Marian Rivera’s trusted partner for ‘mura, mabilis,’ no-fuss finance services
Marian Rivera is celebrated for a stellar career in showbiz that has produced top-rating primetime shows, box-office hits, acting awards, and product endorsements. More so, she is admired for being wise with her finances and hands-on in nurturing her family.
The actress and mom of two school-age children also embodies the core values of Palawan Group of Companies (PGC), thus making her the perfect choice as its newest brand ambassador. She endorses PGC products: Palawan Pawnshop, Palawan Pawnshop Jewelry, Palawan Express Pera Padala Domestic and International Remittance, Palawan ProtekTODO, and PalawanPay.
“It’s such an honor for me and I’m very grateful,” Rivera said in mixed Filipino and English at the recent media launch of her endorsement. The event also premiered the five TV ads she made for each PGC product.
“I always say that I find joy in endorsing products that are not only beneficial to me,” she said. Gesturing to the company executives who attended the event, she added, “Their values and what they aim to do are about extending help to Filipinos.”
In response, PGC chair Bobby Castro said they live by the values such as pagmamahal sa kapwa (love for others) and customers, along with fairness and integrity. That’s how he and his wife, Angie Castro, started a pawnshop business in Palawan’s capital city of Puerto Prinsesa on Aug. 17, 1985, with a capital of P40,000. It went on growing to over 3,500 branches nationwide and expanding to offer other services, as corporate management now include the founders’ children.
PGC president and chief executive officer Karlo Castro explained, “We’ve always looked for someone who truly represents what Palawan stands for—resilience, hard work, and success. Marian’s journey, the sacrifices she has made, and her dedication to her family and career mirror PGC’s own story.”
He then pointed out, “Gano’n din ang Palawan—laging nagsisikap, laging nand’yan para sa mga Pilipino (The same with Palawan, always striving and always there for Filipinos).”
Financial literacy
Rivera’s latest endorsement deal was warmly received, especially by her 94-year-old grandmother, Francisca Rivera, who raised her while her mother, Amalia Rivera, worked abroad. Francisca, whom the actress calls Mama, even costarred with her famous granddaughter in the TV ad for Palawan Pawnshop Jewelry.
“She agreed to join me in this endorsement because she really likes Palawan,” Rivera said of her elder, who must’ve known that the pawnshop brand offers a high appraisal value at a very low interest rate. The actress added that the pieces of gold jewelry that she and her grandmother wore during the shoot were given by her mother when she was a young girl.
Being wise with money is one of the traits Rivera got from her grandmother, she told Lifestyle at the event. “Mama always advised me on how to invest my earnings, especially during my early years in showbiz. She gave me options and let me decide which one to take. I’m lucky to be surrounded with people who guide me in managing my finances.”
Speaking of investments, Rivera shared her newly discovered way of putting money into Palawan Gold. These are made of 24-karat gold designed with images of endemic birds in the province of Palawan that can be bought starting at 1 gram.
She also expressed excitement over PalawanPay, a fast-growing digital wallet that, to date, has 20 million registered users. She uses it to pay household and personal bills, as well as the salaries of their house helpers. The helpers, in turn, are able send money to their family members across the country and even abroad through Palawan Pay, if Palawan Express Pera Padala is not readily available.
Another source of joy for Rivera in partnering with PGC is the opportunity to share with the public the microinsurance product Palawan ProtekTODO. She said that for as low as P100, a person can get an insurance plan.
Trust and credibility
Having a celebrity endorser like Rivera is crucial in building trust and credibility in products, said PGC group marketing head Bernard Kaibigan. But most importantly, he stressed, the endorser should be using the product or service to effectively spread the word about it.
Rivera more than fits the bill for PGC, Kaibigan pointed out. While working on the TVCs, he noted that the actress gave inputs to highlight the conglomerate’s standout qualities as those mentioned in its tagline, “mura, mabilis, at walang kuskos-balungos” (affordable, fast, and hassle-free).
“She wants to make sure those key messages resonate in the TV commercial,” he said. “She knows that Palawan’s services have to be differentiated from other brands.”
Kaibigan happily reported that after the launch of PGC’s latest TV ads, more promotional materials featuring its endorser will be released in line with the campaign “Subukan na at Patunayan, I-Palawan Mo na ‘Yan.”
