Dine at Penong’s to Support Local SMEs Thru Globe myBusiness “Gift Local” Campaign
Celebrating the Christmas holiday this 2020 may be a little different from all previous years with the effects of the pandemic still affecting the economic and health sector globally and not just in the Philippines. Many of us are still getting used to the new normal especially during the holiday season as we try to move forward and move on by celebrating Christ’s birth with our families and with relatives or friends virtually online for the first time. As Globe would say, it is more meaningful to celebrate and give love this Christmas. Given what has happened this challenging year of 2020 which has become the year we may not achieve our dreams but the year we learned to appreciate what we have been blessed with.
Gift Local is an annual campaign of Globe myBusines during the Christmas holidays to encourage and rally consumers – shoppers and food trippers like you and me to #SupportLocalSMEs by buying and gifting local with their partners SM Malls and Ayala Malls in VisMin. As for food trippers like us, the campaign means buying from local businesses through takeout or food delivery since staying at home is still the safest health protocol we can observe at this time. Dining in local restaurants like the homegrown local restaurant Penong’s which is a client of Globe myBusiness and which they are supporting in this particular campaign is also being pushed given that people should keep in mind in observing the health and safety protocols such as wearing face masks and face shields. 
In Penong’s they encourage diners to only take off their masks and shields when eating then put them back on as soon as they are done doing so.
Hand washing or sanitizing with alcohol is also a must.
Clean hands especially when dining keep you healthy.
My boys and I are long time Penong’s customers. We used to dine often at Penong’s Bajada in front of NCCC VP Mall (former Victoria Plaza Mall). We also dined at Penong’s branches in the mall – Abreeza Ayala Mall and Gaisano Mall Davao. When the pandemic started, we have not dined at Penong’s anymore nor at any restaurant until recently.
We missed dining at Penong’s which is home of our favorite pinakbet or pakbet as well as their Inato meals. Plus we used to make sure we also order their ice cream shakes made with Allegro ice cream, another local business in Davao City. Good thing there are food delivery services such as foodpanda and Grabfood as well as other delivery services like Maxim which can deliver ordered food from any local restaurant of your choice like Penong’s. But nothing beats dining experience at Penong’s where it is a known and popular gesture to clap your hands when you want to call the server to ask for additional or extra rice. They serve Inato meals with unlimited or in short unli-rice. They have also what they called Quarantine Bundles which is available in select Davao branches only. Opted for Bundle C the most affordable at P580
Last December 11, 2020, I was able to dine at Penong’s in their company owned branch in Ponciano Street, the one in front of UM Multitest Diagnostic Center. We have dined there before with my fellow Davao Digital Influencers after one of our seminar workshop at a nearby venue which was just walking distance from Penong’s. I was excited to be able to dine out once again which we have not done for the past nine months since the lockdown.
As the community guidelines are being eased throughout the country, the government, in partnership with the private sector, has launched a T3 (Test, Trace, Treat) Campaign: Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat with the objective of re-starting the Philippine economy by building consumer confidence. T3 initiatives will guide private corporations and SMEs regarding testing and the enforcement of safety measures needed to restart their business. The T3 campaign will also teach and remind Filipino consumers that to move forward, their responsibility is to practice the required safety measures and behavior. With Globe’s commitment to nation-building, we will support the government campaign by aligning the Gift Local campaign to T3’s Key Message.
The pandemic should not totally dampen the Filipino Christmas spirit. We can still move on and continue with the gift-giving traditions if our economic means allow us to. For families like us who love to dine out for food trips – eating together still spark joy and excitement as we try to make this Christmas more meaningful for #TuloyAngPasko.
Dining at local restaurants like Penong’s is a way for consumers to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to bounce back and survive this pandemic economically. SMEs have reopened their stores with emphasis on safety to the public by adopting technology in their business operations like GCash for cashless transactions for those of us who fear holding cash physically to pay for food and services. Also, these SMEs can use KonsultaMD for employee telehealth service.
Globe myBusiness is a brand that SMEs can trust in every stage of their journey, most especially during times of need and uncertainty.
The days leading Christmas and new year pass by faster now. So if you do shop and dine local this holiday season, support local small and medium enterprises. Keep in mind that you can #GiftLove by gifting loved ones and friends with food bought and delivered from local restaurants like Penong’s for noche buena and when they do virtual Christmas parties online. As for Christmas gifts, there are many local products from SMEs that you can find in SM Malls which have Kultura stores and Ayala Malls for example.
