simple things in the JPI Office that they don't even notice. The team of Onats, Mich, Maan, Aimee, Dred and Ruther won the game. They received a Gift Certificate from Krispy Kreme.
The next game was called "Chain Game". This is like the Japanese Game, ShiriTori, but instead of using the last syllable, the last letter is used. It was an individual game where the winner was the "Last Man Standing" (not literally since we were sitting in the bus. LOL). The EEC prepared a long list of categories, and each player had to utter a word under the current category, but it had to depend on the last letter of the preceding player's answer. Some of the employees' age was also revealed during this game when they answered movies, actors and actresses from the 70's, 80's and 90's that were kind of unknown to the youngsters. Everyone laughed when someone answered "Adaisy" when the answer should be a flower that starts with a letter A. Panic was a big "NO! NO!" in this game. Plus, there was a "first answer never dies" rule which meant that the first answer would be considered as the player's final answer, and there had to be no repetition of answers. In the end, the last man (or rather a woman) standing is none other than Lala from SMT3 who received a Serenitea Gift Certificate.
B. Afternoon Activities
When everyone arrived at the resort, they were given time to rest in their rooms for a while. The fun began at around 4:30pm which was the start of the beach activities. Everyone was ready with their swimming attires and had their game faces on. They were divided into 3 teams whose names were determined by randomly choosing from 3 categories which were: verbs, mythical creatures, and a place. The results were 3 weird but interesting team names: Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak, Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Island and Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko. Once the names of the teams were announced, the body-twerking fun began.
There were three Beach Activities:
The rules of this game were simple: To come up with a cheer for their team, and create the best looking flag that will represent their team. They were given 20 minutes to complete the requirements. This game was really fun and it really brought out the creativity of everyone involved.
1st Place - Dream-Walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
2nd Place - Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko
3rd Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak.
Aside from creativity and imagination, it was humor that made everyone's performance the best.
This game was not a matter of speed but a matter of precise and careful moves. Each member had to hold a handful amount of sand on their hands and pass these to the next member after going through 3 obstacles. The real goal was to have as much sand left on the last team member's hands at the end of the game. The team with the most sand left will win.
1st Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
TIE - Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko AND Dream-Walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
LESSON LEARNED: If you are careless, the one you tried to protect the most will eventually slip through your fingers.
It was getting a bit dark when this game started which added to the difficulty level. Each member had to do a sack race towards the shower area of the beach, collect as much water as they could with their clothes or hair, so that when they go back to the starting point they could squeeze the water into a cup and fill it. The game was for 10 minutes, and the team with the most cups filled within that time will win.
1st Place - Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko
2nd Place - Dream-Walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
3rd Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang TakTak.
This game was really difficult for those who are not wearing cotton shirts since rash guards don't really absorb water. So, congratulations to all the teams for they managed to fill at least one cup. Hooray for determination!
C. Evening Activities
As the sun set and day slowly turned to night, another set of fun-filled activities began. After eating such palatable and scrumptious food served by the resort, everyone gathered in the function hall to start the evening activities.
The evening was enlightened with opening remarks from our company president, Mr. Masanori Takada, and followed by an inspirational message from our manager for corporate functions, Ms. Mildred Miras.. Afterwards, the group games started.
The first group game was entitled Guess the JPI Employee with a Twist. The game was executed smoothly by each team. All of the guesses made were correct, not to mention that before players could answer, they had to initially finish the challenge to move a Fita cookie from their forehead down to their mouths, eat it, and shout their ever-long team names. The game went pretty challenging, though everyone had fun watching different facial expressions of the players as they moved and eat the cookie to get a score for their respective teams.
1st Place - Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Islands
2nd Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
3rd Place - Jaw-breaking Elves of Kokovoko
An awesome game it was indeed. The last two contenders (Tin
The game's intensity subsided when Cath, Nelienne, and Sig serenaded everyone with a song called Love Yourself by Justin Bieber. They had a band called "Plantlets" (not literally a band though. =)) where Cath was the vocalist, Nel was the guitarist and Sig was the beatboxer. The performance was enough to make everyone unknowingly fall into silence and listen to the band. Despite a few technical problems encountered, the totality of the show was very captivating and entertaining.
The serenade was then followed by the 21st Batch's (Lovely, Nel, Sig, Hetty, Cath, Sig and Art) performance. Dancing to the music "Jumbo Hotdog", they wore a mask showing Akio's face (21st Batch) as a tribute to him for unfortunately not being able to join them during the event. The show seemed like a circus in view of the fact that each of them had their own dance moves. Moving and grooving to their own rhythm, the show was more than enough to make their audience laugh to their unsynchronized yet amusing performance.
After the intermission numbers, the teams played one last game. This final game was called Paint me a Picture. In this game, each group had to portray a scene, and whoever delivered the given scenario more realistic than the others will win. Each group was given a minute to portray it. One of the best scenarios was the "hospital delivery room" where each member really did a great job in showing the judges what it was like to be in a delivery room. All in all, the game had been superb, and each team gave their best not just to win, but to have fun as well.
Two teams tied up in 1st place:
Team Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
Team Jaw-breaking Elves of Kokovoko
For the 2nd place:
Team Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
As the EEC members tally the points each team had collected from all the games, the crowd was once again entertained by Cath and Nel as they sang two more songs. The overall winner was determined by calculating all the points that each team garnered from the games. The winner for each game got 5 points, the second placer got 3 points, and 2 points were awarded for the 3rd placer. This scoring system was used in all the activities. And after the scores have been tallied…
Overall winner:
Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
Prize: Starbucks Gift Certificate (Php1,600)
2nd Place:
Jaw-breaking Elves of Kokovoko
Prize: Starbucks Gift Certificate (Php1,000)
3rd place:
Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
Prize: Serenitea Gift Certificate (Php800)
Team Unicorns bagged the first place with a total score of 19 points. On second place was team Elves with 18 points, and team Minotaurs on 3rd place with 17 points. It was indeed a tough yet healthy competition. The single point difference from each team's score only revealed how everyone was determined to win. Salute to the three teams for their sportsmanship.
The program ended with Ghe's (EEC Deputy) closing remarks, and reminders for the next day. It was an energy-consuming yet fun day for everyone.
The second day of the summer outing was the time for everyone to get to know each other more and enjoy the beach and the resort's facilities.
The resort offered lots of fun and recreational activities like kayaking, banana boating, snorkeling and even fishing. They even have pools to accommodate everyone who does not want to swim at the beach. The resort also offered massage services and foot spa. And for "diva-wannabes", they also have videoke for entertainment. Everyone enjoyed the free time until the checkout and departure time at 2 PM.
It was an incomparably fantastic experience for everyone who joined the JPI Summer Outing 2016. Overall, it was a wonderful two days filled with laughter and enjoyment. May the next event be breezier and more fun as ever! Until next JPI event!
JPI SUMMER OUTING 201623 April 2016
One of JPI's annual events is the much anticipated Summer Outing which was always held out of town. This year, the Employees Event Committee (EEC) 2016 brought the JPI Family last April 23-24, 2016 to Alahbiga Beach Resort in Laiya, Batangas. Let us look back at the highlights of this joyful and fantastic event.
A. Bus Activities The bus departed from Alabang at 11:30 AM and Cath of the 21st Batch lead the prayer for a safe travel. EEC prepared games to liven the atmosphere during the ride. The first game was called "JPI Trivia Quiz". This tested how observant and mindful the JPI Employees are. The group was divided into four teams according to their seat by columns. One answer sheet was given per team, and members of each team had to answer the questions consecutively. Answer sheets were passed from the front row to the back row, and vise versa until the teams answered all the 20 questions prepared by EEC. The team that had the most correct answers was declared the winner.
Some questions were, "What is the full name of our current Nihongo Sensei?" someone made everyone laugh by answering "Katsuzawa Maria" which was actually "Katsuzawa Shigeharu". Another one is "How many door does the locker near the SMD area have?" which was actually just 24 but it was answered as 4,12 and 20. Everyone got frustrated but eventually laughed when they realized that these were just simple things in the JPI Office that they don't even notice. The team of Onats, Mich, Maan, Aimee, Dred and Ruther won the game. They received a Gift Certificate from Krispy Kreme.
The next game was called "Chain Game". This is like the Japanese Game, ShiriTori, but instead of using the last syllable, the last letter is used. It was an individual game where the winner was the "Last Man Standing" (not literally since we were sitting in the bus. LOL). The EEC prepared a long list of categories, and each player had to utter a word under the current category, but it had to depend on the last letter of the preceding player's answer. Some of the employees' age was also revealed during this game when they answered movies, actors and actresses from the 70's, 80's and 90's that were kind of unknown to the youngsters. Everyone laughed when someone answered "Adaisy" when the answer should be a flower that starts with a letter A. Panic was a big "NO! NO!" in this game. Plus, there was a "first answer never dies" rule which meant that the first answer would be considered as the player's final answer, and there had to be no repetition of answers. In the end, the last man (or rather a woman) standing is none other than Lala from SMT3 who received a Serenitea Gift Certificate.
B. Afternoon Activities
When everyone arrived at the resort, they were given time to rest in their rooms for a while. The fun began at around 4:30pm which was the start of the beach activities. Everyone was ready with their swimming attires and had their game faces on. They were divided into 3 teams whose names were determined by randomly choosing from 3 categories which were: verbs, mythical creatures, and a place. The results were 3 weird but interesting team names: Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak, Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Island and Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko. Once the names of the teams were announced, the body-twerking fun began.
There were three Beach Activities:
The rules of this game were simple: To come up with a cheer for their team, and create the best looking flag that will represent their team. They were given 20 minutes to complete the requirements. This game was really fun and it really brought out the creativity of everyone involved.
1st Place - Dream-Walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
2nd Place - Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko
3rd Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak.
Aside from creativity and imagination, it was humor that made everyone's performance the best.
This game was not a matter of speed but a matter of precise and careful moves. Each member had to hold a handful amount of sand on their hands and pass these to the next member after going through 3 obstacles. The real goal was to have as much sand left on the last team member's hands at the end of the game. The team with the most sand left will win.
1st Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
TIE - Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko AND Dream-Walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
LESSON LEARNED: If you are careless, the one you tried to protect the most will eventually slip through your fingers.
It was getting a bit dark when this game started which added to the difficulty level. Each member had to do a sack race towards the shower area of the beach, collect as much water as they could with their clothes or hair, so that when they go back to the starting point they could squeeze the water into a cup and fill it. The game was for 10 minutes, and the team with the most cups filled within that time will win.
1st Place - Jaw-Breaking Elves of Kokovoko
2nd Place - Dream-Walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
3rd Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang TakTak.
This game was really difficult for those who are not wearing cotton shirts since rash guards don't really absorb water. So, congratulations to all the teams for they managed to fill at least one cup. Hooray for determination!
C. Evening Activities
As the sun set and day slowly turned to night, another set of fun-filled activities began. After eating such palatable and scrumptious food served by the resort, everyone gathered in the function hall to start the evening activities.
The evening was enlightened with opening remarks from our company president, Mr. Masanori Takada, and followed by an inspirational message from our manager for corporate functions, Ms. Mildred Miras.. Afterwards, the group games started.
The first group game was entitled Guess the JPI Employee with a Twist. The game was executed smoothly by each team. All of the guesses made were correct, not to mention that before players could answer, they had to initially finish the challenge to move a Fita cookie from their forehead down to their mouths, eat it, and shout their ever-long team names. The game went pretty challenging, though everyone had fun watching different facial expressions of the players as they moved and eat the cookie to get a score for their respective teams.
1st Place - Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Islands
2nd Place - Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
3rd Place - Jaw-breaking Elves of Kokovoko
An awesome game it was indeed. The last two contenders (Tin
& Pau ) did a pretty good job of fighting for their team until the very end. Hands down for these two ladies.
The game's intensity subsided when Cath, Nelienne, and Sig serenaded everyone with a song called Love Yourself by Justin Bieber. They had a band called "Plantlets" (not literally a band though. =)) where Cath was the vocalist, Nel was the guitarist and Sig was the beatboxer. The performance was enough to make everyone unknowingly fall into silence and listen to the band. Despite a few technical problems encountered, the totality of the show was very captivating and entertaining.
The serenade was then followed by the 21st Batch's (Lovely, Nel, Sig, Hetty, Cath, Sig and Art) performance. Dancing to the music "Jumbo Hotdog", they wore a mask showing Akio's face (21st Batch) as a tribute to him for unfortunately not being able to join them during the event. The show seemed like a circus in view of the fact that each of them had their own dance moves. Moving and grooving to their own rhythm, the show was more than enough to make their audience laugh to their unsynchronized yet amusing performance.
After the intermission numbers, the teams played one last game. This final game was called Paint me a Picture. In this game, each group had to portray a scene, and whoever delivered the given scenario more realistic than the others will win. Each group was given a minute to portray it. One of the best scenarios was the "hospital delivery room" where each member really did a great job in showing the judges what it was like to be in a delivery room. All in all, the game had been superb, and each team gave their best not just to win, but to have fun as well.
Two teams tied up in 1st place:
Team Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
Team Jaw-breaking Elves of Kokovoko
For the 2nd place:
Team Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
As the EEC members tally the points each team had collected from all the games, the crowd was once again entertained by Cath and Nel as they sang two more songs. The overall winner was determined by calculating all the points that each team garnered from the games. The winner for each game got 5 points, the second placer got 3 points, and 2 points were awarded for the 3rd placer. This scoring system was used in all the activities. And after the scores have been tallied…
Overall winner:
Dream-walking Unicorns of Liliput Island
Prize: Starbucks Gift Certificate (Php1,600)
2nd Place:
Jaw-breaking Elves of Kokovoko
Prize: Starbucks Gift Certificate (Php1,000)
3rd place:
Body-twerking Minotaurs of Hinulugang Taktak
Prize: Serenitea Gift Certificate (Php800)
Team Unicorns bagged the first place with a total score of 19 points. On second place was team Elves with 18 points, and team Minotaurs on 3rd place with 17 points. It was indeed a tough yet healthy competition. The single point difference from each team's score only revealed how everyone was determined to win. Salute to the three teams for their sportsmanship.
The program ended with Ghe's (EEC Deputy) closing remarks, and reminders for the next day. It was an energy-consuming yet fun day for everyone.
The second day of the summer outing was the time for everyone to get to know each other more and enjoy the beach and the resort's facilities.
The resort offered lots of fun and recreational activities like kayaking, banana boating, snorkeling and even fishing. They even have pools to accommodate everyone who does not want to swim at the beach. The resort also offered massage services and foot spa. And for "diva-wannabes", they also have videoke for entertainment. Everyone enjoyed the free time until the checkout and departure time at 2 PM.
It was an incomparably fantastic experience for everyone who joined the JPI Summer Outing 2016. Overall, it was a wonderful two days filled with laughter and enjoyment. May the next event be breezier and more fun as ever! Until next JPI event!
  JGC to Transfer All Shares of   J-SYS to Fujitsu12 February 2016
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JPI Christmas Party 2015
"Neon Glow Party"18 December 2015
JPI sparkled like heavenly bodies in the night sky as they celebrated Christmas last December 18,2015 at the Waya Function Room of Acacia Hotel Alabang, with their eye-striking neon outfits on.They even glowed brighter as the room lights were overcame by black lights like...real stars! The night was kick-started with an opening remarks by one of the managers, Ms. MeAnn Mamaril,followed by the president's speech and traditional kampai led by the Company President, Mr.Masanori Takada. The night was filled with good food, good presentations, good games, good gifts, and good rewards. Everyone definitely had a good night, of course, with the help of the entertaining Masters of Ceremonies, Ynna Vendicio and Kio Fujiwara.
Good Food Everyone has indulged in a mouthful of delightful dishes c/o Acacia Hotel and definitely enjoyed the dinner alongside an AVP of the past EEC 2015 activities. Oh, the good days.
Good Presentations
As part of the tradition, the 21st batch, Kio Fujiwara, Cath Reyes-Lao, Art Tordecillas, Nel Dimaapi, Sig Ordovez, Lovely Cantor, and Hetty Reyes, performed an entertaining dance number. They all got some moves that everyone, for sure,is looking forward to more.
Good Games
Weeks before the party, the members were grouped into four teams: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune, to film a video presentation for the JPI Clash of Stars. One of the highlights of Philippine Entertainment 2015 was, undoubtedly, lip synching/dubsmashing, and JPI Clash of Stars was all about it. Instead of using spoken words to deliver lines, teams were only allowed to use songs or music by lip-synching. Presentations were judged by their Lip Sync Ability, Creativity, Acting/Choreography, Editing (quality of recording), and Audience Impact. Winners are as follows: 1st Place: Jupiter - A Chance to Forever - (Best Actress: Nel Dimaapi) 2nd Place: Mars - The Martians(Dubsmash) – (Best Actor: Mon Guevara) 3rd Place: Venus - Eraserheadsserye – (Best Actor: Sig Ordovez) 4th Place: Neptune - Forever – (Best Actor: Kio Fujiwara) Aside from the video presentation, we had the "Name the Baby" game on the venue. Baby pictures of selected members were flashed on the screen. To make the guessing easier, EEC has provided tricky hints along with the pictures. Best in Neon Attire survey forms were also distributed during the start of the event and were collected before the end. Mr. Noel Senador and Ms. Paulyn De Guzman had the most votes for the Best in Neon Attire and bagged the title.
Good Gifts
"Christmas season is a season of giving." Weeks back, EEC roamed and had the members pick codenames for their STARitos/STARitas for the MOONito/MOONita(exchange gift). The STARitos/STARitas were finally revealed on the night of the party. Some were surprised as their STARitos/STARitas came near them after saying their codenames, some were not as they were already getting hints from the weekly exchange gift, but everyone had that ear-to-ear smile on their faces as they received their gifts from their SUNtas. Of course, JPI showed appreciation to all its members by raffling prizes. The prizes were raffled in between programs, starting with the consolation prizes, to the minor and major prizes! Three lucky employees had the chance to take home a Sony Android TV, GoPro Hero 4 Silver, and a Playstation 4. Each employee received gifts, as EEC arranged exciting gifts for all, just as how the Father gave the Greatest Gift -- His beloved Son, for all, not just for some.
Good Rewards
Every good work deserves to be recognized and to be rewarded. Efforts, hardworks, dedication, and loyalty of members are being recognized every year. Employees who have rendered long years of service were rewarded with a Long Service Award. This year's awardees were: Kenx Reyes, Ruther Lombos, Espie Capuchino, Wilson Sauler, Gabby Sumagui, Mon Guevara, Bheng Lopez, Aimee Revis, Jun Relativo, Atos Espinili, and Adz Cawi. The member who has shown an outstanding performance across the year is also being recognized as Employee of The Year. The EOY 2015 award was bestowed to Belo Chavez. Before the night ended, the members witnessed the turnover ceremony of EEC from the 2015 chairman, Ms. Espie Capuchino, to its newest chairman, Mr. Noel Senador. The night was closed by one of the managers, Mr. Ruther Lombos, with a Benjamin Franklin quote "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." We are looking forward to what's in store for us this 2016! May everyone glow and shine brighter this coming year!
"There are two kinds of light - the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures." -James Thurber
JPI Christmas Party JP 201512 December 2015
It's Christmas time again and it's that time of the year when everyone is set to party HARD!! The theme for the party this year was "Neon Glow". The party was held 12th of December, 2015, Saturday hosted by Mr. Mathaeus Espinili (EEC Deputy Chaiman ) and Ms. Dianne Erika Busa..
The party had a mixture of fun, entertaining video presentations, live performances and games. A buffet of sumptuous meal, snacks and desserts was served. It was a treat nobody would want to miss.
The party began with a very inspiring doxology performed by none other than Mr. Jonathan Micah De Leon. The song performed was 'Lead me Lord'. It was such a nice and very touching song. After the astonishing performance by Mr. JM, the Message from JPH's President, Mr. Masanori Takada was shown and was then followed by the traditional "Kanpai" led by J-SYS President, Mr. Akiyoshi Nakajima. After that, everyone went to the buffet table and grabbed their dinner.
While everyone was enjoying their dinner, EEC presented the top 10 plays of the basketball games from EEC JP's previous event, the "Autumn Fest". Everyone enjoyed watching the highlights from EEC's previous activities.
The next part of the program was the "JPH Showtime" presentation. Japan-based JPH members were divided into 3 groups. The groups were: Neon Yellow Sparrows, Neon Pink Flamingos, and Neon Green Parakeets. The teams were asked to create a short video presentation with their preferred theme.
A short introduction video performed by EEC members was presented first. It was an action movie-like presentation with a bit of "craziness" at the latter part. After the introductory video, Team Neon Yellow Sparrows' video presentation was shown. It was a dramatic story that was indeed very interesting and well conceived, a great and serious way to start the video presentations. This was followed by the video presentation of Team Neon Pink Flamingos. The video was a spoof of the popular Philippine Alternative News Show, "Kontrabando". The video was funny and was obviously well planned. Then last but not the least was the video presentation of Team Neon Green Parakeets. It was a parody of the opening theme of the popular 90's anime "Sailor Moon". The venue went wild while watching the last team's video presentation as it was very cleverly created, the effects and characters were also very hilarious, a great way to end the video presentations.
Following the "JPH Showtime" the first live performance was revealed. It was a performance from JPH's very own band the "DISBAND". Disband members are Mr. Christian Cequina, Mr. Kevin Gabriel, Ms. Joris Dela Rosa and the vocalist, Ms. Maricar Gutierrez. They performed 3 very nice songs to the delight of the guests and the attendees.
After the presentation of the "Disband" it was the much awaited exchange gift. Each participant were given code names. The code names were simply anagrams of their own names. The meaning of their code names were just revealed at the time of the event to the surprise of everyone.
The exchange gift was followed by the announcement of the winner of JPH's Photography Club contest entitled, "Christmas on My Wall". The winner was Ms. Maricar Gutierrez, who received a Yongnuo YN460 Off-Camera Flash.
After the "Christmas on My Wall" winner was announced, it was time for the second live performance of the evening performed by the "Chosen Ones". The Chosen Ones were the JPH members who arrived in Japan in 2015. They performed a dance number which the guests and other attendees enjoyed a lot.
The much anticipated games that EEC prepared came in next. With the same groups as those in JPH Showtime, exciting games were played. The first game was: "Buhatin mo babe", a relay game using straws and paper cups. The game was so intense that the participants put on their game faces. After the neck and neck battle of the teams, it was Team Neon Green Parakeets who ended up the winner for the first game. The next game was called: "Ipasok mo babe". The aim of the game was to insert straws into a pet bottle using only the mouth. After another intense and pulsating game, it was Team Neon Pink Flamingos who came up victorious.
After the games were played it was time for the awarding ceremonies. Upon computing the scores from the video presentation and the 2 games played. Team Neon Green Parakeets garnered the highest score and won 1st place followed by Team Neon Pink Flamingos, and the 3rd place team was Neon Yellow Sparrows.
The prizes prepared by EEC are as follows: ① PowerBank ② Travel Bags ③ Starbucks Tumbler
There were other special awards that were given that evening, The "POGI" of the night and the "CHIC" of the night. The "POGI" of the night award was given to the most handsome guy in the party. To the surprise of no one the award was given to Mr. Jonathan Micah "JM" De Leon, who is undeniably and without a shadow of a doubt, the most handsome guy at the party. The next award, "CHIC" of the night, for the lady who stood out from the rest of the ladies was given to Ms. Lalaine Villaflores, who also turned out to be the most gorgeous lady that evening.
It was yet another memorable experience for JP-based JPH members as everyone went home together after the fun-filled Christmas party.
That concludes the EEC activities for the year 2015. EEC would like to thank everyone for their support and full participation to all EEC activities all throughout the year, making each EEC event for 2015 a success.
EEC wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
JPI QUALITY TIME WITH THE KIDS OF CHOSEN CHILDREN VILLAGE16 November 2015
For the past years JPI has been living up to their vision to be an ethical and socially responsible organization that contributes and gives back to the community. The company has conducted several activities that promotes environmental and social awareness among employees. For this year, JPI decided to visit the physically & mentally challenged children from the Chosen Children Village Foundation in Silang, Cavite.
The Chosen Children Village (CCV) was founded by a Filipina, Maria Angeles "Lita" Peypoch Fullerton together with her American husband in 1989. Her vision was focused on building a home environment that provides love and care for physically and mentally challenged children within a family setting. It is a non-profit organization that relies on donations and child sponsorship programs. Providing education is one of the top priorities of Mrs. Fullerton wherein the high functioning children were assigned to specific tasks like cleaning up after meals and keeping the toys after use. They wanted to give those children an equal chance to become independent and live like normal children.
One of the Employee Events Committee (EEC) members was able to visit CCV several times since September 2013. She admires the founder and the volunteers for putting up the foundation and taking care of physically and mentally challenged children respectively. Thus, she suggested to visit CCV for the 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility of JPI.
JPI President, Masanori Takada along with EEC and Department representatives went to Silang Cavite last November 16, 2015 to interact with the children and donate sacks of rice. When JPI team arrived in CCV, they were welcomed by Ms. Agnes, one of the Social Workers, who briefly discussed the history of Chosen Children. Ms. Agnes also discussed how one could donate to the foundation in the form of child sponsorship. JPI team started the tour by visiting the cottage for toddlers where Kaye and Lei had a mild separation anxiety from playing with the toddlers. The next cottage the team visited is for infants where the maternal instinct of the JPI ladies became very evident as they interact with the children. Everyone enjoyed playing with the toddlers and the babies.
The children in CCV were trained to follow a specific schedule of activities within the day including their meal times. Since the children will be having their dinner at 16:00, the JPI team were able to meet several high functioning children who were tasked to assist in preparing the meals for other children in CCV. Then, the JPI team headed to the administration building to formally turn over the sixteen (16) sacks of rice, weighing twenty-five (25) kilos each. After the CSR activity, Ms. Agnes extended her gratitude to J-SYS Philippines for visiting the children and donating sacks of rice. It has been a great experience to the JPI team to interact with the children with special needs.
JPHalloween Event – "Fright Night"28 October 2015
As the world filled with Halloween spirit, the whole 25th floor of Insular Life building was brimming with eerie decors made by the creative groups of JPI employees, who competed for the most petrifying haunted area of the year. EEC and Creatives Committee organized a Fright Night event where everyone can showcase their artistic side while having fun. In less than a week, four groups were formed, and exhausted their strength, patience, household items, office trash, tears, sweat, personal time, and the contents of their wallets =) to exhibit their ideas of what Halloween should look and feel like.
During the Fright Night, a representative from each group welcomed the judges composed of the 21st batch to their area and unfolded hair-raising stories about their decor's theme and source of inspiration. Some told the guests about the spirits dwelling in their area like Jojo, Mar, Miriam, and Grace. Others have shown the doll collections of the lurking spirits that used to play with them. Some zombies even sprung from the ceiling to welcome the judges, while the uninvited guests – Chucky and Annabelle were creeping around. Everyone was in awe upon seeing the spooky tree and mystical graveyards.
After the judging, came the movie night. Everyone gathered at the conference room in their comfy pyjamas, brought their snacks and geared up their heart and mind for the nerve-racking movie "Insidious: Chapter 3". Some screamed in terror as they watched the blood-curdling scenes but there were attendees who kept their spirits strong and fought their fears by joking, laughing and munching on popcorn, chips, and sandwiches.
The Fright Night concluded with the awarding of Halloween Decor and Raffle Prize winners. For the Halloween Decoration Competition, each group was judged based on Originality, Creativity/Ingenuity and Impact of their design.
Maximum Attainable Points: 70 1st Place (65.3 points):
Team Ruther: Mon, Ruther, Kenneth, Aaron, Vin, RJ, Lei, Kim Prize: Starbucks GC, for sleepless nights 2nd Place (58.1 points):
Team Dred: Dred, Bheng, Aster, Lani, Maan, Randy, Ghe, Kaye Prize: Shakey's GC, for people shaken by the tale Insidious 3rd Place (56.9 points):
Team Dennis: Dennis, Kenx, Espie, Mina, Pau, Jun, Tots, Gelo, Ynna, Norman
Prize: Sweet treats for the scared babies 4th Place (53.2 points):
Team MeAnn: MeAnn, Marvi, Imma, Adz, Bryan, Wilson, Noel, Kristel, Aljo, Michelle
Prize: Sweet treats for the scared babies
The lucky winners of laptop backpacks are the following:
1. Justin Formes
2. Jerome Domingo
3. Cess Ocampo
4. Neri Panganiban
5. Maan Aldeguer
6. Ghe Lacierda
7. Lara Ocampo
8. Khar Sanchez
9. Tin Oliveria
10. Yvann Madrid
Without a doubt the JPHalloween event was a huge spooky success, as all JPI employees gave their best to scare one another in a fun and creative way. 皆さん、お疲れさまでした!
JPI Autumn Fest 2015 - Sportsmanship31 October 2015
Last October 31, 2015, EEC 2015 organized a one day activity called "AutumnFest" which was composed of 2 events:
1. A mini sports tournament that was held in Tsunashima Sports District Center.
2. A BBQ party in Kamoi.
Three teams were formed for the event.
Team – 1 as "Hawthorn"
Team – 2 as "Maple"
Team – 3 as "Rowan"
Team names were derived from the plants/leaves that changes color during the autumn season.
With the cooperation of all employees, most of the participants managed to be in the venue before 09:00. Before the games started, Ms. Princess Camille led a very inspiring prayer for the safety of all members. The games then proceeded as scheduled.
The overall point system depended on the number of wins by each team and not by the points earned by every player per team. This is to recognize the effort of the whole team.
Mixed doubles for the table tennis and badminton were conducted simultaneously. Every team designated their respective players for each game. Although players were initially designated, player substitutions were allowed. Below is the list of initial players.
Table Tennis
Maple VS Rowan
Chado and Khar VS Micka and Christian
Rowan VS Hawthorn
Christian and Eri VS Nat and Joris
Hawthorn VS Maple
Onats and Ella VS Gabby and Miki
Hawthorn VS Maple
Mavs and Lala VS Kevin and Cess
Rowan VS Hawthorn
Erick and Dana VS Mark and Aimee
Maple VS Rowan
Gene and Riza VS Raymark and Eri
After the table tennis and badminton games, the equipment was removed to give way for the next game, basketball. The entire basketball court was used, half for men's 3 on 3 and the other half for women's 3 on 3. Rules for the women's game were modified since not all women were familiar with the game. The officials explained the rules before the start of the game.
Teams were given a short break to get warmed up, rehydrate and strategize for the game. Both men's and women's games started at the same time. High energy and high-pitched cheer can be observed on the women's side of the game as they struggled to get the ball and score a point for the team. Compared to that, the men's game was rather quiet and more competitive which was different from their normal basketball game but in spite of that, there were some funny moments. The basketball games ended at around 11:20. All members were given free time to play while officials were computing the final score. After that, EEC informed all the members to proceed to Kamoi for the next part of the event, the BBQ party. Regardless of the chilly weather that the autumn season brought, the members still managed to reserve an area for the picnic.
While all members were enjoying the BBQ under the bridge at Kamoi, EEC tallied the scores of each team including attendance points. Then, EEC found out that Hawthorn and Rowan were tied with 75 points each. Because of that, EEC conducted a tiebreaker game for the 2nd place. The game was Ping-Pong ball relay. The goal of the game was to let each member of the team carry a Ping-Pong ball using chopsticks over a course and pass it to the next member. The first team to finish wins.
After the tie breaker game the awarding ceremony began. Team Maple who garnered the highest score of 95 won the 1st place followed by Team Hawthorn, which garnered 80 points, and the 3rd place team, Rowan, which garnered 75 points. Teams and their corresponding points and prizes were as follows:
1st Place: Maple (95 Points) Prizes: Insulated Jar Mugs and Frixion Pens
2nd Place: Hawthorn (80 Points) Prizes: Neck Pillows and Frixion Pens
3rd Place: Rowan (75 Points) Prize: Frixion Pens
After the awarding ceremony, some prizes were left (1 insulated jar mug and 2 neck pillows), so EEC decided to give them away. EEC requested participants, those who wanted the prize, to gather, however, when the game was announced (stop dance showdown) most of them backed out. Charm, Dana and Eri were the only participants left and automatically were entitled to a prize. But the problem was to whom will the insulated mug be given? So, a dance showdown began; everyone was surprised when Eri suddenly started doing random dance making the other 2 participants give up. Eri won the insulated mug uncontested while Charm and Dana won the neck pillows.
After enjoying the whole day event that ended at around 16:15, EEC thanked all the participants for their support to the "AutumnFest" event.
EEC 2015 would also like to give special thanks to the following:
- Chado for assisting us in purchasing prizes and items needed for the event.
- Jet for assisting in the reservation of the BBQ Area and cooking.
- Cess for the opening prayer.
- Mavs, Marix and Reden for taking pictures and videos.
- Ella for assisting the Table Tennis games.
JPI Special Activity – "Septemberfest"29 Sept 2015
Thanks to the Management, EEC was able to organize another set of activities in the period between the company anniversary and the year-end party. Though the timing was a bit late, these activities were collectively called "SEPTEMBERFEST."
Colleagues were organized into three teams. They are:
Red Martini Yellow Piña Colada Blue Margarita
To match the occasion, EEC ordered shirts for all PH-based employees, in their team color. For the members of EEC, black was the color of choice.
The Septemberfest activities were spread over three days, considering potential work schedules for maximum attendance.
Day 1 (September 29, Tuesday): Modified Ultimate Season 2
Day 2 (October 5, Monday): Twister
Day 3 (October 8, Thursday): Pass the Dance and Dinner
Day 1 was supposed to be the day for Modified Ultimate. However, due to strong rainfall mid- afternoon, the spot where the activity was supposed to be held at Filinvest Spectrum Midway was still wet by game time. For the interest of safety, EEC decided to hold the Twister game inside the office instead.
Twister is a game that uses a mat with colored circles. A spinner is used to determine which body part goes to which circle, and the players do those moves to the best of their abilities. The last player standing wins. For the JPI version, EEC produced three mats using tarpaulin, colored paper, double adhesive tapes, and plastic sheets for covering.
Before the game, Sir Kenx led a warm-up exercise to loosen the muscles and joints of the players – something necessary when playing Twister. For the first round, each team was represented by two males and one female, resulting in two mats for boys, and one mat for girls. The last player standing on each mat turned out to be one member for each team – Aljo for Blue, Vin for Yellow, MeAnn for Red - yielding 1 point each.
For the second round, due to a shortage of female players, it became an all-boys game. The first two mats to finish gave Blue and Yellow 1 point each, and the final mat was a tight match between members of Blue and Yellow, making the winner of that mat the winner of Day 1. But due to exhaustion, the Blue team member suddenly stood up, effectively taking himself out of the game. Since the rules allow a member to concede anytime, Yellow team wins Day 1.
Day 2 faced the possibility of another postponement due to an early afternoon rain shower. But after surveying the location a few hours later, Modified Ultimate Season 2 was deemed good to go. The rules for Modified Ultimate were the same as its most recent appearance, except for how the matches were organized. Due to an odd number of teams, EEC decided that teams play a single round robin. The order of play was decided randomly, and except for the winner of the first match, teams play two consecutive games..
The first match was between Yellow and Blue. With the help of Aaron, Blue ended the first half with a large lead. But Yellow slowly caught up at the start of the second half, and Yellow ultimately won, 7-6.
For the second match, Blue faced Red, while Yellow earned time to rest. From the get-go, Red was on fire, quickly racking up the points with its star player Kim. This trend continued throughout the game, burning Blue with a score of 11-4.
The third and last match was incidentally between two teams that beat Blue: Red and Yellow. It was close the entire game, with the score tied numerous times. But in the end, it would seem that a moment of rest mattered, as Yellow managed to steal the game, and the top spot of Day 2, with a score of 8-7.
Day 3 was the closing day of Septemberfest, with one more contest to go before a dinner for all. Pass the Dance is a modification of Pass the Message, using a sequence of dance steps instead of a phrase. Two members were selected to be the first and the last in line. The first member learned the dance steps from EEC members and will pass these steps to the 2nd member in line. Once the dance steps were passed down to the last member, the last member leads the entire team in the dance. The entire game was recorded on video.
The first members of each team – Ruther for Blue, Maan for Yellow, Gelo for Red - were given 3 minutes to memorize the sequence of 4 steps given to them behind closed doors. While the dance steps were the same, the sequence was unique to each team. The first members of each team, despite not being allowed to talk, taught the dance moves to the next member with DI-level skills. Unfortunately, it became clear early on that expectation is on a different plane of existence from reality, as the member taught by the first member directly was not able to teach the dance steps effectively to the next member, resulting in hilariously different steps for two of the teams. Worse, Blue was only able to pass the first of 4 dance steps down the line and nothing else.
Before the judging and awarding, dinner was served at the pantry. Composed of pasta, barbeque, and fried chicken from Amber's, with fruits and ice cream for dessert. Then after dinner, EEC played the videos taken of each team. From the video, it was clear that no team was able to pass their dance routine correctly. But due to a technicality, EEC ruled out that Blue won Day 3.
In the end, the standing was: Yellow in 1st place, Blue in 2nd place, and Red in 3rd place. EEC would like to thank all colleagues for their participation.
JPI 23rd Anniversary Celebration (JP): "Goat Within"25 July 2015
Last 25 July 2015, JPI employees in Japan celebrated the company's 23 years of fruitful existence. Employee's Events Committee (EEC) 2015 has taken the initiative to plan and organize a day tour outside the busy city of Yokohama. The Fuji Ice Day tour was conducted by HATO Bus Tours and took place in Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures, Japan
With the combined efforts of the EEC wake-up call team and the cooperation of each participant, we were able to meet the assembly time of 6:45 am in Yokohama YCAT station and depart at around 7:00 am. The weather in Yokohama was cloudy with a scorching maximum temperature of 35 OC and humidity of about 65°C. Luckily the chance of rain was very low.
Roughly about 3 1/2 hours travel time to our first destination; EEC Deputy Chairman Atos delivered the anniversary message from our President Takada san while everyone was imagining that Atos was Takada san. Takada san urged employees to understand the Strategic Plan and to support members who are assigned in a harsh environment. After the speech, most participants took a nap to recover from waking up earlier than usual and to gather energy for the upcoming activities
After the first stop at Ashigara Service area, Tonoike san, the tour guide, shared very useful information about Shizuoka prefecture. Since the explanation of Tonoike san was in Japanese,Spori san and Atos san translated the explanation in English for the benefit of everyone on board. Tonoike san also sang the song Noheibushi (農兵節) that was used before to convince farmers to become soldiers. Here are some of the information Tonoike san shared with us
1. Fuji City hosts numerous paper factories; the famous Mt. Fuji toilet paper is one of their famous products.
2. No.1 in terms of production of green tea. Guri-guri tea can also be found in this prefecture.
3. Asagiri kogen – "Asa" meaning morning and "kiri" meaning fog.
We arrived at Makaino Farm (まかいの牧場) around 10:30 am as planned; participants were given 20 minutes to explore the farm. Some took the opportunity to pet and feed animals and discover their "Goat Whisperer" talents. Others watched a sheep race, rode a horse and a zip line. Some ate Shizuoka Prefecture's original Fujinomiya Yakisoba.
After the free time, participants tested their culinary skills by making ice cream. Strenuous physical activity was required in making the ice cream. A lot of shaking, rolling, wiggling and patience were needed in the activity. Some even sang to the tune of "We will rock you" while shaking their containers. A lot of sweat was also produced as a by-product. The fruit of hard work was evident in the taste of the ice cream created.
After the tiring ice cream making, participants who had energy left went to milk cows while others took the chance to explore other areas of the farm.
Lunch was served around 12:00pm. We indulged ourselves to the mouth-watering Grilled mutton (lamb) with lots and lots of vegetable dish called "Jingisukan". Fresh milk and yogurt from the farm were also served.
We left Makaino Farm at 1:00 pm and headed to Narusawa Ice Cave (鳴沢氷穴). During the trip Tonoike san once again shared mind-boggling information to us such as:
1. Fuji Five Lakes – Mt. Fuji is surrounded by 5 lakes.
a. Motosu Lake – 3rd biggest lake with 5 sq. km area. The lake is clover-shaped and can be seen in the 1000 yen bill.
b. Shiji Lake – Smallest of the 5 lakes.
c. Saiko Lake – has 2 sq. km area and is the 4th biggest of the 5 lakes. Sakana kun, a Japanese man in his 30s who always wear a fish hat, found a rare trout in the lake that was believed to be extinct 70 years ago.
d. Kawaguchiko – accessible by train
e. Yamanakako – largest among the 5 lakes
2. Aokigahara Jukai (青木ヶ原樹海) - a famous place because compass does not work inside this forest. It is also known as "Suicide Forest" for many people come here to take their own lives.
3. Yadogiri - a 300 year old tree that grows other trees in its branches.
At Narusawa Ice Cave participants experienced 0 OC temperature inside the cave while outside was a scorching 35 OC. But to be able to experience this, participants needed to duck-walk because of low ceiling in some places inside. The cave also required a bit of caution as the steps were wet and slippery although thick bamboo handrails were placed to assist in traversing the cave. Participants enjoyed the view of illuminated icicles and blocks of ice can be seen inside the cave. Entering the cave was easy for most participants since all were young at heart. The cave is pretty small and the walk through it was done in about 15 minutes.
After the refreshing Narusawa Ice Cave experience, we travelled to Mt. Fuji 5th Station. During the travel Tonoike san once again gave us food for the brain information about the scenery that we were about to see.
1. Jukeiyougan (樹形溶岩) – the tree shaped lava stone that was formed when the lava engulfed a tree during an eruption of Mt. Fuji.
2. Melody Road (the song of Mt. Fuji) - a road along the Fuji Subaru Line that produces a song. The song is created when the vibration produced by the friction of the tires and road bounces to the trees nearby. Lucky we had a veteran driver so we were able to hear the song of Mt. Fuji.
Tonoike san also prepared a very challenging quiz for us. Below are the questions and the answers to the quiz.
1. Out of the 47 prefectures in japan, how many prefectures can see Mt. Fuji? (Ans. 20 prefectures)
2. What is the age of the oldest person that was able to climb the top of Mt. Fuji? (Ans. 104 years old, until now (2015) Igarashi san from Fukushima climbs Mt. Fuji every year)
3. What species of plant can only be seen in Mt. Fuji? (Ans. Oniku mushroom)
Unfortunately, even with the help of Spori san, no one got all 3 correct answers. But still we were given prizes courtesy of the Tour Company. Also, while traveling to the 5th Station of Mt. Fuji, the sky became clear and we were lucky enough to view the majestic summer view of Mt. Fuji.
At the 5th station of Mt. Fuji, we were able to enjoy the breath-taking view 2,300 meters above sea level. Most of the participants spent their time shopping for souvenirs and taking pictures around the area.
Around 6:30 pm, we started to head back to Yokohama. During the trip back, a Bingo: Blackout Mode was hosted by Tonoike san. The Bingo was fully automated that uses the 2 monitors of the bus and numbers are chosen randomly. The Bingo system also had very interesting music that makes you feel like you want to dance but will haunt you until the next morning. 21 members were lucky to win prizes. Participants who were not able to win prizes were a little bit disappointed; maybe this was the reason why the karaoke session was started.
We were unaware that JPH Goat Talent was about to unfold. The effects of the Goat Whisperer started infecting participants inside the bus. Some started to show signs of their hidden Goat Talent, and the outbreak began, Marix started singing "Close to You" and "Top of the World" by the Carpenters. Christian felt challenged that is why he also sang 4 songs: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen," Dancing Queen" by ABBA, "We Will Rock you" by Queen and "We Are the World". While Christian was taking a break, Ella, the original "Birit Queen", did not let the chance pass and showcased her voice by singing "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith. Then, Christian performed once again, singing the songs "I Want It That Way" and "Shape of My Heart" by the Backstreet Boys, "Cha la head cha la", the opening theme from Dragon Ball Z, "Hotel California" by The Eagles, and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Olivia Newton-John.
Upon arrival in Yokohama, participants started to part ways with a smile in everyone's lips knowing that the enjoyment and friendship created throughout the tour are priceless and will always be cherished and remembered.
JPI 23rd Anniversary Celebration – "JPI the Big Wig"(The Bellevue Manila)June 30 2015
Two decades and three years is a milestone. It is an occasion to celebrate - an opportunity to momentarily look back and a silver ticket to chart the path forward. Just as what JPI did last June 30, 2015.
JPI employees wanted to pay tribute to the business they have built and want to fete the team that pulled together. So EEC 2015, together with the help of Ms. Maan Aldeguer, came up with the 23rd anniversary theme, "JPI THE BIG WIG". The Big Wig symbolizes the most important undertaking of JPI. Since JPI is in its 23rd year in the IT industry, thus reaching this milestone and the journey that JPI has experienced is considered a huge undertaking.
On the night of the BIG event, everyone was highly encouraged to wear the biggest or most creative and unique wig one could possibly wear for a special prize. Everyone was excited on how they would look wearing their own chosen wig and what would the other employees' wigs look like.
At exactly 7:30pm, all were settled in their respective tables. Upon entering the venue, everyone's seating arrangement was already organized by EEC 2015, for an unknown yet exciting reason. After all participants were seated, Ms. Kaye Saura and the most energetic woman of the evening, Ms. Ynna Vendicio led the night of fun and delight. It started with the heart-warming opening prayer led by Ms. Maan Aldeguer, followed by the opening remarks of Mr. Takada and the Japanese traditional "かんぱい!". All were stunned to see a different president that night as Mr. Takada resembled Vaness Wu of F4 because of his wig.
As the night progressed, the time for the employees to flaunt their unique wigs and flair has come. In the "Parade of Wigs", each table get a chance to ramp on stage and show the audience what they've got! We had famous celebrity lookalikes from Table #1, Ghe as Marimar and Ona as Freddie Aguilar. Moving to Table #2, we had Lara as Ariel, Gelo as Picasso, and Kenx as Bubble Gang's Angelina. Table #3 produced posh Lady Gaga lookalike Kristel and a powerful fighter Ruther Goku Martin. Last but not the least were the contenders from Table #4, Takada社長as Vaness Wu, Vin as F4 Leader Dao Min Si, and Mon as rapper from the US. JPH employees had their own way of flaunting their creative wigs and knew how to amaze and astound the crowd.
After the entertaining parade, it was time to entertain our tummies with a sumptuous dinner buffet prepared by the Bellevue Hotel. While everybody was enjoying the feast for the night, EEC presented an Audio Visual Presentation showing past pictures of JPI conveying nostalgic memories of the past 23 years. Everybody enjoyed, laughed, and remembered those                                               memories from the past.
Before starting the latter portion of the night, our Director and General Manager, Mr. Dennis Vega shared an inspiring story from the book "Who Moved my Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. The story is about a group of rats who discovered a pile of cheese in one station of the maze they were in. Everything was fine until one day, the cheese just suddenly disappeared. Not knowing what had happened, each rat reacted differently. Some immediately went back into the maze. A couple remained, questioning who moved it. But after a while, one of them retreated back to the maze, wandered and discovered another station filled with cheese to last him a lifetime, leaving the other rat pondering over who moved the lost cheese. It basically is an interesting way of delivering how one should adapt to change whether it's work or life related, thus shared that night by Mr. Dennis Vega to the wigged audience.
Dubsmash Battle During the first game, it was evident that even JPI has been inflicted with the Dubsmash fever. Judged by overseas assignees Gards Ladines and Gabby Sumagui, the selected participants used their wit and humor to imitate clips from infamous Filipino telenovelas, Budoy and The Legal Wife. Most of them even managed to surpass the original clips! The first clip from "Budoy" was a dramatic one, but turned out to be a humorous act. In order to imitate one character that has crooked teeth and peculiar way of speaking, the actors made wacky facial expressions and weird body movements making the whole room explode with laughter. And since they had no idea what kind of game it was before they've chosen their team representatives, some tried to gender bend (acting like the opposite gender) making it funnier than it already is. The second clip from "The Legal Wife" was an action packed drama making it more physical than the previous one. In this game, a lot of deep emotions were released, in Tagalog: "hugot na hugot". Some of the actors were known to be finesse and kind but they were the ones who went all out in portraying the angry wife's physical act. All in all, everyone made an impressive and entertaining performance. But in the end, only one team has been awarded.
To refresh everyone from the very emotional game, an import from Korea - Ms Kaye, rendered yet another soulful rendition of "Tim Song Koo". Everyone's looking forward to hearing it again on the next company event!
Happy P! The second game involved cucumber (Tagalog: pipino), sand paper, and some enthusiastic rubbing. The participants were all energetic and very willing to peel the cucumber with the sandpaper. The men's strength and endurance on holding their cucumber were tested during this game. All women young and "younger" seemed like they've been doing the game for years. Though a bit messy, surely every participant will remember this game.
   Awarding Ceremony All efforts paid off during the awarding ceremony as everyone received some token of appreciation. The awards and winners were as follows:
  Dubsmash Battle: • Grand Winner - Table 3, Prize: Starbucks GC
  Happy P! • Grand Winner- Maan Aldeguer & Bai Vega, Prize: Camayan mugs and chocolates
Best Wig: • Grand Winner- Ruther Lombos,Prize: Cash prize and                            Bellevue executive bag • 1st Runner Up - Kenx Reyes, Prize: Bellevue executive bag • 2nd Runner Up - Kristel Galicia, Prize: Bellevue executive bag
To end the night, Mr. Mon Guevara thanked everyone and challenged EEC to come up with another exciting event before the much anticipated Christmas party. This made everyone look forward for greater things to come.
JPI Summer Outing 2015 (Camayan Beach Resort and Hotel)May 16 - 17, 2015
It is a tradition for JPI to have a company outing every summer for the employees not just to have a break after all the hard work and take their mind off from their tasks and deadlines, but also to relax and just enjoy the season.
For 2015, the summer outing was held last May 16 - 17 at Camayan Beach Resort and Hotel, Subic…. Here are the highlights of the memorable event.
BUS ACTIVITIES After the prayer led by Tots Benedicto, Kaye Saura and Vixel Bayani conducted the bus program consisted of several games with an impromptu stand-up comedy acts from Vixel. We were not informed that aside from being a good IT engineer, he is a good actor too! He was able to portray different roles (e.g. a bus conductor, a jobless man seeking for bus passengers' help) which made us alive and kickin' during the trip.
The games were "Pass the drawing"(c/o Belo Chavez) and "Guess the movie line"(c/o Vixel and Kaye). During the pass the drawing game, we have witnessed the evolution and myths behind different species. Some of these were:
1. The Evolution of Elephant
Dog -> Alligator -> Elephant
2.The Tale of the Octopus
In a faraway land somewhere in Latin America, a long time ago, one morning, a jellyfish woke up with 8 tentacles. Because "eight" in Latin is "octo", he then called himself an "octopus". The End.
3.The Tale of the Pig
There were two monkey siblings living in a jungle. The younger one was being bullied by the other jungle animals and was being called "pig", the older monkey defended his brother by telling the bullies "my brother is not a pig'" Until one day, a cute little curly tail grew somewhere behind the younger monkey. "Is it real? Is it real?" the older monkey asked. "It's real", he cried.
It would make you doubt Darwin's theory, and also the Alamat ng Pinya. Meanwhile, the Guess the movie line game turned out to be an if-you-guessed-the-70's-movie-line-then-we can-guess-your-age game. JPI employees are real hard core movie viewers! From the movies of 70's to the present, say a line, they surely know it! Because of the entertaining hosts and fun bus activities conducted during the trip, we did not notice the 4-hour long drive to the resort.
BEACH ACTIVITIES We had the beach activities at exactly 3pm, just when the sun was so high. Most of the employees were on their rash guards. Two piece swimsuits and trunks were out; rash guards, instead, were in! The beach activities were facilitated by Camayan Beach Resort and Hotel. Since EEC was not in-charge of the beach activities, everyone was able to participate in the games! We were distributed in the Wellness Program Teams (Angry Blue Birds, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis, and Fresh Green Minds). The beach activities were composed of three games:
1. Obstacle Course
Different sets of obstacles were prepared such as running through inflatable tires, removing the straw in the bottle by folding your arms -- which was a major struggle for those in rash guards, crawling through the sand, and mini sack race.
• 1st place - Red Hot Chili Peppers
• 2nd place - Fresh Green Minds
• 3rd place - Angry Blue Birds
• 4th place - Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis
2. Tug of War
Kind of concludes the Programang Balik Alindog Wellness Program results.
• 1st place - Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis
• 2nd place - Fresh Green Minds
• 3rd place - Red Hot Chili Peppers
• 4th place - Angry Blue Birds
3. Kayak Relay
The game was kind of tiring and scary at first, especially for those who could not swim, but at the same time fulfilling once you have returned to the starting point. The biggest struggle encountered during this game was having to turn around the flag. Some pairs seemed to be off to somewhere else for an island hopping because they were getting too far from the spot, and the rest of their team mates were like 'hey there's the flag!', but apparently, the off-to-island-hopping pairs couldn't hear them, so they just kept going on their journey.
• 1st place - Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis
• 2nd place - Fresh Green Minds
• 3rd place - Angry Blue Birds
• 4th place - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The gathered scores during the beach activities were added in the scores obtained from the Wellness Program activities.
EVENING PROGRAM The evening program started with a prayer by Pau De Guzman, followed by the traditional Kampai and opening remarks by Mr. Masanori Takada, and a non-traditional inspirational speech from Ms. Dred Miras. Instead of saying a lot of words, Ms. Dred prepared a mini activity which made us realize two of the most important values we, as an organization, should possess -- cooperation and teamwork, which is very timely since the cascading of the strategic plan has just begun. After the opening remarks was a very delightful dinner, followed by a special number by the 20th batch (Eri Busa, Lei Covacha, Ynna Vendicio, Gelo Esguerra, Mark Medina, Justin Formes, Kaye Saura, and Ghe Lacierda).
The first performance was from Eri, Lei, Ynna, Gelo, Mark, and Justin. They sang love songs like "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" and "Way Back Into Love" which everyone enjoyed. Such a talented batch it is! Next was the newest JPI diva, Kaye, who sang a Korean-like version of a Filipino song entitled, "Tim Song Koo". After her performance, everyone was greeting her "Anyeong Haseyo" because of her groundbreaking delivery of the song. After Kaye was the newly established love team, JustGhe (Justin and Ghe), duet!!!! Yup, Justin performed twice. Mr. Talent ng JPI, eh? With all the emotions and walking around the stage (as if they were in a park) while singing "Closer You and I", it really is not impossible that they would be the one to kick KathNiel off the best love team of this generation game, not JaDine nor LizQuen.
After the batch's awesometacular performances, "Happy Feet", was the last game of the evening. The goal of each team was to try to stand on as few feet as possible based on the number given by the game master. So, if the game master says "happy feet 5", the number of feet stepping on the ground should only be 5. The employees were grouped per table, the group names were Team Ganda, Lara's Boys, and Mumble. The Mumble team won the game. The last activity for the evening program, before Ms. Espie Capuchino's closing remarks, was the awarding and recognition.
The awards and the winners were as follows:
Awards & Recognition
Prize: Massage from Camayan Spa
• Most Injured Player: Joms
• Most Valuable Player per Team
(Attendance + Active Participation)
- Angry Blue Birds: Eri
- Fresh Green Minds: Mark
- Red Hot Chili Peppers: Gelo
- Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis: Vin
Team Games (from Wellness Program to Beach Activities)
• 1st place – Red Hot Chili Peppers, Prize: Starbucks GC
• 2nd place – Angry Blue Birds, Prize: Starbucks GC
• 3rd place – Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis, Krispy Kreme GC
• 4th place – Fresh Green Minds, Krispy Kreme GC
Herbalife Participants Recognition
• Dred
• Dennis
• Meann
• Espie
• Kaye
• Mon
• Ruther
• Justin
All in all, the Summer Outing was a success. May 16-17 was definitely a weekend full of fun, excitement, and relaxation! Because of the management's support, employees' cooperation and participation, and EEC's planning and organizing efforts, the activity turned out fun and doubly awesome.
JPI Wellness Program 2015: "Programang Balik Alindog"April 7, 2015
With the intent of reversing the inevitable weight gain during the holidays, EEC 2015 organized a series of events that tested each employee's resolve not only to lose weight, but to perform at their best for their team to attain victory. This is the Wellness Progrm - Programang Balik Alindog (PBA).
EEC Heroes started the PBA last April 7, 2015 with a free Wellness Seminar, headed by three Wellness Coaches from Herbalife: Ms. Connie, Ms. Josie, and Ms. Janeth.
In the first part of the seminar, they discussed how their company promotes proper nutrition and what can be done to achieve this. They emphasized the importance of reducing carbohydrate intake, increasing protein intake, and what visceral fat does to the body and how it can be reduced. In the second part, all participating employees lined up to have their measurements taken, using a specialized weighing scale manufactured by the Japanese company, Tanita. In addition to the weight, the scale measured the percentage of fat, visceral fat, bone mass, resting metabolic rate, metabolic age, muscle mass, physique rating, and percentage of water of an individual's body. Some of the participants even made fun of each other about their metabolic age. After taking the measurements, the wellness coaches prepared a simple meal plan for each of participants to aid them in their goal to lose or gain weight. The prepared meal plan was based on the number of calories needed per day per participant. The participants were also given their ideal weight for their respective heights, the type of program that they need to undergo, and the estimated number of months that would take to achieve their ideal weight.
The next activity was the fun run last April 14, 2015 around the closed-off area of Spectrum Midway in Filinvest Alabang. With the help of running coaches Kenx and Belo, the participants were able to break a sweat by doing a few laps.
In order to foster healthy competition, employees were divided into four (4) teams, and several contests were organized to test both body and mind. To ensure each team has a fair chance to reach the top of the standings, teams are awarded points depending on their performance, and the top team after the culminating activity during the Summer Outing will be declared overall champion. Angry Blue Birds, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fresh Green Minds and Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis are the names of the teams created for the PBA.
The first among these contests was Modified Ultimate, done last April 16 and 23, 2015. Based on the Frisbee sport "Ultimate," two teams of four faced each other on a field, earning points by successfully passing a ball to a teammate in the end zone. The team who earned the most points would win the match. After two rounds of play, the Yellow team came up on top, followed by Blue, Red, and Green respectively.
Going high-tech, the next activity was the Xbox Kinect Dance Central 3 competition, held at the Engineer's Area last April 21, 2015. Utilizing one of the large flat panel screens, a pair from each team gave their all to rack up the points and come out on top. At the end, Blue finished with a total score of 4,895,142, followed by Green (3,890,391), Red (3,122,540), and Yellow (2,101,072).
Taking a break from competition, an aerobic exercise activity was inserted on April 28, 2015. Headed by the very healthy and energetic members of EEC Ynna and Kaye, employees followed an aerobic video to blow off some steam. The Fresh Green Minds had the most number of participating members during the event.
To test the teams' knowledge, April 30, 2015 was dedicated to mind games. Their knowledge of English, of the food pyramid, even about the movies they watched was tested. This round, Blue got the prize, followed by Red, Green, and Yellow.
Not just their brains, but also their patience, and hand-eye coordination was tested in the Minute-To-Win-It games held last May 5, 2015. 5 games were prepared – Stack Attack, Speed Eraser, Candelier, Movin' Up, and Sticky Balls – and the order which those were played was done randomly. Only one team can win for each game. Showing that no one team can dominate, Kristel (Sticky Balls), Aljo (Can-delier), Gelo (Stack Attack), Ghe (Movin' Up) and Joms (Speed Eraser) made impressive performances. After all the games ended, Red got 1st place winning 3 out of 5 games.
For the final contest before the Summer Outing, some teambuilding games were prepared. Those were Pipeline and Bodyguard. In Pipeline, using a tarpaulin sheet and bottles cut lengthwise to serve as pipes, teams must move a ball to the finish line as many times as they can until time expires. The team that moved the most balls won. In Bodyguard, a pair from one team – one bodyguard, one president – faced off against four assassins from another team. The bodyguard must prevent the assassins from hitting the president as much as possible until time expires. The team whose president received the least hits won.
The culminating activity for the PBA is the Summer Outing. During the Summer Outing there were 3 games facilitated by Camayan Beach Resort and Hotel. The games were Obstacle Course, Tug of War and Kayak Relay. Red won the Obstacle Course; Yellow won the Tug of War and the Kayak Relay. After the month long competition, Red Hot Chili Peppers was declared as the overall champion with 353 points, followed by Angry Blue Birds (341), Yellow Polka Dots Bikini (335) and Fresh Green Minds (328)
JPI Shares Christmas with Don Bosco PugadDecember 19, 2014
Christmas is the season of giving and sharing of blessings. Sharing should not only be during Christmas but should also be practiced in our day-to-day lives. As the spirit of Christmas is fast approaching, the leaders of J-SYS Philippines Inc. along with the EEC 2014 team went to Don Bosco Pugad at St. John Bosco Parish Church in Makati City for the yearly Corporate Social Responsibility advocacy.
JPI President, Masanori Takada, along with BDD Manager, Mon Guevara, SMD Manager, Ruther Lombos, and the members of the EEC were warmly welcomed by Bro. Tony Caspellan, SDB Counselor of Don Bosco Pugad. The team donated 11 sacks of rice to the foundation. Don Bosco Pugad took care of out-of-school youth as they attend the technical skills training at the Manpower Training Department of Pugad.
Don Bosco Pugad served as an inspiration and provided opportunity to the out-of-school youth to pursue education and achieve their goals in life. This would be their initial step towards achieving their dreams. The institution offers livelihood projects and welfare-being training that would cater to the high demand of most industries nowadays. Baking, café management, water refilling, organic farming, automotive training, refrigeration and air-conditioning controls are among the courses that youth may choose to learn and develop. The utmost goal of the foundation is to nurture the skills and talents of the youth until they are fully equipped to work in their chosen field of industry.
As their name implies, "pugad" (nest) is where young and amateur out-of-school youth are being developed to specialize on their chosen career.
On the 19th day of December 2014, the event commenced with the orientation of Bro. Tony about Don Bosco Pugad after which, the JPI Team visited their facilities. Mr. Jun Relativo, Deputy Chairman of JPI EEC 2014, shared his unforgettable memories during his stay in the foundation. As he was reminiscing, he saw the old photos showing the first oven they used and the bakery in front of the institution.
Indeed, JPI and Don Bosco Pugad are still holding on to the belief that the young people are the hope of our future generation. As long as there is a solid collaboration between Don Bosco Pugad and J-SYS Philippines, Inc., there will be no hindrance for the youth to achieve their goals and soar high in their chosen field of specialization.
"Come with me to the sky, let us fly! Open up your wings and we shall go up high!"
2015 JTest Schedule
First: February 26, 2015 Second: June 11, 2015 Third: August 27, 2015 Fourth: November 26, 2015
JPI Christmas Party 2014 in JapanDecember 13, 2014
The Christmas party of JPI employees was celebrated at the Tokyo Skytree and Kanteien (Korean Garden). Since not all JPI members in Japan live in the same area, the EEC decided to gather all the JPI members before heading to the said venues.
JPI members from Nakanoshima, Kamoi and Tōkaichiba met at Yoyogi station platform, and then they went together to Tokyo Skytree. Upon arrival at the Tokyo Skytree they had their pictures taken in front of a gigantic photo of Skytree. During the pictorial instead of saying "cheese" they said "Skytree", so everyone was surprised and bursted into laughter because it was not a common term when taking pictures.
After the pictorial, they went to Shinbashi for their dinner party. Kanteien (Korean Garden) is a Korean restaurant. They were joined by Spori-san, Takahashi-sensei and Ozaki-sensei. Since it is a Korean restaurant, most of its food is mixed or paired with Kimchi, even the soup has Kimchi in it. The main course was big slices of pork meat resembling the well-loved Filipino viand "Liempo".
While waiting for the food to be served, batch 19 sang a famous Filipino song titled "Sa Araw ng Pasko" and while they were all singing, a presentation of some family pictures of JPI Japan members played simultaneously. This made them miss their family in the Philippines even more. After the batch's presentation, the gift giving was held. They made their own version of gift giving which was called "white elephant." Everyone's gift was collected and placed in one corner, and then each member took turns on picking one random gift that catches their attention.
After the dinner party the group returned to Tokyo Skytree, to get the printed copy of their photo. They were also able to reach one of the highest levels of the skyscraper. They were amazed that they were able to experience the very fast elevator of Tokyo Skytree which only took 50 seconds for them to be 350 meters above the ground.
Upon arrival at the view deck, the mesmerizing skyscrapers and wonderful lights from Tokyo district took their breath away. There were also glass bottom floors intended to make the Skytree spectators view how high the tower is. There was also a booth for picture taking wherein you could hear the people saying "Santa!" instead of "cheese" and a souvenir shop for "pasalubong" and other novelty items. After the unforgettable experience at Tokyo Skytree, everyone went home together to rest and relax after the activity.
JPI Christmas Party 2014December 12, 2014
In the spirit of the Yuletide season, the Christmas party for JPI members and guests was held at Crimson Hotel Alabang last December 12, 2014. This event aims not just to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but also to engage employees in a timely stimulating experience intended to entertain and unwind members from work. This year's theme was entitled "Unmask the Night" where everybody had to wear their mask to hide their true identity. Let us reminisce the night of mystery, elegance and triumph.
It all started when one JPI member saw a mask sitting in the corner of their stock room. Stunned by its beauty, she tried to wear it on. Little did she know that after wearing this mystifying object, a curse has begun. Old folklore believed that whoever wore the mask will not be affected by the curse, but the people near it will begin to hide their true identity.
When she left the stock room, she immediately noticed that everyone was unidentifiable! The JPI members mystically wore their masks. She tried to take their masks off but nothing happened. After hours of analyzing the sorcery happening to them, she thought that a party might solve this issue.
On the night of the party, four groups have presented graceful, energetic and even daring ballroom dance presentations which helped her in identifying each employee. After several years it was revealed to everyone that only few have an "unkabogable" talent in dancing. Because of the talent show, some employees were recognized after the dance number. They have no idea that their dazzling presentation gradually broke the curse.
A gift giving event was also organized to further aid in identifying each employee. As the event progresses, they started to recognize each other and noticed that their masks were slowly wearing off their faces. By the end of the gift-giving activity, she was relieved that the curse was broken.
As soon as all masks were removed, big rewards from the skies above fell down. The first set of rewards was for the "LOYALTY SERVICE AWARDEES" which was bestowed to Mary Ann G. Mamaril, Dennis B. Vega, Redentor G. Africa, Edison C. Crescini and Jet Q. Escares. The second reward was the "EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR" which was well deserved by Rico H. Cambe.
At the end of the enchanting night, she went back to the stock room and was astonished after seeing the mask has turned into a 40-inch HD LED TV! This served as her reward for helping JPI members to realize that each of them is unique and will be treasured by the company forever.
Would you like to have a magical MASK in your company's stock room, too?
JPI Team Building 2014 in Japan, "Jinrou"November 14, 2014
Last November 14, 2014 (Friday) in Positive/Winners Room at J-SYS, EEC-Japan held a team building activity for JPI members in Japan. One of the games was called "Jinrou" (werewolf game). Jinrou is a mind game in which players had a role to play in order to win the game.
The game master, Erick Flores, randomly assigned each player to their respective role. Since there were a lot of participants, the game master decided to have three groups. The groups were called as "villages", wherein each village consists of four (4) villagers/commoners who do not have special abilities, one (1) fortune-teller, one (1) knight, and two (2) werewolves.
The mission of each player was announced by the game master. The villagers must eliminate the werewolves but they do not have any idea who are the werewolves. The fortune teller will be the one to help the villagers to guess who the werewolves are. The knight is tasked to protect the villagers from the werewolves. While the werewolves' mission is to eat all the villagers, the fortune teller, and the knight.
The game had two cycles which were called "day" and "night." During the "day", the villagers held a meeting where everyone gathered to guess who the werewolves are. The game master gave the players some time to discuss among themselves and each member got the chance to defend himself/herself when he/she is being accused as the werewolf. When the time is up, everyone must choose the person whom they think the werewolf is and that person will be eliminated from the game.
During the "night", everyone must sleep with closed eyes. The game master woke up the knight to ask him/her to choose a person he/she wants to protect. Then the knight went back to sleep. Then the game master asked the fortune teller to wake up and choose a person he/she thinks is the werewolf. If the fortune teller was able to guess it right, he/she could help the villagers in their decision-making during the day. The game master will tell the fortune teller whether the guess is right, then he asked him/her to return to sleep. The game master asked the two (2) werewolves to wake up and choose a person they want to eat (eliminate), then they went back to sleep. The person they chose will be eliminated from the game. However, if the person they selected was the one whom the knight chose to protect, that person will not be eliminated.
Then the cycle was repeated. It will only end if all the werewolves will be eliminated and the villagers will be declared as winners. However, if in the duration of the game the number of the remaining villagers was equal to the number of the werewolves, then by default the winner will be the werewolves.
Everyone enjoyed the exciting game, most especially the "day" period wherein they argued with each other and they defended/proved themselves that they are not the werewolf. The unsuspicious disguise of the werewolves gave the other players a hard time to make the right guess. Among the three (3) villages, only one (1) village managed to eliminate the werewolves.
Illustrations: Courtesy of Ms. Khar Sanchez
JPI Larong Pinoy 2014November 12 - 21, 2014
The challenge with keeping up with a balanced and healthy lifestyle can be somewhat hard due to work and priorities which makes us regularly enervated.
To make things a little bit more fun, the EEC proposed a sports event called the "Larong Pinoy" to strengthen the physical and social wellness of the employees through Filipino outdoor games.
The Larong Pinoy consisted of four teams with team-names inspired by the first four letters of the Tagalog alphabets namely "Alab", "Bagsik", "Kisig" and "Dakila". Also, everyone had a singlet corresponding to their teams with colors green, red, yellow and blue for teams Bagsik, Alab, Dakila and Kisig respectively.
The games played were "Patintero" and Dodgeball for the elimination round and Amazing Race for the final part of the Larong Pinoy. The last part of the competition consisted of series of old time Filipino games such as "Jak En Poy", solving puzzles, skipping stone, "Sipa" and "Chinese Garter".
The event commenced as JPI employees gathered at the Filinvest Lane near the Insular Corporate Centre and then proceeded by the opening speech of Ella Moratin and Princess Ocampo followed by the Oath of Sportsmanship.
The employees headed to the event in full gear, and they couldn't wait for the games to begin. Before the games started, the EEC had to set rules to make sure that the games would be fair.
The first part of the Larong Pinoy was Patintero, a famous Filipino outdoor game played by the children. It definitely made the JPI employees feel like they were kids again.
The next game was Dodgeball. It did not require a lot of running but this game tested the agility of the players. The role of the defensive team was to avoid the two balls which were being thrown simultaneously by the players of the offensive team.
The last game was called "Amazing Race" which includes a series of Filipino games. The race was comprised of six stations where the teams had to either walk or run towards each station for them to complete the game. The players of each team needs to accomplish the tasks assigned to the first station before they could proceed to the succeeding stations. It was a game that tested the agility of the players.
The race started with the "Crossword Puzzle" game at the JPI Office. The puzzle assigned to each team was done effortlessly since the answers were generally the names of famous Filipino games. After finishing the puzzle they proceeded to the second station which was located near Crimson Hotel and they played "Jak En Poy". It was a famous game among kids born in the 80's & 90's. The third station was located at the Filinvest tent wherein the Chinese garter game was played. The fourth station was located at McDonald's wherein they played another famous Filipino game called "Sipa." The game at the fifth station was called "Tisod." The sixth and the final station was located at the Filinvest Tower grounds wherein each team had to sing the "Bahay Kubo" loud and clear.
The Larong Pinoy event concluded with a picture taking of each group and the whole group of participants as well.
Everyone enjoyed the activity to the point that they did not feel body aches right after the activity but they did feel that their bodies were sore the next day due to the intense physical activities done the other day.
EEC 2014 would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude for the support given to the Larong Pinoy. This event would not be successful without the cooperation of JPI employees.
2014 Anniversary Celebration Japan in Gunma PrefectureAugust 16, 2014
Annually, the members in Japan celebrate the company's foundation. This year, the Employee's Events Committee (EEC) 2014 has taken the anniversary celebration to the next level for all members in Japan.
To lessen the stress and pressure in the city, EEC planned that JPH's 2014 anniversary celebration will be held at one of the most beautiful prefectures in Japan, Gunma. With the tour package that HIS Japan offers, EEC was able to push through with the said outing.
Roughly about 2 hours travel time to our first destination, EEC Chairman, JB Barrios, delivered the anniversary message from our very own President Takada. The inspirational message raised the employees' urge to keep working hard for the next half of the year.
After the speech, the EEC let the employees take a nap until the first stop. After the nap, the game started. The game that the EEC prepared was "Catching the Thief", which tested the employees on how well they know each other.
When we arrived at Morinji Temple, our first destination, everyone was puzzled with the pathway going to the altar of the temple. The pathway was filled with half raccoon and half kettle statues. Everyone was enlightened when Yuko Spori of J-SYS started to explain the story of the statues. At the end of the pathway there was an altar where everyone was given the chance to pray for their own intentions, especially the birthday celebrants of August. After praying, some of us took the chance of buying an "Omikuji" which means "Paper Fortune". It is said that if the fortune written is unlucky and you do not want it to happen to you, the "Omikuji" must be tied in a clothes line like spot near the altar.
After visiting the Morinji Temple, the next destination was the Rodeo Grill Ooizumimachi. Here, we indulged ourselves to the mouth-watering Brazilian food. Everyone enjoyed the taste of Brazilian food as the tabehoudai or eat-all-you-can-buffet continued. We were all pretty sure that everyone left the grill with a happy tummy.
While travelling to our third destination, the Laran Fujioka (Raran Park), the weather turned a bit bad and the rain poured, but it didn't stop us from exploring the place. Here, almost everyone bought their omiyage.
And last but not the least, the Konnyaku Park or Konnyaku Factory. Konnyaku is made from Arum Root and it is said that it is the best food to eat for those people who are on a diet because of its zero calorie count. Inside the factory, everyone was able to witness how the konnyaku is made step-by-step. After the tour inside the factory, it was once again tabehoudai! But this time it was a konnyaku tabehoudai, different kinds of food made from konnyaku were served. Two of these were ramen konnyaku and kare konnyaku (konnyaku curry).
But wait! These were not the only activities that everyone enjoyed. The EEC anticipated that we would get into traffic on our way back to Kanagawa, so a game was prepared called "Pass the drawing". Basically, this game is the same as the "Pass the message". To make it a bit different, we decided that instead of passing a message, a drawing will be passed. The EEC once again grouped the members into four (4) and gave the word to the first member. The first member must draw the word and show it to the next member, the next member has to draw what he/she understands about the drawing of the first member. This process was repeated up to the second to the last member, the last member will then guess the word passed based on what he/she understands in the drawing. Everyone burst into laughter how the drawings evolved as they passed it to the next member of the group.
Nevertheless, the enjoyment and bond that was built throughout this tour is priceless and will always be remembered.
JPI 22nd Anniversary, "Just Got Checquered"June 27, 2014
Throughout the years, JPI has been consistent in celebrating success. Last June 27, 2014 was not an exception.
Maximizing the start of the weekend on this Friday night, JPI celebrated its 22 years of existence in the IT industry by holding this momentous event in one of the newest and most prestigious hotels in the south of the Metro, the Acacia Hotel.
For this 22nd anniversary of JPI, EEC 2014 was inspired by that earworm-worthy Taylor Swift song for the young and vibrant, "22", and came up with a theme that would make everyone feel young, wild and free even just for a night. Eventually, the idea of everyone wearing checkered-themed (or plaid-themed, if you may) outfit was conceptualized. What better way to call the night's theme than using another pop song in the 80s as a pattern, "Just Got Checkered".
EEC 2014 made a well-organized plan for everyone's seating arrangements. Upon entering the venue, each person had to pick a rolled-out piece of paper which indicated his table number. But there was a twist, the paper also contained a clue that will be used in a number of games that EEC prepared for the rest of the night.
After all participants were seated, the dynamic duo of Mr. Jonathan Paliza (SMT3) and Mr. Jerome Domingo (SDT1) started the program with their introductory spiels along with some humor-injected grammatical inaccuracies to break the ice. Those surely made "each of one of us" laugh our hearts out.
Moving on to the serious part of the night, Ms. Paulyn Juntila of SDT1 led the opening prayer, followed by Mr. Ruther Lombos (SMD Manager), who shared an inspirational message. JPI President, Mr. Masanori Takada, led the traditional "kampai" while the 乾杯kanji and its English translation was projected in the background. Soon after, it was time for one of the most anticipated highlights of the night, the sumptuous dinner by way of a delightful buffet meticoulously prepared by the hotel.
While everybody was enjoying his share of the roast beef or grilled chicken or chocolate moist cake, EEC presented a collage of pictures taken from past JPI Anniversaries that provided nostalgia for the night's guests. After that, Ms. Ella Moratin (SMT3) challenged everyone with her set of trivia questions related to JPI.
Company activities are never without the fun and the lively games that were supposed to be participated by All.
The first game was called "Guess Me", wherein the members from the same table deciphered the clues in the pieces of paper they picked earlier. All information in the pieces of paper resulted into finding out their Team Names (Team Giraffe, Team Snake, Team Tiger and Team Zebra).
Game No. 2 immediately followed, entitled "Draw on My Back." This game required 5 members from each team to line up facing the audience, except the last person in line, who was instructed to turn his back from the audience. At the start of the game, the last person from each group will try to draw the picture, shown to him by EEC, as best as he could on the back of his teammate in front of him. This continues on, until it reaches the person in the very front of the line. This person would then draw his best guess of the picture on a piece of paper provided by EEC. The team that achieved the closest drawing to the original was awarded 4 points. The least similar were given 1 point. Team Zebra won this game.
In line with the company's tradition, the newest batch of JPI trainees performed a very lively Japanese dance number, much to the delight of the crowd.
The last game, which was called "Longest Breath", required a microphone and 3 members from each team. The object of the game was to say the phrase "Happy 22nd Anniversary JPI!" as long as possible, prolonging the last syllable without stopping or until they are out of breath. Once the 1st participant is out of breath, he will pass the microphone to his team member and he will then continue saying the last syllable of the phrase until he also runs out of breath. The same process was done to the 3rd member of the team, until he too runs out of breath. The team with the longest time to say the last syllable without stopping wins. Again, Team Zebra won this game.
Relaxing down to the remaining minutes before calling the night off, Ms. Ella Moratin (SMT3) together with Mr. Kevin John Emmanuel (SMT3) on guitar, serenaded the audience with the American Idol-inspired "Terrified" and current love anthem "All of Me".
Before the night ended, EEC gave away prizes to the winners of the games. They also presented a special prize, the Best Chequered Outfit Award, which deservingly went to Ms. Janelle Pena (PMT). Ms Dred Miras, BSD Manager, closed the program with her encouraging speech.
All in all, the 22nd JPI Anniversary was a great success! Everyone had their share of fun and enjoyment. Hopefully, the succeeding years would be even greater.
JPI Summer Outing 2014May 17, 2014
"Serenity by the Lake"
Club Balai Isabel, located in Talisay, Batangas was such a refreshing and relaxing environment to hold our summer outing. Mainly because of the relaxing-country feel that we do not experience daily due to the commercial environment around us, but together with the view of the mountains, lakes, and of course the scenic Taal Volcano, there couldn't have been a better choice for our venue for the 2014 Summer Outing.
It was in the morning of the 17th of May when we met at the office and had our breakfast, indulging ourselves with meals from McDonald's and Jollibee. Our day started in the bus on the way to the Club Balai Isabel, with the first game conducted by the EEC members. The game was called "iTunes With A Twist". The mechanics of the game was, a contestant will draw two folded papers, the first would determine the title of the song and the other would state the letter to tune in the song (e.g. Song: Let it Go; Letter: J). The game only requires 5 pairs to sing but everyone participated and enjoyed. Gina & Kevin John emerged as winners!
We reached the resort on time and were immediately fascinated with the scenic view of Taal Volcano. We rested for a bit then headed outside for the Second Activity. Along the way, some managed to sneak out and took their ultimate selfies.
Our second game "iRelay With A Twist" was composed of exhilarating physical and mental relay activities; the game consisted of 3 teams (Hokkaido Frost, Nagoya Crystals & Okinawa Pearls). Each team underwent various stations, each station having their own tasks to complete. These include: Tying each member's leg to another; while legs are tied, each member had to pass thru a hula-hoop; the next station required each member to go through a tire obstacle course, then push a plastic cup strewn thru a rope using just a coffee stirrer held in his or her mouth; then afterwards, will traverse on a balance beam and jump over an obstacle then finally, at the last station, a mental game of 4-pics-one-word had to be answered by shouting the correct word together. Although it seemed hard, it was teamwork and cooperation that really stood out and everyone had a share of laughs and cheers. The feeling was really amazing which made our stomach wanting for that "B" word, "Buffet".
The buffet consisted of many different types of dishes which were enjoyed by everyone; we noticed some returning for seconds, too. (Let's not name-drop now). After lunch, everyone was excited to get into their assigned rooms which were without a doubt, luxurious enough for such hard working employees. After settling in, few of the members were excited to go trekking to Taal Volcano -- not minding the hot weather. Those who opted to stay at the resort went for massage or fish spa, while others irresistibly had a dip in the pool to cool off.
In the evening, we had our energy replenished with the ever mouth-watering buffet while watching the AVP prepared by the EEC, making us reminisce about the good times and memories JPI had during the previous Summer Outing Events.
Getting our moods back on, Ms. Ella Moratin of SMT3 gave us a few very lively and entertaining song numbers. She confidently sang "Bring me to Life", doubled with "Don't Stop Believin'" which made people shout "More!", "More!", "More Practice..".
After being serenaded by our beautiful Ella, we continued with an electrifying game of "BINGO", hosted by no other than the one with the most contagious smile, Mr. Jonathan Paliza. Ms MeAnn got the semi-grand prize of Dr. Fish Spa, while Takada Shachou got the Grand Prize of Club Balai Isabel Signature Massage. (Congratulations!) EEC announced the winners of the relay game and handed out their corresponding prizes.
Lastly we headed out to our rooms where we had our free time once again. Most of us headed to the pool to enjoy the serenity of the night under the moonlight.
The following day, we had a chance to take our group pictures with the beautiful Taal Volcano at the background. There was this feeling of wanting to stay longer but sadly our time was limited. Nevertheless, the bond that we shared throughout the experience will always be cherished and remembered.
Philippine Red Cross Muntinlupa Branch's Partners-In-Service Recognition CeremoniesMarch 26, 2014
Last March 26, 2014, The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Muntinlupa Branch, Rizal Chapter, celebrated their 7th year anniversary at the Grand Ballroom of the Acacia Hotel in Alabang. The event was held not only to commemorate PRC Muntinlupa Branch's 7th anniversary but also held its annual Partners-in-Service Recognition Ceremonies to acknowledge the companies that served as their partners in alleviating human suffering through their generosity and concern by sending goods and initiating rehabilitation efforts to rebuild lives of those who got affected by last year's calamities, disasters, and emergencies. Aside from these efforts, the partnership provided relief aid, blood products, first aid trainings, supplemental feeding programs, welfare assistance, and leadership programs to our youth.
The program started with the opening remarks by the Philippine Red Cross Muntinlupa Branch Chairman Manual Luis C. Gonzales, followed by the Administrator Clifford Robin C. Gabatin. The event was also graced by the PRC Muntinlupa Branch Council Members and the Vice Mayor of Muntinlupa, Artemio A. Simundac. The Muntinlupa Choir serenaded the guests with their own rendition of Bahay Kubo. The main highlight was the awarding of certificates and plaques given to the various companies in Muntinlupa City considered as partners in-service of the PRC Muntinlupa Branch. Six (6) Certificates of Recognition were given to well-deserving companies, namely, Blood Service Award, Disaster Management Service Award, Safety Service Award, Double Services Award, Triple Services Awards, and Fund Generation Award. While four (4) kinds of Plaque of Recognition were also accorded to several companies that have generated a lot of funds, such as Fund Generation Bronze Award, Fund Generation Silver Award, Fund Generation Gold Award, Fund Generation Platinum Award, and Fund Generation Diamond Award.
J-SYS Philippines, Inc. (JPI) was one of the several companies that were given the honour of receiving the Fund Generation Bronze Award. This award is given to partner companies that have contributed funds with an amount ranging from Php100,000.00 – Php299,000.00 to the Philippine Red Cross Muntinlupa Branch. Our very own Jose Augustus "Tots" Benedicto, 2013 Employee Events Committee Chairman, received the award in behalf of our President Masanori Takada and JPI.
This award would not be possible without the efforts of the 2013 EEC members headed by Tots, the support of JPI Management, and the generosity of the JPI members. Thank you for sharing your blessings!!
2014 JTest Schedule
First: February 27, 2014 Second: May 29, 2014 Third: August 28, 2014 Fourth: November 27, 2014
JPI Christmas Party 2013December 13, 2013
JPI Christmas Party both for Japan and Philippines has gotten bigger and more exciting! Without conspiring on the Christmas Party themes, respective events committee (EEC) for both sites amazingly came up with similar themes: Night of the Stars (PH) and Evening with the Stars (JP).
True enough, both parties were stellar, although in their own different interpretations.
For Japan, the most awaited event of the year was held in Royal Hall Yokohama last December 11. The theme "Evening with the Stars", could not be more perfect for this occasion. The hall was very spacious, thick-carpeted, and decorated with chandeliers; it was really suited for celebrities! Even though it was a bit hard to find necessary attire especially for the ladies, everyone managed to arrive with their sleek suit and tie and glamorous dresses.
The event was started with an opening prayer rendered by Imma Pacantara followed by opening remarks from Mr. Kenx Reyes. In his speech, Mr. Kenx highlighted the true meaning of Christmas. He related to the obstacles our country faces these days and how we as JPI members can extend our hands to those who are in need.
Before the party went crazy, sumptuous Chinese dishes were served. Everyone enjoyed the 4 variants of appetizer, Sharks Fin and crab meat in pumpkin cream soup, Crispy fried chicken with Okinawan salt, among others. There was also a drink bar offering a wide variety of drinks.
Batches 18.2 and 19.1 Presentation/ Video Presentation
While everyone was enjoying the food, Batches 18.2 and 19. 1 gave a special presentation. Who would forget the talents and guts of batch 18.2 during PH Christmas Party in 2012? This year they once again proved their flair, and they brought it in Japan! JM, Marix, Micka, Angel, Jerome, Aljo, Bryan, Riza and the new member Imma, from Batch 19.1, serenaded the spectators with Christmas carols.
After the wonderful song number, an AVP of top ten hit JPI moments was played. The audience could not help but smile and laugh as they see the memories they had in the past 12 months.
PH participants, on the other hand, did not arrive in their gowns and tuxedoes. But arrive they did, in their Hollywood movie costumes on the night of Dec. 13 at B Hotel in Madrigal Business Park, Alabang.
The event's main attraction, so to speak, was the showing of movies prepared by four teams namely: Dreamworks, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Leading to the Christmas Party date, the four teams each arranged their movie shoots, in their own secret locations. You can imagine the anticipation of everyone, as each team wondered what the other teams prepared.
As participants entered the venue, a bucket of popcorn served as a welcome snack and appetizer for the great meal ahead. The night was interspersed with a series of Christmas Raffle draws, games and performances from the newer batches. After dinner was the movie screening and judging of entries from the four teams. Some were anxious as to how the entries will turn out, but all the entries were exceptionally enjoyable to watch, actually unexpected, something worth viewing a few more times with the gang.
Awards for Night are as follows:
Best Picture: Universal Studios Best Actor: Ruther Lombos, Universal Studios Best Actress: Meann Mamaril, Universal Studios Mr. Star of the Night: Digs Loste as Ninja Turtle Michelangelo Ms. Star of the Night: Kristel Galicia as Pocahontas
JPI Relief OperationDecember 4, 2013
During the last quarter of 2013, Philippines faced different types of calamities. Last October, magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Bohol, Cebu and other areas of Visayas. Weeks after that, super typhoon Yolanda devastated most of the Visayan area. In response to these, EEC 2013, in partnership with HRGA has conducted JPI's yearly Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activity to be able to reach out to our kababayans who were affected by these calamities.
In the spirit of bayanihan, JPI gathered voluntary support and generous donations in-kind and in-cash from its employees.
From November 11 to 23, 2013, EEC 2013 has collected donations in-kind such as food, water, medicines, toiletries and clothes. From November 11 to December 2, 2013, JPI employees (both from PH and JP) donated and pledged a part of their salary to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (and Bohol earthquake). Monetary donations reached a total of PHP 91,600 and JPY 47,000. CSR budget of PHP 10,000 and Christmas Party 2013's major raffle prize budget of PHP 64,381 were also added to the monetary donations.
From the monetary donations, a portion was used for cash assistance that was given directly to the affected individuals. Mang Buddy (company driver) received cash donation, to be used to repair his house that was built from his retirement money. Joris Dela Rosa (JPI employee) also received cash donation that was sent to Cebu to assist her family in reconstructing their damaged house and to be used for their daily needs like food and water.
Another portion of the monetary donation was used to purchase additional goods The collected donations in-kind (donated relief goods and additional purchased goods) were delivered to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) warehouse at Cupang, Muntinlupa last November 29, 2013.
On December 4, 2013, the bank check issued for donation to the families affected by the calamities was turned over to Red Cross Muntinlupa Branch Administrator, Mr. Clifford Gabatin. A total of PHP 145,937 was donated to Red Cross.
EEC 2013 together with Management would like to extend their deepest and sincerest gratitude to all employees for helping out the victims of these calamities.
May everyone continue to send support to those in need, be it through prayers and/or deeds.
Thank you and may the good Lord continue to bless us all!
JPI 21 Aniversario, ¡Estilo Español!June 28, 2013
In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of J-SYS Philippines, Inc., the EEC settled on trying out something new. Various ideas were recommended, but the EEC eventually decided to go Español for a night. The nearby ALBA Restaurante Español in Westgate, Alabang was chosen as the venue. They serve buffet meals which were undeniably enjoyed by many.
The event started off with a prayer led by Ms. Maan Aldeguer followed by a message/kampai from the President. After the speech of Mr. Masanori Takada, it was time to indulge our appetites with a variety of Spanish delights! While everyone was having a delectable dinner, on the screen was projected a photo slideshow of the previously held JPI's Summer Outing, both in Philippines and Japan. All were pleased to see missed colleagues that are presently on overseas assignment, particularly in Japan.
The customary presentation by new members, this time by Batch 19.1, truly made the night. They parodied the famous boy group "One Direction" as "Wrong Direction" in a music video that they produced. "Laugh-out-louds" were heard all throughout and the nonstop tease from almost everyone made them perform again, LIVE. It was absolutely a good start for them as new members of JPI!
A celebration would not be complete without entertaining icebreakers, of course! The EEC provided a mind-confusing yet enjoyable game called Multimedia Quiz to top up the event. Three teams competed against each other – guessing and answering the questions asked after a certain video or topic was presented. As an example, a video from the well-known Coca-Cola TVC of Nikki Gil was played and was succeeded by the question, "How many bottles of coke were distributed?" It was a close fight game! All teams scored equally as the game proceeded. The game became more thrilling when the declared winner/s was a tie! A tie breaker question concluded the game.
To make the celebration even more exciting, a raffle was held. An e-RandomPicker was used to pick a winner and the EEC added some twist to it: the 21st employee to be picked will have an overnight stay at Parque España Hotel in Alabang. Luckily, Ms. Darlene Loste won the raffle prize! Another raffle was drawn and five Dairy Queen gift certificates were given away to the first five employees picked from the e-RandomPicker.
For the last presentation, the EEC seized the opportunity to launch the Sports Event for the year – The "Biggest Loser 2nd Edition". A motivating audio visual presentation was presented to persuade many to join the said event.
As a final point, inspirational closing remarks from Mr. Mon Guevara topped off the night as he sensibly shared the important C's to possess – Consistency, Communication, Cooperation and Camaraderie.
What a special night, a superb dinner and an unforgettable experience it was!
JPI Summer Outing 2013: Puerto del Sol, BolinaoMay 18, 2013
Last May 18, everyone seemed to be so excited to arrive at Puerto del Sol, Bolinao, Pangasinan. Most employees woke up early and some even slept at the office just to be on time. The bus left at 5 a.m. and all employees had their chosen McDonald's breakfast meal on the bus. After taking a short nap, employees were awakened by EEC members to start the first game. The game was called "Two Truths and a Lie". Employees enjoyed the game because some mysterious secrets were revealed and it really made them think deeply just to correctly guess which statement was the "Lie". But the team that enjoyed it the most was Team Estanza, the winning team.
It was a long drive to Bolinao, longer than expected. But nonetheless, though the group experienced some "glitch" while traveling, a positive aura came in. A member, who almost travelled alone all the way to Bolinao just to be able to join the outing, had the chance to catch up with the company's bus. That "glitch" also helped the employees gain some new friends, and through the exchange of kindness and hospitality, a token of appreciation was given to the group.
Wonderful people of Puerto del Sol welcomed JPI employees upon arrival. They were greeted with a smile and each and every one of them was given a shell necklace. The employees had their buffet lunch, or rather "late lunch", at La Playa Restaurant near the shore. While having a bountiful lunch and a delicious ginumis dessert, orientation was given by the resort's coordinator about the place and the ground rules that needed to be followed. Later on, the keys to the respective room assignments were given to each designated team member.
JPI members were given some free time to unpack their things and relax in their respective rooms at the Mansion Villa. But most of them just chose to take pictures by the pool and at the beautiful garden walkway which was covered with vines and flowers. Such an allurement, isn't it?
After freshening up, everyone was gathered by EEC members to start the first game at the venue, which was Beach Volleyball. All players gave out their best and through that game, teamwork was much implemented. It was a tough fight by three powerful teams but only one team reigned among them all. The beach volleyball champion was Team Lambes, whose MVP was Randy. Everyone was a real sport, which made the game much enthusiastic.
At twilight, the employees were given the time to loiter around the vicinity and enjoy the sunset by the beach. Some employees preferred to dive into the pool and swim like there's no tomorrow, while some enjoyed having their photos taken near the shore.
Without fully noticing it, it was already night time and everyone was asked to prepare themselves for dinner. Upon arriving at the venue for dinner, everyone was astounded by the setup. It was amazing, kind of romantic, actually. Candle lights, sand on your feet, hearing the waves of the sea. It was truly relaxing and peaceful, a perfect place for tranquillity.
Before eating, the opening remarks were cheerfully delivered by Tots, followed by the message then kampai from 高田社長. After that, each employee, having their respective stub, lined up for the buffet dinner that was served.
After the sumptuous dinner, each team presented energetic performances for "JPI Idol", JPI's own version of the hit singing contest "American Idol". The first performer of the night was Gabby who sang Rico J. Puno's "Macho Gwapito" passionately and with conviction. He was immediately followed by Marix's soothing voice singing Up Dharma Down's "Oo". Lastly, Ayan with his Backup Boys poured their hearts out to sing ("Tell me why?") Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way". Even though both Gabby and Ayan highly entertained JPI members with their songs, Marix was declared as the "JPI Idol" because her song sounded like Armi was singing for JPI!
Next game was "Telephone Charades". It was similar to the game "Pass The Message", but EEC made it more challenging wherein "messages" were acted out instead of being whispered. Everyone enjoyed watching participants act phrases including "Watching 3D Horror Movie". The best actors and actresses of the night came from the winning Team Patar.
That animated game was followed by the VERY synchronized performance of Batch 18.2. They danced to the tunes of "Harlem Shake", "Alarma", "Pearly Shells", "Gwiyomi" and "Gentleman" (with Jom as Psy, of course). You can just imagine how vivaciously crazy their performance was!
As for the last game of the night, "Pinoy Henyo" was a hit not just for Pinoys playing the game, but also for 日本人 who had even practiced how to play this game, right 社長? After guessing some of the phrases like "Fruit Salad", "Lungs" and "Hokkaido", Team Lambes was crowned the "Henyos" of the night.
The following morning, buffet breakfast featured the famous (and super fresh) Daing na Bangus! Everyone was undoubtedly satisfied by this meal that was served by the beach. Half an hour after breakfast, "JPI Race" began. Teams' first task was to dig through the sands to find letters to spell the mystery phrase. After spelling "Survivor Bolinao", teams were immediately given a clue that leads to the mini playground. In the playground area, each member was required to take a slide and ride the swing. Teams were then directed to the beach area to collect water using cotton balls, do sack race and kayak from the shore and back. It was followed by playing darts and billiards, texting "Happy Birthday, Janelle!" using a stranger's phone, eating cookies and drinking slimy concoction, and finally, locating Tots who has been marked as the Pit Stop for the race. Whew! Those activities were tiring not just for the teams but also for the EEC members who had to chase teams every now and then. In the end, Team Estanza was declared the winner with Reden as the MVP winning his Likas Papaya soap.
After that last game, members took a last dip in the pool. Final group photos were taken at the welcome banner provided by the generous Puerto del Sol. After the checkout, JPI was off to eat lunch on a famous carinderia serving authentic (and exotic) Bolinao dishes. おみやげ were also purchased at the nearby market at the back of the church. Luckily, the bus didn't smell like Dangit, Dried Squid or some other dried fish while on the way back to Alabang.
Winners of the games were awarded on the bus. Team Lambes was declared the overall winner. On the other hand, it was a close match between Team Estanza and Team Patar, wherein Team Patar was only 5 points behind!
Despite the ultra-heavy traffic, JPI members safely arrived back to Insular Life building at around 9 p.m. There was so much to be grateful about this trip including: perfect Bolinao weather, safe arrival at Bolinao and back to Alabang, an employee had a chance to catch-up because of the bus malfunction, enthusiasm and cooperation of all JPI members, and unforgettable moments shared while playing the games.
2013 JTest Schedule
First: March 21, 2013 Second: June 27, 2013 Third: September 26, 2013 Fourth: November 28, 2013
JPI Shares Christmas w/ SAGIPDecember 19, 2012
Christmas is here! Gifts everywhere, and much love and warmth are felt around the nation.
But, Filipinos are specially known for our heart-warming hospitality and early celebration of Christmas. And because that special holiday is just around the corner, everyone is in gift-giving mood to spread the love– and so is JPI of course!
As the song said, "Give love on Christmas Day… No greater gift is there than love…" – well, what better way to show love and care than to visit, to reach out, to donate and share the blessings, and to hold a program to spread happiness for the unfortunately abused children of Sagip Foundation.
That is exactly what JPI did.
Every year, as a well blessed company, JPI has its social responsibility to do charity. And 2012's year was SAGIP Foundation's year.
SAGIP, the acronym for Saklolo at Gabay Ng Ina at Pamilya sa Muntinlupa, is a 24-hour multi-agency Crisis Response Center founded by the Zonta Club of Muntinlupa & Environs Foundation Inc. (ZCME), in partnership with the City Mayor's Office. Their advocacy is to change and restore the children's sense of self-worth and dignity; along with the aim to prevent and reduce the incidence of violence against women and children.
That is why the institute was chosen – JPI wanted to be a part of that advocacy along with the want to express love and support to the children who suffered mental, physical and sexual abuse.
The foundation was specially chosen by the JPI 2012 Sports fest winning group – the Decisive team. The team, as part of their reward, was given the honor to corroborate with the Employee's Events Committee (EEC) to supervise, furnish, create and conduct the program and everything that goes with the event. But of course, everyone was invited to come with, if permitted by their workloads and schedules.
How did the group and committee pulled it off you ask?
Well, it was all thanks to the support and kindness of everyone at the office. Aside from the few who donated clothes, and toys, each employee generously donated cash to serve the purpose of purchasing school, bath, and food supplies. Some donated as large as a thousand and thanks to them, the committee was able to buy all that was needed and more! And by more, I mean candy loot bags as give-away, and as prizes for the parlor games! There were also enough donations that every child who attended the program was able to walk out with toys – such as cars, Barbie dolls and kits, coloring books, and board games like snakes & ladders or chess and more! – handed personally by the employees who attended the program.
The participants in the event were 20 Children with the age of 13 to 15 yrs. old, and 30 children ranging from 7 to 12 yrs. of age, giving us 50 children all in all from SAGIP Foundation. There were 9 people from the corroboration of the committee and the Decisive team, who were able to participate in the event; then 7 other employees (which in majority, is heart-warmingly comprised of the then not yet regularized trainees of batch 18.2 hiring). Takada-san, the current president of the company who was assigned at the office only a few months before, graced the children with his presence (amidst his busy schedule), to give the donations hand to hand to the foundation's executive officer; and of course, also to see for himself what joy and blessing the company was able to share to the children involved. Ms. Maan, the HR team's only representative, also allotted her precious time to make herself present and give a short, but inspiring message to mark the opening of the program. And as for the coordinators within the foundation, there were 17 of them. And with that, there were 85 total number of people involved in that blessed afternoon event held last 19th of December 2012.
Actually, the planned program was only set for 2pm to 5pm in the afternoon; but because the children enjoyed as much as the employees did, before noticing, it was already 6pm! There were 3 parlor games that were, thankfully, enjoyed by the participants. There were dancing, laughing, and smiling everywhere. There were also singing – 2 of the 50 gave a wonderful presentation, showcasing their God-given talent in singing. Someone from the employees also sang and gave a splendid presentation as the other 2 did. In the program was also a movie viewing. It was supposed to be "Astroboy" or "Brave" but unfortunately, there were technical problems. But despite that, the movie viewing ("Tangled") pursued, all the while eating their Jollibee meals.
In the end, the event was successful! Indeed it was a blessed and a good start for the children this Christmas and the coming 2013. Though exhausting, the accomplishment of sharing love as Christmas progress, was majestic – definitely the right feel for the season don't you think?
20th JPI Christmas CelebrationDecember 7, 2012
Oh my God!! like Oh My Gods Mythology 2012AD, successfully concluded last December 7, 2012! This year's JPI Christmas party was held at the Brasserie hall of Vivere hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. This was attended by 48 wonderful Gods contending for the JPI God/Goddess title. The celebration was hosted by Mr. Jerome Domingo, Ms. Marix Gutierrez and Mr. Raymond Guevara. It was inaugurated with an opening prayer led by Ms. Maan Aldeguer and followed by a toast led by our newly designated president Mr. Masanori Takada. Then, a continental buffet dinner was enjoyed together with a video presentation featuring event highlights of JPI for the past 20 years.
At the same time, employees based in Japan celebrated their Christmas Party at the American House Restaurant in Q's Diner of Queen's Square, Yokohama, Japan.
The event kicked off with Japanese-cartoon-inspired dance moves from the emcees Mr. Isabelo Chavez and Ms. Marvi Cajayon. This dance certainly cheered up the tired and hungry but excited employees. This was followed by an opening prayer led by Mr. Aaron Bautista. Then, the emcees introduced the guests who joined the party: Mr. Yuuji Takahashi (JPI Board of Director) and his JSYS colleagues Mr. Takeda Kentarou and Ms. Kanae Kimura. After which, everyone enjoyed their dinner served with lavish American dishes.
The party was definitely complemented with fun and fulfilment. JPI Manila had games such as paint me a picture, the "Oh my Gods" expression fad, Ping Tac Toe which is patterned from the Minute-to-win It game show, and Logo Quiz which was delighted by everybody. The pleasure continuously poured when the two groups of 18th batch of employees conquered the stage, with their surprise guest Ms. Maan, showing their moves on their various pieces.
As any other JPI Christmas party, there should be an exchange gift. For this year, JPI Japan had the "Guess the Baby" method with a twist. Before the party, "babies" provided three gift options for their mysterious party parent. The parent would buy any one of his baby's wishes and guess on the day of the party the baby based on his wishlist. It was a lot of fun during the guessing time as parents random guessing of their corresponding baby based on wish's size of Tshirt, books, gadget's accessories, movie passes, etc.
Concurrently, JPI Manila employees created a wishlist which was hung on the Christmas tree as ornaments. They used God/Goddess codenames to go with the party theme 'Oh my Gods Mythology 2012AD'. Everyone went excitedly busy getting a present that would please the God/Goddess they picked.
This gathering was emphatically loaded with gifts, prizes and awards! The 15th and 20th year service awardees were much honoured and commended. The promoted employees along with the employee of the year were given due recognition. Sportsfest teams received the trophies they deserved through the hard work they put into all sportsfest competitions. Winning kalabasa award nominees were rewarded with the 'title' they earned through online votes. The JPI God and Goddess were also recognized for their God-like get-up and character that amazed the judges during the party. Congratulations to all awardees! You surely earned your kudos.
Before closing the event, EEC Chairman Mr. Egle Bagsit gave acknowledgement to all JPI employees for the support and participation that made each event a successful and memorable one. He also gave due commendation to his members for being such a wonderful workforce. All left the party with raffle prizes, lots of photos taken, and indeed a merry Christmas. This is just one of the many good memories to be remembered. We wish the succeeding EEC Chairman and his members the best of luck for the year 2013.
JPI Sportsfest 2012Aug - Dec 2012
Three years in after the last sporting event in JPI and EEC 2012 has brought back its illustrious sportsfest back to highlight the competitive nature, sportsmanship and unity of the JPI community. With the arrival of the new batch of employees, the sportsfest event has taken its already family-like environment to an even greater extent and has helped build character and closeness among individuals.
Bowling, Billiards, World Champ, Dance Central, Cheering, Badminton, and Basketball were all the sports enjoyed during the whole event.
JPI kick-started the Sportsfest with a bowling tournament that was participated by almost all of its employees. It was held last August 24, 2012 at the Sports Center of Starmall, Alabang Muntinlupa City; but before the actual game a short opening ceremony for the sportsfest event was arranged where an earnest prayer, prepared by Rico Cambe, was said. After the prayer Kenneth Reyes said a few words of motivation and reminded everyone about safety and about having fun during the games. Finally before the commencement of the event an Oath of Sportsmanship was sworn by each employee which was led by Marvin Domingo.
There were two rounds in the tournament. In each round teams were represented with their five members. The representatives of Team Punctual were Wilson, Gina, Dred, Alfred, Rico, Reden, Bheng, Tholitz, Ruther and Mon. From Team Decisive, representatives were Marvin, Mike, Jaypee, MeAnn, Jun, Kristel, Dada, John and Gabby. And Team Resourceful was represented by Misai, Kenx, Randy, Dennis, Ayan, Aster, Paolo, Adz and Tots. All the players were enjoying each of their throws on their respective lanes. Some were dancing and some were cheering with balloons. At the end of the game, Team Punctual ended as the 3rd Placer with a total score of 842, Team Decisive as the 2nd Placer with a total score of 960 and Team Resourceful, having Dennis Vega who got four consecutive strikes (four-bagger), got the 1st Place with a total score of 993.
As a continuation of the Sportfest activity, JPI had a billiard tournament which was also held at Starmall's Sports Center. It is a match-up of three (3) teams in a round robin system: Team Punctual vs. Team Decisive, Team Decisive vs. Team Resourceful and Team Resourceful vs. Team Punctual. The game begins at 19:00 and started by explaining the mechanics of the billiard game; its rules and objectives.
During the tournament, Team Decisive have been on absolute fire over the opposing teams as they have defeated Team Punctual (1-2) and Team Resourceful (2-0). However, Team Resourceful got the 2nd place as they win the battle over Team Punctual (2-1). Overall, Team Decisive got 100 points while Team Resourceful earns 80 points and 60 points for Team Punctual. No deduction was given to any of the team since they all complied with the general rule written in the sportfest guideline.
In a battle of wits and minds, the teams played Word Champ. Team representatives tried to out-guess one another as each word was being unraveled on the screen. With categories from fruits to movies, and words like lemon and melon, it was filled of fun and excitement. But who could ever forget the "Dream-mills!" moment. Team Punctual led the scoreboard, not far behind was Team Decisive and Team Resourceful on third running out of steam and resources.
The next event was one of the most awaited Event in Sportfest 2012, the Dance Central. You can't even call it a sport but it's fun and competitive enough to be considered one. Just seeing our Directors, Managers and Colleagues showing their finest , astonishing and magnificent dance moves itself is a sport in our book. At first EEC Team set up the XBOX 360 and connect it to a projector using it as the Audio and Video output. It caused a little technical problem because the volume of the projector is too low. We thought that viewers or players will not be hyped because of this problem but the show must go on and the host of the event, Gards, started the battle. Many players don't know how to play the game so the host called some volunteers to play the game. First Players were Yvann and Egle, both players raised the mood of the floor and boosted the morale of the viewers. After that the battle of the 3 teams started, it was one of the most memorable event of the year 2012. The event was filled with laughs and surprises, it was a hardcore battle of dance between 3 teams but in the end Team Punctual won the event with their main players Sir Ruther, Sir Mon and the one and only high scorer of the game, Egle Bagsit. The day ended with a smile on our face.
With the crowd roaring and feet stomping, the most-awaited Cheering competition begins. Each member put in time and effort to come up with their best performance inspite of having busy schedules. Teams came out with full energy and smiles on their faces, doing cart wheels, pyramids and other crazy antics. Doning their costumes, props and painted faces, they performed to a medley of songs without forgetting to include their own Gangnam style moves. It was one crazy evening. And the only people who had a hard time that night were the judges trying to pick the winning team, as Team Decisive took home the the top prize.
Team Resourceful's Men's and Women's pairs performed impressively during the Badminton games last Oct 5 and 19 to emerge as champions in both events of the badminton edition in the 2012 JPI Sportsfest.
A total of 6 pairs in the men's category and 3 pairs in the women's category competed for best-of-3 sets to determine which team will bring home the bacon.
In the first match of the men's division, the Blue team proved too strong for their Red counterparts, as the combination of Egle and Mon took just about 15 minutes to dispose of Marvin and Jaypee, 21-14, 21-3. Although the strong pairing of Dennis and Ayan was pushed to the brink by the stubborn duo of Yvann and John, they prevailed in 2 sets, 21-18, 21-17. In another men's doubles event, the formidable pair of Perry and Tots (Team Resourceful) was challenged by the hardworking duo of Reden and Wilson (Team Punctual). Though down in the 1st set, 15-21, the Green pair came in strong in the next 2 sets, 21-18, 21-13 to win their best-of-3 set.
As a result, the Green Team collected 2 wins (1st place), the Blue Team got a 1-1 win-loss card (2nd place), while the Red Team unfortunately came up short (3rd place).
Meanwhile, in the women's category, the talented duo of Net and Misai (Green Team) won but not without a good fight from the persistent pair of Dred and Gina (Blue Team). The scores were 21-13, 21-15. Two weeks later, the unbeaten Team Resourceful (Net and Misai) faced the fighting pair of Team Decisive (MeAnn and Dada). Both pairs displayed top-calibre skills as the 1st set was too close that it went beyond the normal winning score of 21. The Green team eventually won the set, 27-25. The 2nd set proved to be another close match but Net and Misai remained focused as they won, 21-18, to virtually capture the women's title.
Even though the last match in the women's division is only for 2nd place, both the Blue and Red pairs showed off their championship-level skills. The 1st set was won by Team Punctual (21-14) while the 2nd set went to Team Decisive (21-15). The 3rd and final set was fiercely fought, but MeAnn and Dada of the Red Team came up stronger than Dred and Gina of the Blue Team, 21-19. Thus, the women's final standings resulted in Green Team bagging 1st place, Red Team garnering 2nd place, and the Blue Team getting 3rd place.
For the last event of the 2012 edition of the sports fest, we held the 3 on 3 basketball games. The event was held on November 9 and November 23, 2012 at the Insular Life Basketball Court located just beside the Insular Life Building in Alabang, Muntinlupa. Just like the other events, the three teams must field a basketball team composed of a minimum of 3 players, while the other players will be the substitute players. The game is played using a revised version of the standard FIBA rules of a 3 on 3 basketball game.
Overall, the event was a huge success. Everyone enjoyed playing the game and cheering each other on. For the Men's division, Team Resourceful, led by Sir Perry Dominguez, won the event in convincing fashion. Second place goes to Team Decisive, followed by Team Punctual. For the Women's division, Team Decisive, led by Ma'am Aimee Revis, got top honours. Second place was taken by Team Punctual and followed by Team Resourceful.
It wasn't until during JPI's Christmas party that the announcement of the overall champion was made. Team Decisive was crowned overall champion with score of 633.25 while Team Resourceful came in as the first runner up with a score of 586.25 and Team Punctual wasn't too far behind with 567 and was second runner up.
In the end, the victor of the event wasn't important. What's more important is that the employees got to bond, spend time with each other, and learn more about their colleagues. Everyone went home a winner. It was a fun and memorable experience not only as an individual but as a company, a big happy family and that is JPI.
JPI 20th Anniversary & Company Outing in BoholJune 16, 2012
"A typhoon's coming? How's the outing? Time to cross fingers and pray!"
All of us were worried for the outing might be postponed. But our prayers must have been heard for the weather was so perfect that typhoon "Butchoy" did not cause any disruptions on our Company outing and 20th Anniversary celebration. This event was successfully done from June 16 to 18 at Microcentre Hotel & Convention Centre, Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
For the Bohol trip, EEC arranged two domestic flights with airport transfers. One was Air Philippines Express and the other one was Cebu Pacific. These two planes were conquered by the excitement of JPI. Some were amazed for it was their first time riding in a plane, some were enumerating their expectations and some, because of the excitement from the previous night, just went sleeping with their seat belts on, their so called "sinturong pangkaligtasan". This was the atmosphere inside the plane until we arrived in Tagbilaran Airport and were picked up by a shuttle to reach the hotel.
Once we arrived at the hotel, we settled our luggage then took a bus ride for an Island tour. Ms. Adrienne Joie Cawi led the prayer and was followed by opening remarks from Mrs. Mary Ann Mamaril. After that, the microphone was handed over to Mr. Erick, our tour guide for the day. He cheerfully explained all things about Bohol, starting from its original name "Bo-ol" up to different folklores and historical stories about Bohol.
Around 12 noon, we had our lunch at the Loboc River. We were welcomed and entertained by a small band composed of visually impaired members before riding a floating restaurant. We experienced sailing while having a buffet lunch in that floating restaurant. We were also serenaded by an acoustic band on board while enjoying the delicious foods. Lastly, we stopped to watch a cultural performance of the people of Loboc. The fun and excitement was pouring abundantly for the experiences there were considered a complete package.
After lunch, we went to Tarsier Sanctuary to have a close encounter with the world's smallest primate. We learned that Tarsier measures only between 8 to 16 cm long, has bigger eyes than its brain, can do amazing things like giving its head a 180 degree-spin and can jump to a height of 16 feet.
Then, we went to Chocolate Hills, Bohol's most famous tourist attraction. We climbed 214 steps to have the best FB primary and cover photos. Mr. Erick told us that from the legend, the existence of the hills is from the tale of Arogo, a young and very strong giant who fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl named Aloya. He added that after she died, the giant Arogo cried bitterly then his tears turned into hills. But he also cleared to us that the most commonly accepted theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of an impermeable layer of clay.
After that, we went to two historical churches. First was the Loboc church where we saw some remarkable naïve paintings on the ceiling which we really admired. Second was the Baclayon church where we saw the formation of images of the Mother and Child on the wall and a face of Padre Pio in one of the church's pillars.
The tour was culminated by bringing us to Aproniana Souvenir shop and to their famous man-made forest for our final shots.
Around 6:30pm, we arrived back in the hotel. We freshened up and went to one of the function rooms for our dinner celebration of JPI's 20th Anniversary.
By 7pm, all were settled on their respective tables. The event was hosted by Mr. Egle Bagsit and Mr. Raymond Guevara. It started with an opening prayer led by Mrs. Asteria Rondero. It was followed by an audio visual presentation showing some JPI's long-time employees answering Mr. Bayani Cruz and Mr. Garde Bee Ladines' questions like "How long have you been in JPI?" Then, our President Mr. Masumi Morita stood on stage to give a short message and lead the Kampai. A speech from Mrs. Mildred Miras had also been delivered. She detailed all the current and future projects of each employee. Other highlights of the night were the AVPs of some employees coming from the 1st batch up to the 12th batch giving their messages and sharing their most memorable experiences in the company. The night was further energized when the 18th Batch employees performed on stage. The AVP would never be complete without having the president's anniversary message. Then, Mrs. Ma. Isabel Lopez thanked everyone as we ended the event.
After the event, it was free time for all. Some went down at the disco bar of the hotel to have some fat burning dance moves, some rented a videoke room and some just went back to their respective bedrooms to have a beauty rest and gain more energy in preparation for the following day's events.
Second day, June 17, after having breakfast at the hotel, we embarked on a bus ride to Bohol Beach Club. On our way, we stopped at the Blood Compact Shrine to explore the place and most especially to have our group picture taken.
Upon reaching Bohol Beach Club , everyone was delighted at the sight of its peaceful and beautiful environment, starting from the hospitable locals, white and powdery sand up to the serenity of the beach having mixed colors of green and blue. In this place, time should not be wasted. That's why we immediately started our Sportsfest kickoff. Employees were divided into three groups, the Decisive, Punctual and Resourceful. The first game was volleyball. Committees were Mr. Egle Bagsit as the referee, Mr. Bayani Cruz as the umpire, Ms. Michelle Ronato as the scorer and Mr. Raymond Guevara and Mr. Raymark Dulce as the lines men. The team Decisive won, followed by the team Resourceful and the team Punctual placed third. The second game was dodge ball. The arbiter for this game was Mr. Bayani Cruz, Mr. Mike Villanueva as the timer and the rest of the EEC members as bonafide members of the pulot-ball committee. The result was team Punctual as the 1st placer, team Decisive as the 2nd placer and team Resourceful as the 3rd placer. The last game was obstacle course. 1st place of this event was team Decisive, 2nd was team Punctual and 3rd was team Resourceful. After tallying the results, team Decisive turned to be at the 1st place, team Punctual at the 2nd place and team Resourceful at the 3rd place. But EEC kept the results unannounced until having lunch.
After the tiresome games, we enjoyed the sumptuous buffet lunch prepared at the venue. After lunch, team standing as well as the most valuable players had been announced. The MVPs were Mr. Digbay Loste for volleyball, Mr. Romulus Tolentino for dodge ball and Mr. Richard Ryan Saquilayan for the obstacle course. After that, free time for all to enjoy the amenities of BBC, some went swimming at the pool, some at the beach and some enjoyed riding a banana boat and some tried jet ski.
Around 5pm when we left BBC, we had a stop at Dauis Church and some of us got a bottle of miraculous water coming from a deep well at the foot of the altar. Then, we went to Payag restaurant to enjoy a buffet dinner with their specialty, the roasted chicken. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel.
At the hotel, since it was the last night in Bohol, some consumed their remaining time at the pent house, some enjoyed the pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, some played billiards, some partied at the disco bar while others stayed at their bed with a smooth massage.
Third day, June 18, some woke up early for breakfast and went last minute shopping in front of the hotel and at nearby mall, the Bohol Quality Mall. After check-out, Air Philippine Express' passengers went to Tagbilaran Airport followed by Cebu Pacific's and flew back to Manila.
EEC was very grateful that everyone had participated well in this year's company outing and JPI's 20th Anniversary celebration. That weekend was really a great experience and would surely be a good remembrance for all of us.
It's not TV... It's JPI! A Black and White Christmas PartyDecember 16, 2011
Last December 16, 2011, JPI Employees in the Philippines and in Japan went out after office to attend the JPI Christmas Party at the Alabang Town Center branch of Gloria Maris Restaurant and Shirokiya Bar and Restaurant near Sakuragicho, respectively.
The theme for this year's party in the Philippines was: "It's not TV... It's JPI! A Black and White Christmas Party." Attendees wore their best black and white get-up.
Due to time differences, the party started earlier in Japan. Greetings from the Quality Assurance Department Manager, Mr. Raymond Guevara, opened the event, followed by a 7-course dinner with free-flowing drinks.
In the Philippines, the event kicked-off with a speech and toast by the President and General Manager, Mr. Masumi Morita. After which a sumptuous feast of Chinese-style dishes was served. The night was made alive by performances by Mr. Digs Loste and members of the 17th batch. A short video showcasing the Employee Events of 2011 and employees in their workplaces here and abroad was also shown. Some employees were also given the chance to show their acting chops during the movie-themed game, where they acted out choice scenes from popular movies.
For the exchange gift this year, we did away with codenames and tried something new. In Japan, trivia questions and descriptions were used to describe the owner of a wish list. Then during the event, each one was asked to guess who the wish list owner might be, which everyone enjoyed. Then in the Philippines, the letters of each employee's name were scrambled and a clue was provided. With that, each employee was supposed to get an appropriate gift for the person they picked. During the event, the employees were given time to go to the one they picked and give their gift.
The highlights of the event were the announcement of this year's Employee of the Year, promotions, and the 10-year and 15-year service awardees. We would like to congratulate the Employee of the Year for 2011, Ms. Jaclyne Chan-Endriga, as well as all the promoted employees and the service award recipients.
But a Christmas Party won't be complete without the raffle. Appliances and gadgets were raffled off to all employees regardless of place of assignment. Also, a special raffle was done towards the end of the program for employees in the Philippines.
This caps off the employee events for 2011. We would like to thank everyone for their support and participation that made each event a success. We wish the 2012 Employee Events Committee and its chairman, Mr. Aaron Jay Bautista, the best of luck for the events for JPI's 20th Anniversary.
2012 JTest Schedule
First: March 22, 2012 Second: June 28, 2012 Third: September 27, 2012 Fourth: November 22, 2012
JPI Tree Planting and Environmental AwarenessNovember 11, 2011
J-SYS Philippines, Inc. (JPI) Management and Staff spearheaded by the Employees Events Committee (EEC), in partnership with ABS-CBN Foundation's Bantay Kalikasan, supports the Save La Mesa Watershed Project through a Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness activity at the La Mesa Nature Reserve last November 11, 2011.
The activity started with a short lecture on Environmental Awareness including Bantay Kalikasan's efforts to protect the La Mesa Watershed given by Mr. Abelardo Angadol, Nature of Tourism Supervisor of Bantay Kalikasan. After the lecture, the participants were led to the nursery area and shown how to carefully plant Kalumpit germinants. A total of 100 Kalumpit germinants were planted. He also explained the importance of planting endemic/native species over exotic/foreign species, as they are more adapted to the local climate, thus live longer. Mr. Jose Pascual, the Nursery Supervisor from the Nature Reserve, reminded everyone that in order to successfully plant trees, they must make sure that it is planted not too deep or too shallow. He also emphasized that the best time to plant trees is during the months of June - August during rainy season. During off-season, they request volunteers to plant germinants which will be used as replacement for broken trees. Mr. Pascual also showed the vermicomposting area and its benefits. Containing water-soluble nutrients, vermicompost is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.
After the demonstration, the participants went on a 3.3km nature trek and were shown the different species of trees. Kupang, Rattan, Antipolo, Boho Grove, and Yemane are some of the tree species found in the nature park. After the nature trek we were led to the tree-planting site for the tree planting activity. JPI employees planted 10 Kupang seedlings for this activity. Mr. Atanasio Sta. Cruz, the Plantation Supervisor, demonstrated the correct way of planting seedlings.
Mr. Morita said in his closing remarks that "We should stop wasting resources like water, electricity, paper including human resources since our hours is limited." He also added that "I hope next year we will walk the 6km nature trek and know more about nature." The activity was capped off by the awarding of Forest Protection Certificate to J-SYS Philippines, Inc.
A total of 20 employees participated in this Environmental Awareness Lecture and Tree-planting activity. This year's activity's main objective is to foster volunteerism and make employees "Think Green."
JPI Anniversary & Company Outing @ Blue CoralAugust 6, 2011
Are you guys ready?! Rain or shine!
Breakfast... check!
Tourist bus... check!
Attendance... check!
August 6-7 marked the schedule of our JPI Company outing and Anniversary celebration. It was originally set last June 25-26 but because of typhoon "Falcon" it was postponed.
It was a rainy morning last August 6, 2011 but that did not stop the confirmed JPI employees from attending the event. Everything was set as we arrived at the Blue Coral resort. Upon arrival, we gathered at the beachfront as Ms. Mildred Miras welcomed and wished for everyone to enjoy the activities prepared by EEC. We then headed to the restaurant for a sumptuous lunch buffet. It was free time for all until 4pm that day. While some played beach volleyball, some tried out the resort's amenities, others took a dip in the pool, while the rest just relaxed and basked under the sun enjoying the sunny afternoon.
We started the group games at the beach front at 4pm. Participants were divided into 3 teams. Everyone enjoyed the simple games prepared by EEC. Games played were the sponge relay, balloon relay, and charades. First game was the sponge relay wherein members will run to the beach and pass on the sponge to the other members to fill a container. Next game was the balloon relay where each member will have their turn in inflating a balloon and passing it on to the next member without using their hands with the last team member popping the balloon. Teams cheered on for their team mates made the games more fun and exciting. Last game was the charades. We all had fun in guessing the words as team representatives acted their words out to their team mates.
After dinner, we had a short program. Mr. Egle Bagsit and Ms. Miki Mariano were the emcees for that night. We gave our full attention as Mr. Morita, our company president, started with his opening remarks. EEC also showcased the 19 years of refreshing memories banner. After which we were entertained by the 17th batch employees for their special dance number. There was also a song number from Ms. Michelle Ronato. The song title game was played afterwards which the yellow team won. Teams challenged other teams to sing their unique song titles. Mr. Dennis Vega thanked everyone as we ended the program.
It was free time for all again until check-out time at 11 am the following day, August 7, 2011.
To recap, the yellow team won in all of the 4 games prepared. They were awarded with a banana boat ride as their prize.
1st - Yellow
2nd - Green
3rd - Blue
EEC would like to thank everyone for their active participation and support in this year's Company Outing and JPI Anniversary celebration. It was truly a fun-filled and relaxing weekend deserving two thumbs up!
Summer Fun @Tokyo SummerlandJune 25, 2011
It is four days after Midsummer Day which marked the start of Japan's rising temperature and humidity. Unusual as it may be, everybody hustled to fuel themselves in the common area that early Saturday morning. Why won't they? Nobody wanted to be snoozing around if you're going to the famous Tokyo Summerland!
After laughing and chatting and laughing some more while heading South, we reached our destination. The atmosphere's so lively everybody was intoxicated. There's so much to do it's hard to decide what to try first.
The Rides – Tokyo Summerland is not only a water resort it also boasts tough rides like Free Fall, roller coaster, Flying Carpets and many more! Disregarding age limit, high blood pressure and heart attacks, almost everybody tried and enjoyed the rides. And yeah, it would've feel good to be forever young.^_^
The Wave Pool – What else would you see if you searched the internet for this famous resort? Of course it's the famous wave pool beaming with hundreds of people. Although some were hesitant to dip in the crowded pool, it was worth the try. Everybody enjoyed the waves while some, well, they enjoyed it too! They might have just needed a swim ring, a swim float, or a taller friend to hold on to when the waves started to rush in. Lol.
The Onsen – Onsen is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language. It is also used to describe bathing facilities around hot springs. Though Tokyo Summerland does not have a hot spring, it does have a bathing facility like those that came from a hot spring. That is why we dubbed it as "The Onsen". Everybody enjoyed dipping in the hot water. Some pools in the Onsen even have added minerals in them. After the high jumps in the wave pool, the Onsen surely took our tiredness away. It's just so Japa-nice~.
The whole day felt like just hours as we craved to stay longer in the resort. We chatted and laughed and tell stories of our adventures. It just felt good to have a break, free from the stress of work and daily routine. Surely, that was one hot and fun-filled way of welcoming the summer!
JPI will join the 20th SODEC at Tokyo Big Sight.May 11-13, 2011
JPI holds an Easter Party for its Employees and their Families.Apr 29, 2011
JPI is now a PEZA IT Enterprise!March 31, 2011
March 31, 2011 is a significant milestone for J-SYS Philippines, Inc., as its application for PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) as "IT Enterprise" was approved per Registration Certificate No. 11-22-IT.
Witnesses to this event include both Directors Ms. Mildred P. Miras & Ms. Mary Ann G. Mamaril and Ms. Isabel Lopez, Manager-Finance & Accounting. Upon completion of registration conditions, JPI will enjoy ZERO VAT rate on all its transactions.
JPI's New OfficeMar 7, 2011
JPI has transferred to its new home located in 25th Floor Tower 2 Insular Life Corporate Centre, Insular Life Drive, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
2011 JTest Schedule
First: March 24, 2011 Second: June 23, 2011 Third: September 28, 2011 Fourth: November 24, 2011
Hippie Holiday: JPI Christmas Party 2010December 17, 2010
The Employees' Events Committee (EEC) capped off 2010 with the company Christmas party last December 17, 2010 at Outback Steakhouse in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. There is indeed no better way to celebrate Christmas than having a hippie-inspired party that brings to mind what the season is all about - love and peace.
The party was filled with nostalgia as members gamely came in their best hippie outfits wearing love beads and head bands. Groups were asked to sing and interpret Christmas songs to the tune of 60's hits. Prizes were awarded for the grooviest hippie costume and best group presentation.
After the customary exchange of gifts, Mr. Ruther Lombos presented the details of the planned transfer to a new office building. Promotions and service awards were announced by Ms. Jean de Guzman, together with the company president, Mr. Masumi Morita and company directors Ms. Mildred Miras and Ms. Meann Mamaril. The 2010 Employee of the Year was awarded to Mr. Ellis Carlo Torres.
Gift prizes were raffled out in between presentations. Each member did not go home empty-handed as EEC arranged to have exciting prizes for all members. The two luckiest members were able to bring home an iPhone 3GS and a netbook. This just goes to show how JPI appreciates the dedication and loyalty of its members. Members based in Japan also celebrated their Christmas party at New Tokyo Beer Dock in Yokohama Landmark Tower on December 15, 2010.
JPI Spreads the LOVEDecember 10, 2010
On December 10, 2010, JPI Employees' Events Committee (EEC), once again organized a gift-giving activity, this time for Marillac Hills, a rehabilitation center for young women aged 7 to 18 who were abused or exploited. It is not just L-O-V-E that made this event a very successful one but the essence of the event is best described by these letters.
Liberality or bigheartedness. The staff and the young women from Marillac Hills, were very open and welcoming. JPI employees likewise showed their generosity through loads of groceries and items on the ladies' wish list.
Oneness. Things started with unity from both ends, kicked-off with an opening prayer and remarks from Mr. Masumi Morita, JPI's President and General Manager followed by the staff's tour of the facility.
Vibrancy. Through activities set in the program, from the film viewing to team games, there was a certain vibrancy that was surely felt from everyone.
Enjoyable. By the end of the day, snacks were eaten, even the energy of individuals were gone but there is this particular thing in the activity, not that it was indeed enjoyable but it was told through the eyes of Marillac Hills' young women.
The Biggest Loser JPI EditionNovember 30, 2010
November 30, 2010 was the much-awaited awarding night of "The Biggest Loser JPI Edition". It was an 8-week-long event (October 4 - November 29) that promotes wellness and healthy living to all the employees of JPI. There were 16 participants who joined the said event, including JPI's President and General Manager himself, Mr. Masumi Morita.
Five groups were formed for the "Group Challenge" that aims to promote team camaraderie. Group names were The Flintstones, The Addams Family, Incredibles, Jetsons and Simpsons. For added excitement, participants have their own aliases to hide their identity and were only revealed at the awarding night. The code names used were names of popular Filipino sexy actresses and hunk actors. The weigh-in was held every start of the week and the result is posted to monitor their current standing. Every week, jogging and badminton activities were held to help the participants lose weight.
At the final day of weigh-in, a temptation challenge was held. The participants were indulged with mouth-watering food for lunch. Some were able to resist the temptation and take in only a few calories, while some of them greatly enjoyed the kaldereta. Even though a temptation risked the participants of gaining a pound, in the end it still yielded a positive result. All the participants lost weight on the last week.
On the awarding night, one by one the participants' true identity were revealed, and it drew us closer to the revelation of The Biggest Loser. Finally, Coco Martin, who is Kenx Reyes, was announced as The Biggest Loser with a total of 22.4% weight loss. Belo Chavez a.k.a. Derek Ramsay and Dred Miras a.k.a. Katrina Halili got the second and third place respectively. In the group challenge, The Flintstones, composed of Kenx Reyes, Dred Miras and Masumi Morita, won the first place, taking the much-coveted prize pot. Consolation prizes and souvenir mugs were also distributed to the participants.
A total of 176.5 lbs. was lost during the participants' eight weeks of sacrifice and perseverance. This only proves the success of the activity. No harm was done during "The Biggest Loser JPI Edition", only fats lost and healthier lifestyle for our employees, which may as well inspire others to take care of their well-being.
Trick or Treat Halloween Party 2010October 29, 2010
With the JPI Management fervent desire to strengthen family-ties and camaraderie among its employees and family members, the Corporate Functions Division (CFD) in cooperation with the 2010 Employees Event Committee (EEC) has organized a Family Day activity thru a "Trick or Treat Halloween Party 2010". The event was held at JPI office on October 29, 2010, attended by its employees and family members. The party started off with an opening prayer led by Mr. Mike Villanueva, then followed by a welcome remarks from Mr. Masumi Morita (JPI President). The party was hosted by Ms. Jen Faiwas and Mr. Enrico Ambrocio.
It was highlighted with hilarious parlor games, loot bags giving, dine-in with a variety of mouthful foods like spaghetti, pork barbecue, hotdogs with mallows, siomai, chocolate fountain dessert, chocolate cake, ice cream and assorted sushi. Halloween Best was given to the 1st Prize Winners (for Kiddies – AJ Guevarra; for Adults – Aldrin Rondero).
It was truly a fun-filled enjoyable afternoon.
Fujitsu Philippines signs contract agreement with J-SYS PhilippinesOctober 05, 2010
On October 5, 2010, J-SYS Philippines, Inc.(JPI), an overseas subsidiary of JGC Information Systems Co. Ltd.(J-SYS) signed a contract with Fujitsu Philippines, Inc.(FPI), a subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd. in promoting PLANTIA, a maintenance management solution, for the local manufacturing industry.
PLANTIA received the "PM Excellent Product Award" from the Japan Plant Maintenance Association both in 1999 and 2008. This product has been proven and tested for more than 20 years, at 280 locations, belonging to 140 companies in Japan. In addition, PLANTIA also offers a multi language feature, which is currently being used by a Japanese Company here in the Philippines, in Singapore, and in China, where JPI played a major role in its training and support.
JPI has started its plans for expansion of PLANTIA's English version, not only to Japanese manufacturing firms based in the Philippines, but to other Southeast Asian Nations as well. Currently, it is focusing to strengthen the sales domestically, where there is a growing realization on the importance of maintenance management.
Using the Best Solution strategy, FPI developed its business in the Philippines, by offering not only the products made by Fujitsu, but also in partnership with other IT solution providers that would best benefit their clients. Fujitsu's main customers are in manufacturing, and have sold various information systems to hundreds of companies already.
With the increasing demand for improvements in maintenance management, the partnership between JPI and FPI promotes PLANTIA, as an indispensable tool in contributing improvements in plant management, long term usage of plant equipment, customer's workforce optimization and profit expansion.
PSIA as Global Link in Japanese ITO Value ChainJune 16, 2010
First SDD Activity 2010March 19, 2010
March 21, 2010. Before sunrays touch skyscrapers and business establishments the Systems Development Division (SDD) has been a part of the 8 thousand health conscious and sports enthusiasts to join the Globe Run for Home 2010 event held at the Ayala Triangle Garden, Makati City.
After weeks of preparation and gearing up for their first-ever fun run, the team pinned their numbers, tied their "championchips" (timing chips) and excitedly waited for the gun start to mark the 5km run.
It has really been tough running up and down the curves of Ayala Avenue - some walked, others stopped by every drinking station they passed, still there were those persistent to run with all their might hoping to make it to the finish line as quick as they can.
A salute to the top 3 runners of JPI: Mr. Tots Benedicto from SDT2 bagged the 1st place at 00:28.44secs followed by Mr. Enrico Ambrocio also from SDT2 at 00:29.30secs while Mr. Joel Pascua from SDT3 got the 3rd place with 00:32.15secs. But of course, everybody made it just in time as the sun rises into a fine Sunday morning for a hearty breakfast and early chitchat.
PUP JobfairMarch 1, 2010
J-SYS Phils. Inc. participated at Polytechnic University of the Philippines Career Mania 2010 last March 1 to 3 at their Mabini Campus. Over 100 companies participated in the said event. Mr. Morita, our Company President, participated in the Ribbon cutting ceremonies.
During the jobfair, as initial screening, we conducted a 20-minute Technical exam to graduating IT students and also to some alumni. Those who passed the exam were given info sheet, which they need to accomplish and attach to it their picture and resume. They were also scheduled to take an online exam at JPI offices beginning March 22, 2010. A total of 102 applications were received.
This is the second time that JPI participated in their jobfair.
E-services 2010February 8, 2010
The 10th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition held last Feb. 8-9, 2010 at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex was a showcase of international and local companies engaged in information and communication technology and services. President Arroyo was the guest of honor during the opening rites. Professionals from various fields attended the exhibit, including students as well. JPI was one of the exhibitors in the said event.
JPI President Mr. Masumi Morita, some JPI managers and members were present at the booth. On its second day, JPI was given an opportunity to present PLANTIA among the attendees. This created awareness of the advancement of facility maintenance management systems using Information Technology and how it can help plant and manufacturing companies improve efficiency and productivity.
JPI Gives Back: A Christmas Gift-giving ActivityDecember 23, 2009
With a jar filled with coins and bills and a box loaded with clothes and toys, the JPI Employees Events Committee (EEC) gathered enough gifts during the Holiday season to present to the orphans of SOS Children's Villages. The gift-giving activity, headed by JPI's President and General Manager, Mr. Masumi Morita, took place on December 23, 2009 at 3:00 PM inside the SOS Children's Villages, Alabang. The program was initiated with a prayer followed by an opening remark. To cheer up the afternoon, the EEC prepared some activities for the children, starting off with the 'Kiddie Obstacle Course' and 'Pass That Teddy'. The children then had a light snack followed by a film showing about the essence of Christmas (Veggie Tales' An Easter Carol). The main event - the gift-giving proper - subsequently followed. Although pictures and memories are brought back, the experience of having shared our time and resources to the orphans is beyond compare.
JPI Commemorates its 17th AnniversaryJuly 01, 2009
Anniversary celebrations give us time to reminisce, to reflect how we are now and gain insight that will guide us henceforth. It is in this context that JPI commemorated its 17th Anniversary last July 1, 2009.
The Employees Events Committee (EEC) headed by Ms. Lory Lopez, organized a simple yet meaningful affair. Themed "J-Sys Siete", the event showcased the talent and creativity of JPI employees as the White, Blue and Green teams tried to outsmart each other in the production numbers and group games. The Green team was declared the overall champion in this event.
Congratulations to all the teams for making this event possible. See you all at the next activities!
HAPPY 17th ANNIVERSARY JPI!!!
J-SYS Philippines, Inc. (JPI) Welcomes Ten (10) Programmer-TraineesMay 05, 2009
Despite global economic downturn and crises, and while many companies are downsizing, J-SYS PHILIPPINES, INC. converts these crises to opportunities by building up and training its knowledge workforce. JPI recently hired ten (10) new Programmer-Trainees. Fresh from college and coming from different universities, the trainees underwent rigid recruitment, pre-screening and selection process that shortlisted them from over 1,200 candidates. They just completed a 3-month intensive Japanese Language (Nihongo) course and passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 3 administered in-house by accredited Nihongo instructors. Now equipped with the Nihongo proficiency coupled with IT and programming competencies, the trainees are ready to face the challenges in systems development within a Japanese environment and utilize Japanese operating systems.
J-SYS Philippines, Inc. Has A New President & General ManagerJanuary 01, 2009
MR. AKIYOSHI NAKAJIMA, President of JGC Information Systems Co., Ltd, (J-SYS) Yokohama, Japan, 100% owners of J-SYS Philippines, Inc., recently announced the appointment of MR. MASUMI MORITA as President and General Manager of J-SYS Philippines, Inc. (JPI).
Mr. Morita's appointment opens a new chapter in JPI's corporate life as he brings to the Company his extensive and valuable experiences in systems development projects having worked in J-SYS for over 23 years in different capacities.
Mr. Morita takes over the leadership from MR. MITSUHARU HAMADA who returned to J-SYS after more than 13 successful and fruitful years in JPI. Mr. Hamada, however, will remain to be the Japan-based Adviser to Mr. Morita.
Sayonara (goodbye), Hamada-san, Irrashaimase (Welcome), Morita-san.