The third awards ceremony of Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH), a community of passion-driven Filipino mothers established by PLDT Home, put the spotlight on mompreneurs who are making a difference by taking care of their families while prioritizing self-growth simultaneously.
Founded in 2020, the 191,000-strong group of MMPH serves as an avenue where mompreneurs can learn and be inspired from one another.
This year’s Diskarteng Angat award was given to Stephanie Morales who opened her own self-portrait studio and Ricca Cruz del Rosario who started a clothing store.
For the Diskarteng Eco-friendly category, Melisa Blanca Moscoso who found a business opportunity from discarded flour sacks and Bianca Mateum who upcycles waste bags and storage items emerged as the winners.
Avon Tuazon Obedoza, founder of Bahay Ugnayan Educational Services, a start-up, after-school tutoring service which aims to free up moms’ time after work for more personal time with their families, and Alona Bazar Laylo, who opened Jobiba Baby Diapers and Wipes which provides low-cost, high-quality diapers received the award for Diskarteng May-Puso.
MK Bertulfo, who used her business to empower women to participate in the digital economy and be equipped with the know-hows of online business, got the Diskarteng Digital and Diskarteng Homebiz awards.
The Madiskarte Moms PH winners each received P100,000 cash, P10,000 Lalamove vouchers, and Tough Mama kitchen appliances.
For the special awards category, Jenilyn P. Sicabalo bagged the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award with P50,000 cash prize, Lalamove vouchers, and Tough Mama products for her flower shop business which uses abaca for bouquet wraps.
PLDT chief operating officer Menardo “Butch” Jimenez lauded members of MMPH, highlighting that eventually, the country will benefit from what they’re doing.
“You work wonders in three different worlds: the world of home, your own personal growth, and the world of business. You’re actually doing three times the work that men are doing,” he said.
Meanwhile, PLDT chief sustainability officer Melissa Vergel De Dios underscored how MMPH values sustainability in a sense of gender empowerment.
“This is the embodiment of gender empowerment because it allows women not only to dream, but to take action and to make a difference in the society,” she added.
More than 100 applications were screened for Gawad Madiskarte 2024 with 17 shortlisted mompreneurs. From the said number, 8 main winners were selected for two categories – Start-up and Scale-up – by a panel of judges including Butch Jimenez; Jonjon San Agustin, executive vice president for marketing at SM Supermalls; Tweetie de Leon, mompreneur, owner of TdLG Designs; Angelica Chongco, owner of Mayumi Organics; Pia Hontiveros, broadcast journalist; and Annette Gozon-Valdes, president, GMA Films.