Cong. Karlo Nograles: Meaningful change makes a nation

Congressman Karlo Nograles has always known in his heart the renewing possibility of change. He believes that every individual has the resources within himself to change the course of his life. The Representative from District 1 of Davao City understands that the greatest and most significant societal changes begin with small, simple steps.



What is more life-changing than education? In his first term as a congressman, Karlo trained his eyes on education, particularly on the post-secondary level. “I just felt that government wasn’t paying enough attention to kids after high school,” says Nograles.


Congressman Karlo Nograles is a typical protective and loving husband and father to his wife Marga and his three children, Mateo, Massimo and Nikka

Through Oplan Kaalam (Oplan K), Karlo supports the full tuition and fees of thousand of students in state-owned University of Southern Philippines, University of the Philippines-Mindanao and other public and private colleges and universities across Davao City.



In addition, the program has also handed out thousands of technical-vocational scholarships to poor students in the barrios. “The youth become more empowered with higher education,” Karlo, who finished his law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University, says. “They are sustained with the means to provide a brighter future for themselves and their families.”


Davao City Representative Karlo Nograles showing his support as he waves the Philippine flag during the canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod at Vatican City, Rome, Italy. 

But for Karlo, it is not enough that the youth are educated and have their families secured: they also have to play a role in community transformation. In order to stress the importance of the youth and their involvement in community service, Karlo has led some 5,000 scholars in various community programs such as tree planting, coastal clean-ups, recycling, reading and literature programs, and school feeding drives, among others. “Every person has the capacity to serve the community, and the only way we can change the world for the better is to help others and always pay it forward,” an admirable life philosophy he continues to advocate from his training in the Ateneo and the Jaycee movement.

Now serving on his second term, Karlo is motivated to cultivate the seeds planted by education, volunteerism, and civic-mindedness to further fruition. Karlo is now committed to creating sustainable community-based livelihood programs and employment opportunities, in line with his current position as Chairman of the Committee on Labor and Employment at the House of Representatives.



Representative of First Congressional District of Davao City Karlo Nograles

Under the supervision of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Karlo has been bringing job fairs to the 54  barangays under his jurisdiction, right to where the people are. “Since many of the poor and unemployed have no means to go around and look for work, then we must bring all these job vacancies down to the impoverished communities, and together with potential employers do the job interviews then and there,” Karlo says. “Never underestimate the power of a job; it allows people to provide for their needs and enjoy the honor and dignity of hard work and self-reliance.”



First District of Davao City Representative Karlo Nograles pushes for the passage of Philippine Green Jobs Act to create green jobs that will help curb the ill-effects of climate change.

The concurrent vice-chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights and Committee on Revision of Laws also brings to the barangays various community-based skills training projects, such as basic welding, plumbing, beauty care, and commercial cooking. “These are skills that are easily learned and are easily employable, and such trainings should therefore not be confined to schools and classrooms but must be accessible by the poor who need them most.”


For his exceptional vision and leadership, Karlo was hailed as Outstanding Congressman by SuperBrands Marketing International in 2012. The following year, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also conferred to him the Regional Kabalikat Award for 2013.


Cong. Karlo Nograles of first district of Davao City passes House Bill No. 4969 that promotes climate-smart industries and services 

Now, Karlo has set his eyes on sustainable development. He recently filed a bill in Congress seeking to generate eco-friendly jobs that will help reduce environmental risks posed by business enterprises with the help of green technology. His Green Jobs Act aims to not just preserve the environment, but to ensure that we are able to sustain a better way of life and at the same time protect our planet for future generations. For Karlo, change in the individual means change in the community and ultimately, the country.

P85M worth of PA insurance from Malayan Insurance on National Assurance Day

In an effort to promote the importance of non-life insurance to the public, Malayan Insurance will be making available Php 85 million worth of personal accident cover on October 6, 2014, to registrants in the company’s National Assurance Day promo.  

The Malayan group policy has a total combined maximum limit of Php 85 million which all registrants with valid confirmations of cover will share at the end of the campaign.

Malayan Insurance said the date will be called its National Assurance Day and hopes to begin a yearly tradition every October beginning this year to encourage Filipinos to seek protection.

“National assurance day is our way of supporting the Insurance Awareness Week of the Philippine Insurers & Reinsurers Association (PIRA) and the insurance industry. Reminding everyone that things can go wrong and that it is a good idea to have a backup plan when something unexpected or untoward happens,” said Malayan Insurance PA Underwriter, Mr. Anthony M. Labindalawa.

Further, Mr. Labindalawa explained that the NAD is one way to celebrate the insurance awareness week by giving the Filipino insuring public some peace of mind. 

“Aside from creating awareness of the importance of non-life insurance, the NAD is one way for us to give back to the community in anticipation of our upcoming 85^th founding anniversary,” said Malayan’s Digital Marketing Head, Aldous Anacion. 

Getting a free Malayan PA cover on NAD is simple: one only needs to visit and register at the promo micro site at nationalassuranceday.malayan.com starting September 6, 2014.

Another way to register for NAD is by “liking” Malayan’s Facebook page at Facebook/MalayanPH and click on the NAD link.  

On October 6, all those who registered will be included in a free Group policy composed of basic accidental death, dismemberment and disability covers. The full promo mechanics is posted at the NAD micro-site and Malayan’s FB page.

The certificate of cover will be sent to the registrant’s email a week after the promo. Malayan is able to deliver its policies in digital format – rather than just the traditional paper and ink policy – because it has a valid electronic COC approval from the Insurance Commission.

The promo is open to all Filipinos ages 18-65 years old.

About Manulife Investor Sentiment Index in Asia and Manulife

Manulife’s Investor Sentiment Index in Asia is a quarterly, proprietary survey measuring and tracking investors’ views across eight markets in the region on their attitudes towards key asset classes and related issues. The Index is calculated as a net score (% of “Very good time” and “Good time” minus % of “Bad time” and “Very bad time”) for each asset class. The overall index is calculated as an average of the index figures of asset classes. A positive number means a positive sentiment, zero means a neutral sentiment, and a negative number means negative sentiment.

The Manulife ISI is based on 500 online interviews in each market of Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore; in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines it is conducted face-to-face. Respondents are middle class to affluent investors, aged 25 years and above who are the primary decision maker of financial matters in the household and currently have investment products.

The Manulife ISI is a long-established research series in North America. The Manulife ISI has been measuring investor sentiment in Canada for the past 15 years, and extended this to its John Hancock operation in the U.S. in 2011. Asset classes taken into Manulife ISI Asia calculations are stocks/equities, real estate (primary residence and other investment properties), mutual funds/unit trusts, fixed income investment and cash.

Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$637 billion (US$597 billion) as at June 30, 2014. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com. 

Filipino investors optimistic on pensions, but based on some risky assumptions – Manulife Survey

Did you know that the majority of Filipino investors are satisfied with  their government pension – but that sentiment is based on specific assumptions and a cash-dominant approach to retirement working out, according to the latest Manulife Investor Sentiment Index.?

Two-thirds of respondents said that they are confident that their government pension  would be enough to meet their needs upon retirement – the highest level of all surveyed markets. In contrast, across all surveyed markets the proportion of confident investors was less than 40 percent, and as low as one-in-ten in some markets.

While such optimism seems positive, the survey shows it is based on some risky assumptions. First, investors expect their retirement income to be relatively high, at 92% of their current income – the highest estimate among all surveyed markets (Asia average 69%). Second, they expect their retirement expenses to be relatively low, at just 61 percent of their current income, at the lower end of surveyed markets (Asia average 66%). Third, nearly all (95%) said that in retirement they expect to rely on private healthcare – by contrast, in every other market only a minority expected to rely on private healthcare (Asia average 38%).

“Filipino investors have high estimates of their retirement income. Even if these turn out to be right, they may not be enough to cover their actual costs,” said Ryan Charland, CEO of Manulife Philippines. “Today, people generally expect their retirement to be active, and that means expenses will likely be much higher than what many realize. In addition, healthcare tends to cost a lot more than people expect. In Asia healthcare costs have risen about twice the rate of inflation over the past 10 years. Of course, it’s even more expensive if you go private.”

The survey highlights that Filipino investors have a high degree of reliance on their government pension, with only one in five owning an additional, private pension plan. Instead, many expect to fall back on other, less assured, largely cash-forms of income, notably savings (which they expect to make up 37% of their retirement income) and inheritance (12% of their retirement income) – in both cases the highest reliance of any surveyed markets. This cash-dominant approach to retirement is reinforced by the finding that, on receiving their pension, Philippine investors plan to deposit nearly half into the bank, the second-highest level of all markets (Asia average 35%).

“We know that Filipino investors like to hold cash and are among the most cash-heavy investors in Asia. The latest survey shows us they also plan to be Asia’s most cash-reliant investors when retired,” said Mr. Charland. “Keeping cash in the bank provides minimal returns, which may not even keep up with inflation. Their retirement optimism would have a sounder basis with a more balanced portfolio, especially given that retirement today can last 30 years or more.”

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.