The Filipino Times Awards 2017, the biggest red carpet annual event held in honour of excellent Filipino professionals and in recognition of their favourite brands, has revealed the most favourite 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 by more than 36,000 Filipinos who made their voices heard through online voting. Awardees were honoured at a gala ceremony held recently in JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai.

UAE homegrown brands and renowned international titles have won big time 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, whilst Emirates NBD was recognised 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 TFT Award for Excellence in Customer Service and Global Village was named as TFT Entertainment and Shopping Destination of the Year.

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 amongst the top three in the next five years.

“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 honoured to be part of the UAE’s success and they have also contributed to the astounding growth of this great nation. Whilst 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.

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, whilst 12 companies received citation for providing excellent products and services to the Filipino community in the UAE.

The award ceremony honoured top brands that have made indelible marks to the lives of the 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 as 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 Airline of the Year: Emirates Airline            

Preferred Bank of the Year: Emirates NBD  

Preferred Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year: Chowking   

Preferred Electronics Outlet of the Year: Carrefour   

Preferred Fast Food Restaurant of the Year: McDonald's       

Preferred Filipino Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year: Fiesta Pinoy

Preferred Freight Forwarding Company of the Year: LBC Express, Inc.              

Preferred Healthcare Provider of the Year: Belhoul Hospitals               

Preferred Jewelry Shop of the Year: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

Preferred Mall of the Year: BurJuman Centre           

Preferred Makeup Brand of the Year: AVON

Preferred Remittance Centres of the Year: Al Ansari Exchange and UAE Exchange     

Preferred Remittance Pay-out Centre of the Year: BDO            

Preferred Remittance Service Provider of the Year: Western Union     

Preferred Retail Fashion Shop of the Year: Aéropstale           

Preferred Sedan Car Brand of the Year: Honda

Preferred Shabu-Shabu Restaurant of the Year: Little Lamb Hot Pot  

Preferred Travel Agency of the Year: dnata Travel   

Preferred Sports Brand of the Year: Under Armour  

Preferred Sports Retail Shop of the Year: Sun and Sands Sports        

Preferred Supermarket of the Year: Carrefour            

Preferred SUV Car Brand of the Year: Toyota            

Preferred Telecom Company of the Year: du              

The Filipino Times (TFT) Company Awards

TFT Fashion Retail Company of the Year: Apparel Group

TFT Filipino Brand of the Year: Jollibee      

TFT Award for Excellence in Customer Service: Wall Street Exchange              

TFT Value-for-money Car Brand of the Year: Mitsubishi

TFT Award for Excellence in Philippine Connectivity: Cebu Pacific      

TFT Entertainment and Shopping Destination of the Year: Global Village           

TFT Neighborhood Friendly Supermarket: Al Maya  

TFT Family Friendly Fastfood Restaurant of the Year: Marrybrown     

TFT Feel Home Restaurant of the Year: Max's           

TFT Filipino Travel Agency of the Year: MPQ Tourism           

TFT Seafood Restaurant of the Year: Ultimate Silver Bucket

TFT Buffet Restaurant of the Year: Hot Palayok Restaurant and Grill