by Ferry Bayu | Nov 4, 2026 | Business
Recognized for AI in Workforce & Future Skills, Jia has helped more than 15 recruitment agencies cut daily candidate admin from hours to minutes, and is set to expand to Singapore and neighboring markets in 2027.
ASOCIO Chairman Stan Singh-Jit (far left) and fellow officials with White Cloak Technologies’ Donn Gamboa, co-founder, president and CEO; Sandra Carlos, Founding Growth Lead; and Kyla Kiunisala, Founding Growth Marketer (third to fifth from left), at the ASOCIO Digital and AI Summit 2026 award night in Jakarta on Oct. 6, where Jia received the AI in Workforce and Future Skills Award.
MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 3, 2026 — Jia, an AI hiring platform developed by Pasig-based White Cloak Technologies Inc., has won the AI in Workforce & Future Skills Award at the ASOCIO Digital & AI Awards 2026. It was the only Philippine recipient among this year’s awardees. Nominated by the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), Jia was recognized on Oct. 6 at the ASOCIO Digital & AI Summit 2026 award night at Swissôtel Jakarta PIK Avenue in Indonesia. The summit drew technology organizations from 26 economies across Asia and Oceania.
Founded in 1984, the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) is a federation of ICT industry associations from across the region. Its annual awards recognize technology that creates measurable impact for business, government and society. The AI in Workforce & Future Skills category honors initiatives that use AI to strengthen workforce development and prepare organizations for the changing world of work. White Cloak co-founder, president and CEO Donn Gamboa received the award alongside Founding Growth Lead Sandra Carlos and Founding Growth Marketer Kyla Kiunisala.
“Standing on that stage as the only Philippine awardee was a proud moment for our team and for the Filipino tech community,” said Gamboa. “It shows that AI built here can hold its own anywhere in the region. But the measure we care about most is on the ground. It’s recruiters getting hours of their week back, and every applicant getting a fair and consistent first look.”
One AI recruitment platform for the first stages of hiring
Jia replaces the manual early steps of high-volume hiring with one connected workflow:
• AI CV screening assesses every applicant against the requirements of the role, so recruiters start with a shortlist instead of a stack of résumés.
• Conversational AI interviews let candidates complete first-round interviews asynchronously, at any hour.
• Applicant tracking follows each candidate from application to final decision in one place.
• Job posting publishes openings to Jia’s Hello Jia career portal and to job boards such as LinkedIn and Indeed.
Proven with more than 25 Philippine clients
Jia’s client base has grown to more than 25 organizations in the Philippines. Among them, more than 15 recruitment agencies have cut daily candidate admin from hours to minutes.
One of them is EMEA AMSI, a licensed recruitment agency that places Filipino workers with employers abroad. Preparing a redacted, client-ready CV package there now takes about two minutes, down from about two hours.
“What used to take me four hours a day, I now finish in five minutes,” said Joshua Belmonte, global business development manager at EMEA AMSI.
Why AI governance in hiring matters for Philippine employers
Filipino workers are among the world’s most advanced users of AI at work. According to Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index, 25% of Filipino workers qualify as “Frontier Professionals,” the most advanced category of AI users, compared with 16% globally. The same report found that 93% of Filipino AI users treat AI output as a starting point rather than a final answer. For BPOs, retailers and banks that screen thousands of applicants a month, the question is no longer whether to use AI in hiring, but how to choose it and govern it.
“AI can now take on much of the screening and first-round interviewing, but a polished demo proves very little, because demos run on hand-picked data,” Gamboa said. “Before any AI touches real candidates, test it on your own applicants for accuracy, consistency and bias. AI should do the legwork, but a person should always make the final call.”
A pivotal moment: taking Jia beyond the Philippines
Having proven itself with Philippine employers, Jia is set to expand to Singapore and neighboring Southeast Asian markets in 2027. The win in Jakarta also drew interest from investors and technology companies attending the summit.
“We built Jia for the realities of Philippine hiring: high volumes, tight timelines and applicants from every corner of the country,” Gamboa said. “Employers across the region face the same challenges. The interest we received from investors and technology firms in Jakarta makes this a pivotal moment for Jia as we bring it to more countries.”
About Jia
Jia is an AI hiring platform developed in the Philippines by White Cloak Technologies Inc. Used by more than 25 organizations, it combines AI CV screening, conversational AI interviews and applicant tracking in one platform. It helps recruitment teams hire faster while giving every candidate a clear, consistent experience. Jia received the ASOCIO AI in Workforce & Future Skills Award in 2026. Learn more at hirejia.ai.
About White Cloak Technologies
White Cloak Technologies Inc. is a Philippine software company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. It is the main developer behind the UnionBank Online app, the internationally acclaimed mobile banking app that became White Cloak’s flagship project. That work established the company as a technology partner to many of the country’s leading banks and conglomerates. With about 300 people, White Cloak builds digital products across banking, fintech and enterprise, including Jia, its AI hiring platform. Learn more at whitecloak.com
by Ferry Bayu | Nov 4, 2026 | Business
Two students share how yoga changed their sleep: Anna, 38, who was prescribed sleep medication as part of her mental health treatment, and Chi, 33, who worked the night shift for 15 years. The school stresses that yoga supports, but never replaces, medical care.
TAYTAY, RIZAL — Over the last holiday season, the Department of Health’s mental health hotline at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) took 961 calls between December 21 and January 2. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were among the main reasons people called. Psychologists describe the season as one that amplifies emotional load: financial pressure, family expectations, grief, and disrupted sleep and routine.
At Indian Yoga School PH, pranayama (yogic breathing) and meditation are not add-ons. They are part of every Hatha Vinyasa class, alongside the physical practice. Classes are open to all levels, including complete beginners, and no flexibility is required.
Better sleep on class nights
Anna (not her real name), 38, was prescribed medication for sleep as part of her mental health treatment. After a few yoga sessions at the school, she noticed she slept better on the nights she had class.
“I used to take my sleep medication every night,” Anna said. “After a few yoga sessions, I noticed I slept better after each class. Yoga is the only thing I added to my routine, and now I look forward to every class, whether it’s gentle yoga with Teacher Anj or a more challenging class with Teacher Kirti.”
The school stresses that any change to sleep or anxiety medication should be made with a doctor.
From 15 years of night shift to sleeping through the night
Chi, 33, completed the school’s 100-hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training in July. She has struggled with sleep since childhood and worked the night shift from 2011 until early 2026. She has never taken sleep medication.
“I’ve struggled with sleep since I was a child,” Chi said. “Night shift felt like the obvious choice, because sleeping when you’re dead tired sounds easier. But I’d wake up after two or three hours and couldn’t fall back asleep. Even after I switched to days, I couldn’t find my rhythm.”
Her sleep tracker shows the change. In July, she went without sleep on about half of her nights. One stretch of three sleepless nights left her with a fever from exhaustion. In August, she slept nearly every night, usually from around 1 AM to 8 AM.
She signed up for teacher training because she enjoys teaching and fitness, not to fix her sleep. “I didn’t realize the breathwork, the meditation and the calm were what my body needed,” she said.
Why breath comes first
Lead teacher Yogi Kirti Anand Ji taught for more than 10 years at yoga schools in Rishikesh, India, and is certified under India’s Ministry of AYUSH.
“When the mind is anxious, the breath is the first thing that changes, and the first thing we can learn to change back. In the tradition we teach, pranayama and meditation are not extras. They are the practice.”
A 2018 systematic review of randomized controlled trials found that yoga may help people experiencing elevated anxiety, though evidence for diagnosed anxiety disorders is still inconclusive.
“Yoga is not a replacement for a doctor, a therapist or medication,” said founder Anj Volante. “What it can give people is a daily practice that is theirs, a way to steady themselves during a season that asks a lot of them.”
About Indian Yoga School PH
Indian Yoga School PH is a yoga education and wellness institution based in Taytay, Rizal, dedicated to making authentic Indian yoga accessible in the Philippines. Founded through the partnership of Filipina entrepreneur Anj Volante and Indian yoga teacher and therapist Yogi Kirtti Anand, the school offers traditional Hatha Yoga, Yoga Therapy, meditation, pranayama, and internationally inspired teacher training programs. Its mission is to provide a welcoming space where students of all experience levels can learn yoga through authentic lineage, proper alignment, and holistic well-being.
This press release has also been published on VRITIMES.
by Ferry Bayu | Nov 4, 2026 | Business
Using focused ultrasound technology, Ultraformer III stimulates collagen remodeling in targeted tissue layers. MOLD Manila emphasizes patient assessment, realistic expectations, and individualized treatment planning.
QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES — As interest in non-surgical aesthetic procedures continues, MOLD Manila is highlighting Ultraformer III as a treatment option for patients seeking to address mild to moderate facial skin laxity without undergoing surgery.
Ultraformer III uses high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology to deliver controlled thermal energy beneath the skin’s surface. The treatment is designed to stimulate collagen remodeling, supporting gradual improvements in skin firmness and facial definition.
For patients beginning to notice changes around the cheeks, jawline, and lower face, ultrasound-based skin tightening offers an alternative worth considering before pursuing more invasive procedures.
Understanding Early Facial Skin Laxity
Facial aging is influenced by several biological processes, including declining collagen production, changes in skin elasticity, and alterations in facial fat distribution.
These changes may gradually affect facial contours, particularly around the lower cheeks, jawline, and neck.
While surgical procedures may be appropriate for more significant tissue laxity, patients with earlier signs of aging may benefit from non-surgical interventions depending on their skin condition and treatment goals.
Ultraformer III is one such option.
How Ultraformer III Works
Developed by South Korean medical aesthetic technology manufacturer CLASSYS, Ultraformer III uses micro- and macrofocused ultrasound technology to deliver energy at selected tissue depths.
For facial treatments, different cartridges allow practitioners to target specific layers beneath the skin, including the dermis and deeper supporting tissues.
The controlled heating initiates a tissue response associated with collagen remodeling, which can contribute to gradual improvements in skin firmness.
Unlike surgical lifting procedures, Ultraformer III does not require incisions or the physical repositioning of facial tissues.
Treatment outcomes vary according to skin condition, age, treatment parameters, and individual biological response.
Why Individual Assessment Matters
MOLD Manila emphasizes that choosing an aesthetic procedure should begin with understanding the patient’s concerns rather than selecting a treatment based solely on popularity.
Not all visible signs of facial aging respond to the same intervention.
For example, skin laxity, facial volume loss, and changes in skin texture may require different approaches. Ultrasound-based tightening may help address certain concerns but cannot replace lost facial volume or reproduce the effects of a surgical facelift.
Patients considering Ultraformer III should therefore undergo an appropriate assessment to determine whether the procedure aligns with their concerns and expectations.
A Gradual Approach to Facial Rejuvenation
Results from ultrasound-based skin tightening typically develop progressively as the tissue responds to treatment.
Some patients may notice initial changes earlier, while additional improvements may become apparent over the following two to three months.
Temporary redness, tenderness, or swelling may occur, although recovery requirements are generally limited compared with surgical procedures.
By highlighting Ultraformer III, MOLD Manila continues to support informed treatment decisions and personalized aesthetic care for patients in Quezon City and surrounding Metro Manila communities.
Patients interested in non-surgical facial lifting and skin tightening may inquire about Ultraformer III consultations through MOLD Manila’s official website.
About MOLD Manila
MOLD Manila is a premium, clinician-led aesthetic clinic based in Quezon City, Philippines. Known for its technology-driven, non-surgical treatments and personalized care, the clinic specializes in skin rejuvenation, non-invasive contouring, laser treatments, and IV wellness therapies. MOLD Manila is committed to education-first, results-driven aesthetics designed for real Filipino skin.
by Ferry Bayu | Nov 4, 2026 | Business
Philippine e-commerce is expected to reach USD 24 billion in gross merchandise value in 2025, and online retail revenue is expected to increase by 15 to 20% in 2026. This growth continues in Southeast Asia, where e-commerce is forecast to reach USD 226 billion in gross merchandise value in 2026, according to the latest e-Conomy SEA report.
For Philippine businesses selling on Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop, this means more opportunities to reach new customers. However, during large-scale sales and shopping campaigns such as 11.11 and 12.12, higher order volumes in shorter time frames may test businesses’ inventory accuracy, dispatch logistics, and order fulfilment capabilities.
Inspire Solutions Asia, the modular e-commerce backbone for the Philippines, believes these metrics matter as much as sales and customer acquisition.
Inspire says growth should be measured not only by how many orders businesses can take, but by how many they can fulfil.
Why the Philippines’ market requires reliable execution
The Philippines has a unique e-commerce operating environment, with varying payment preferences, marketplace requirements and customer expectations that impact how and where orders are fulfilled.
Cash-on-delivery (COD) payments remain prominent in the Philippines. According to the 2026 Ecommerce Payments Momentum Report by Xendit and Cube, COD accounted for about 23% of the total value of Philippine e-commerce transactions processed on the Xendit payment platform in 2026, the highest share of any of the six Southeast Asian markets analyzed.
The report also found that 12% of Filipino respondents said nothing would convince them to stop using COD. The Philippines is projected to be the only market among those analyzed where COD will account for more than a fifth of e-commerce value in 2027.
Reliable order fulfilment becomes more important for businesses as a result. With COD orders, payment is only received upon delivery of the order. If the wrong items are shipped, delivery expectations aren’t met, or order issues aren’t resolved, the likelihood of an order being returned or unsuccessful increases.
Multi-marketplace selling further complicates order fulfilment. Without consolidated inventory management, stock listed and sold on one marketplace may still be available to be sold on another, even when inventory is low or sold out.
During high-volume sales and shopping campaigns, the time between detecting and rectifying these issues may impact dispatch performance and customer experience.
“A successful sale doesn’t end at checkout. The inventory has to be accurate, the order has to leave on time, and someone needs to take responsibility when something goes wrong. These are the everyday operating standards that allow businesses to grow consistently,” said Darwin Bustillo, CEO of Inspire Solutions Asia.
Measuring growth beyond sales
Inspire is urging e-commerce businesses operating in the Philippines to place more importance on metrics such as inventory accuracy, on-time dispatch, order exception resolution and returns processing.
These metrics provide businesses with insights into where improvements may be needed in their operations, especially during periods of increased order volume. But it’s not just about measurement. Businesses need to understand how their marketplaces, warehouses and delivery partners operate, and what issues need attention.
Instead of continuing to add new service providers, staff or software to accommodate growth, Inspire is advocating for businesses to pinpoint the areas of their operations that need more visibility, alignment or execution support.
This thinking informed the development of Fusion, Inspire’s e-commerce operations platform, which integrates order and warehouse management and provides visibility into inventory, dispatch, exceptions and marketplace performance.
Fusion is just one piece of Inspire’s overall modular e-commerce ecosystem, which includes integrations with its suite of operational services such as importation, warehousing, fulfilment, delivery and returns. Together, the platform and services enable businesses to adopt capabilities incrementally as their operations grow.
With its experience supporting e-commerce operations in the Philippines, Inspire believes that linking visibility to execution can help businesses manage growth more consistently.
Building operational readiness beyond peak season
While sales and shopping campaigns may present additional challenges to fulfilment operations, Inspire believes that operational reliability should be a priority outside of seasonal sales events.
For local businesses, this means questioning whether their current systems are capable of handling increased order volume and sales channels without sacrificing fulfilment reliability. For international businesses looking to enter the Philippines, this means evaluating local fulfilment capabilities, technology and accountability.
“Growth alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Businesses also need to know whether their operations can sustain it. Since launching in 2023, Inspire has onboarded about 40 brands and maintained an average 98% on-time dispatch rate across 1 million orders. These are some of the metrics that businesses should be looking at in addition to sales growth,” Bustillo added.
As businesses review their performance during large-scale sales and shopping campaigns and prepare for the next stage of growth, Inspire hopes to raise awareness around what happens after checkout and make reliable execution a more visible metric for business growth.
About Inspire ecommerce solutions
Inspire Solutions Asia is the Philippines’ modular e-commerce backbone, helping local and international brands launch and manage their operations in the country. Using Fusion, its e-commerce operations platform, and a suite of operational services, from importation and warehousing to fulfilment, delivery, and returns, Inspire bridges the technology backbone with reliable execution.
Its modular approach lets businesses adopt capabilities incrementally as they grow. Learn more at inspiresolutions.asia, explore Fusion, and follow Inspire Solutions Asia on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
by Ferry Bayu | Nov 4, 2026 | Business
Filipino employees are not resigning in droves after receiving their 13th-month pay. In fact, December is the quietest resignation month among larger employers, while July is the busiest, according to a new study from Sprout Solutions covering nearly 275,000 employee records.
The Great Filipino Workplace Mythbuster tested ten widely held beliefs against anonymized attendance, leave, payroll and separation records from more than 700 Philippine companies. The findings challenge assumptions about when employees quit, why they leave and what employers can do to retain them.
“Companies spend millions on recruitment and retention, yet some of the assumptions behind those decisions are wrong,” said Patrick Gentry, CEO of Sprout. “Our data challenges where leaders expect resignations, who they think is most likely to leave, and whether salary increases actually deliver retention.”
The January resignation wave is a myth
Among companies with more than 250 employees, December recorded just 16 resignations per 1,000 employees, compared with 26 in July. Across four years of data, there was no consistent January resignation surge. Even companies that paid half their 13th-month benefit mid-year showed no corresponding spike in departures.
The findings challenge a familiar assumption behind workforce planning. Employers preparing for a January hiring rush may be overlooking their actual peak resignation periods.
Other calendar-related beliefs fared differently. Employees filed leave on 10% of workdays bridging holidays and weekends, versus 4% of ordinary days. Monday absences were also higher than midweek, but only by about one employee per hundred.
Gen Z isn’t the problem, early tenure is
Gen Z employees appear to resign more frequently than older colleagues. But once length of service is accounted for, approximately 90% of the apparent attrition gap between Gen Z and Millennial employees disappears.
The bigger concern is early-tenure attrition across generations.
Of every 100 new hires, 19 leave within three months, 30 within six months, and 38 within their first year. The data also shows a renewed rise in terminations around month six, coinciding with the regularization decision.
For employers, the implication is significant: recruitment and retention efforts should focus less on generational stereotypes and more on the first year of employment.
A raise alone doesn’t guarantee retention
Among rank-and-file employees, 22% of those who received a salary increase without a change in role left within twelve months, compared with 12% of those who received no increase.
The study does not suggest that raises cause resignations. Counteroffers, merit-cycle timing and differences between employee groups may explain the pattern. But the findings question whether salary adjustments alone are an effective retention strategy.
Employees who received a raise alongside a promotion showed a different pattern, suggesting that career progression deserves closer attention.
Another surprising finding: higher recorded overtime was associated with lower subsequent resignation, contrary to the belief that employees working longer hours are necessarily more likely to quit. The report cautions that this does not establish overtime as a retention tool.
The strongest warning sign may be a change in behavior
Employees who eventually resigned did not take more planned leave than colleagues who stayed. And while they were generally absent more often, that difference existed long before their departure.
A more revealing pattern emerged in undertime. Employees who later resigned gradually increased their time leaving work early, from an average of 19 to 30 minutes per month over their final year, while those who stayed remained steady at around 17 minutes.
The pattern is modest at an individual level, but it points to a potentially more useful approach to workforce analytics: looking for changes against an employee’s own history rather than relying on broad categories or fixed thresholds.
“We’ve spent years putting employees into categories like Gen Z, high absenteeism and heavy overtime, then treating those categories as predictors,” said Renzo Belardo, chief marketing officer of Sprout. “But the more useful question is what has changed in an employee’s own behavior. That’s where the opportunity for earlier intervention lies.”
Free report and workforce planning tools
The Great Filipino Workplace Mythbuster is available for free at https://evergreen.sprout.ph/ebook/the-great-filipino-workplace-mythbuster, alongside a six-question Blind Spot Check, a first-year attrition cost calculator, and practical recommendations for CEOs, CHROs and operations leaders.
The report shows how attendance, payroll and HR records that employers already collect can reveal workforce patterns that conventional reporting may miss.
About the Study
The Great Filipino Workplace Mythbuster analyzed anonymized, aggregated attendance, leave, payroll and separation records for nearly 275,000 employees at more than 700 Philippine companies that use Sprout. The main analysis covers January 2024 to August 2026; monthly resignation trends go back to 2022. No individual employee or company is identified. The findings describe associations, not causes, and reflect companies on the Sprout platform, which may differ from the wider Philippine workforce.
About Sprout Solutions Phil Inc
Sprout Solutions is the People-First AI platform for Payroll, Compliance, and Work, serving businesses across the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Founded in 2015, Sprout brings together AI-powered HR, payroll and timekeeping, recruitment, performance management, employee engagement and embedded finance solutions to help organizations operate more efficiently and support their people.
Trusted by over 2,000 companies and 400,000 users, Sprout complements its technology with Managed Services, world-class implementation, support, and customer success teams focused on long-term client outcomes. Sprout exists to impact the lives of employees by improving businesses in the communities it serves. Learn more at sprout.ph.
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