Mental health advocate and Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Member of La Union Joy Ortega and Environmental conservationist and Lotus Valley Founder Toby Tamayo discuss their passions with purpose on their advocacies in the first episode of the conversations series on mental wellness.

PLDT and its wireless unit Smart recently launched an employee engagement initiative entitled, “Better Today Conversations: Mind Your Health”. Through storytelling, the companies invited advocates to share their stories anchored on narratives of Passion & Purpose, Strength & Resilience, Community & Empathy, and Hope. The initiative underscores the importance of taking care of one’s mental and emotional wellbeing in order to become better today.

The storytelling series consisted of four episodes anchored on its key thematic narratives. The first episode on Passion & Purpose featured mental health advocate and La Union Sangguniang Panlalawigan Board Member Joy Ortega and environmental conservationist and sustainability advocate Toby Tamayo.

In her talk, Ortega shared her advocacy on mental health and public service. “Even before running for office, mental health has always been a personal advocacy. This inspired me to serve the people of La Union better. I want to remind them that there is a safe space for them to talk about mental health and we are here to offer support,” said Ortega.

Meanwhile, Tamayo shared the importance of environmental conservation and living a sustainable lifestyle. “It’s important to be mindful of the things that we do – for the people and the planet. When we built Lotus Valley, we envisioned an environment that shares the vision of a sustainable lifestyle and mindful living,” Tamayo said.

"As we strive to be one of the leading environmental, social and governance corporate telcos, we will continue to advocate for the mental wellbeing of our people and practice sustainability in the way we work and operate. We encourage employees to talk about relevant matters such as these as we live in transformative times,” said Chief People Officer Gina Ordoñez.

“As an advocacy, Better Today strives to thrive on a culture of empathy and kindness that emanates from the level of the self, to the family, and to the larger community. We’re happy to bring this initiative to our employees to share the empowering message of finding passion with purpose to be better digital citizens today,” said Cathy Yang, PLDT and Smart First Vice President and Group Head of Corporate Communications.

Better Today’s emphasis on mental health is a key part of PLDT and Smart’s continuing commitment to help the Philippines contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), particularly UNSDG #3 that stands for good health and well-being.