The Filipino Times Awards 2017, the biggest red carpet, annual event held in honor of excellent Filipino professionals and in recognition of their favorite brands, has revealed the most favorite brands of one of the UAE’s largest expatriate communities.
The Filipino Times Awards, the biggest Filipino award-giving body in the region, was participated in by more than 36,000 Filipinos who made their voices heard through online voting. Awardees were honored at a gala ceremony held recently in JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai.
UAE homegrown brands and renowned international titles won big at the third edition of the esteemed award, organised by The Filipino Times (TFT), the leading newspaper for Filipinos in the UAE and the biggest news online portal for international Filipinos.
Emirates Airline won the award for the Preferred Airline of the Year, while Emirates NBD was recognized as the Preferred Bank of the Year, dnata as the Preferred Travel Agency, and du as the Preferred Telecom Company of the Year for the UAE-based Filipinos. In addition, Wall Street Exchange was bestowed with the TFT Award for Excellence in Customer Service and Global Village was named TFT Entertainment and Shopping Destination of the Year.
(Karen Remo, Managing Director at New Perspective Media, and Editor-in-Chief at The Filipino Times; Abdulwahed Juma, Executive Vice President of Brand and Corporate Communications at du; and H.E. Constancio Vingno, Jr., Philippine Ambassador to the UAE)
Gracing the event were Bader Anwahi, Chief Operating Officer at Global Village; Abdulwahed Juma, Executive Vice President of Brand and Corporate Communications at du; Leslie Isaac, Senior Vice President, Head of Retail Liability and Transaction Banking at Emirates NBD; and Dominic Fernandes, Vice President, Head of Business Marketing at Emirates NBD who all accepted the awards on behalf of their brands.
Karen Remo, Managing Director of New Perspective Media and Editor-in-Chief of The Filipino Times, said: “With one million Filipinos in the UAE, the Filipino consumer segment is one of fastest growing segments in the UAE and experts say that Filipinos will be among the top three in the next five years.
(Karen Remo, Managing Director at New Perspective Media, and Editor-in-Chief at The Filipino Times; Bader Anwahi, Chief Operating Officer at Global Village; and H.E. Constancio Vingno, Jr., Philippine Ambassador to the UAE)
“At the backdrop of this trend is the growing purchasing power of Filipinos as they occupy high-level positions in the corporate world and the public sector. In addition, more and more of them are opening up new businesses in the country they now call home.
“The Filipino community is honored to be part of the UAE’s success and they have also contributed to the astounding growth of this great nation. While global companies are targeting the ever-increasing Filipino community here, the Filipino expats have also strongly supported the growth of UAE homegrown brands,” she added.
(Karen Remo, Managing Director at New Perspective Media, and Editor-in-Chief at The Filipino Times)
The nominations for 23 different categories took place from March 1 to April 20, 2017. More than 300 nominations were received and the public voting process happened from May 1 to July 30, 2017, with over 36,700 votes received. A total of 24 out of 232 companies were voted as preferred companies of the year, while 12 companies received citations for providing excellent products and services to the Filipino community in the UAE.
The award ceremony honored top brands that have made indelible marks on the lives of Filipinos and have uplifted the Filipino spirit and image not only in the UAE but across the region.
Jollibee, a Filipino multinational chain of fast food restaurants, was named the TFT Filipino Brand of the Year and Cebu Pacific won the award for TFT Award for Excellence in Philippine Connectivity.
The Filipino Times Awards 2017 was sponsored by Wall Street Exchange (Category Sponsor), Direct Remit by Emirates NBD and BDO Unibank, Inc. (Banking Partner) as well as AVON, Honda, HOPO Asian Hotpot Dishes, Hot Palayok Restaurant and Grill, I am Happiness, MPQ Tourism, Royale UAE, Timeless Elegance, Ultimate Silver Bucket and Concept Big Brands Carnival (Support Sponsors).
Below is the full list of winners of The Filipino Times Awards 2017:
Preferred Company Category
Preferred Telecom Company of the Year: du
Received by Abdulwahed Juma (Executive Vice President of Brand and Corporate Communications)
Preferred Bank of the Year: Emirates NBD
Received by Leslie Isaac (SVP, Head of Retail Liability and Transaction Banking) and Dominic Fernandes (VP, Head of Business Marketing)
Preferred Airline of the Year: Emirates Airline
Received by Saeed Essa Almehairi (Sales Support Manager) and Joseph Alcantara (Marketing Communications Manager)
Preferred Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year: Chowking
Received by Habib Ahamed Lafir (Director) and Divya Kowshik (General Manager)
Preferred Electronics Outlet of the Year: Carrefour
Received by Reynaldo Araja, (Sr. Media Executive – Spark Foundry)
Preferred Fast Food Restaurant of the Year: McDonald’s
Received by Allan Clavin Ramos (Marketing Manager)
Preferred Filipino Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year: Fiesta Pinoy
Received by Houssam Abdul Malak (Owner)
Preferred Freight Forwarding Company of the Year: LBC Express, Inc.
Received by Allan Michael Bautista (Senior Sales and Marketing Manager)
Preferred Healthcare Provider of the Year: Belhoul Hospitals
Received by Haydee Cordova (Marketing Executive) and Junije Ralph Fabic (Marketing Executive)
Preferred Jewelry Shop of the Year: Malabar Gold & Diamonds
Received by Mithun Sreevallabhan (Marketing Executive) and Remin KV (Branch Head)
Preferred Mall of the Year: BurJuman Center
Received by Jerico Fernandez (Marketing Development Coordinator)
Preferred Makeup Brand of the Year: AVON
Received by Namita Shrivastava (Marketing Manager)
Preferred Remittance Center of the Year: Al Ansari Exchange
Received by Husam Shabani (Marketing Manager) and Ranjith Subhagan (Senior Marketing Officer)
Preferred Remittance Center of the Year: UAE Exchange
Received by Sam Cherian (Head of Retail Sales & Services) and Michelle Sanchez (Head of Corridor Marketing – Philippines)
Preferred Remittance Pay-out Center of the Year: BDO
Received by Roldan dela Fuente (Assistant Manager), Maria Josefa Carreon (Chief Representative Officer, Senior Assistant Vice President) and Edwin Punzalan (Assistant Vice President)
Preferred Remittance Service Provider of the Year: Western Union
Received by Kushal Bhatt (Sr. Media Executive – Initiative) and Bijal Pathak (Business Director – Initiative)
Preferred Retail Fashion Shop of the Year: Aéropostale
Received by Manish Aziz (General Manager) and Deepika Walecha (Buyer)
Preferred Sedan Car Brand of the Year: Honda
Received by Abdul Basit (Marketing Communications Manager) and Abdul Rahman (Branch Manager – SZR Showroom)
Preferred Shabu-Shabu Restaurant of the Year: Little Lamb Hot Pot
Received by Eric Chen (Marketing Director)
Preferred Travel Agency of the Year: dnata Travel
Received by Chuck Unay (Cluster Manager)
Preferred Sports Brand of the Year: Under Armour
Preferred Sports Retail Shop of the Year: Sun and Sand Sports
Received by Rafae Ali (Integrated Marketing Communications Executive)
Preferred Supermarket of the Year: Carrefour
Received by Reynaldo Araja (Sr. Media Executive – Spark Foundry)
Preferred SUV Car Brand of the Year: Toyota
Received by Mohammad Lari (Sales Manager) and Laura Peleno (Sales Manager)
The Filipino Times (TFT) Company Awards
TFT Entertainment and Shopping Destination of the Year: Global Village
Received by Bader Anwahi (Chief Operating Officer)
TFT Fashion Retail Company of the Year: Apparel Group
Received by Karishma Kumar (Marketing Officer), Manish Aziz (General Manager for Aeropostale) and Shika Thakur (Marketing Manager)
TFT Filipino Brand of the Year: Jollibee
Received by Raffy Divina (Head of Marketing) and Jerome Sanguir (Head of Operations)
TFT Award for Excellence in Customer Service: Wall Street Exchange
Received by Christian Lopez (Marketing Officer) and Basel Maki (Marketing Manager)
TFT Value-for-money Car Brand of the Year: Mitsubishi
Received by C.V. Ravin (General Manager)
TFT Award for Excellence in Philippine Connectivity: Cebu Pacific
TFT Neighborhood Friendly Supermarket: Al Maya
TFT Family Friendly Fastfood Restaurant of the Year: Marrybrown
Received by Marjourie Liwag (Marketing Manager)
TFT Feel Home Restaurant of the Year: Max’s
Received by Nadia Shami (Marketing Executive)
TFT Filipino Travel Agency of the Year: MPQ Tourism
Received by Malou and Robert Prado (Owners and Managing Directors)
TFT Seafood Restaurant of the Year: Ultimate Silver Bucket
Received by Liezl Quiliza Cruz (Owner/Franchisor) and Marjun Garcia Sy (Account Manager)
TFT Buffet Restaurant of the Year: Hot Palayok Restaurant and Grill
Received by Sultan Thejmal (Operations Manager) and Michelle Gemaol (F&B Manager)
