“Soccer helped me cope, because after I became an amputee, I lost my confidence. That was the time when I really doubted myself. Soccer helped me build my confidence,” she said. Now, the athlete from Cebu is a member of the World Amputee Football Federation.

Iya is part of PLDT and its Smart’s Better Today: Power Move Project, which aims to champion mental health and wellness through sports and features inspiring stories of Filipino para-athletes and coaches who embody the true meaning of persistence, bravery, and mental resilience.

Community is important in the growth of a person. Like what writer, educator, and humanitarian Helen Keller said, “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” This is particularly true for para-athletes, whose respective communities have been their support as they strive to become better each day.

For Adaptive National Athlete of Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) Kent Tumangan, representing the country in this sport brought back his self-confidence and discipline.

In partnership with the Cagayan De Oro-based Oro Youth Development Office (OYDO), PLDT and Smart are championing digital empowerment among the youth. 

More than a year after Typhoon Odette ravaged the homes of Siargao’s residents, the island has since been on a path towards rehabilitation and recovery.

With the goal of ushering transformative change within communities, PLDT and Smart, through the Better Today PH (Better Today) program, seek to promote wellness, safe spaces, and changemaking for children and the youth in the digital world.

PLDT and Smart recently supported San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan’s mental health summit, a Better Today conversations on digital wellness. It was attended by over 230 youth participants from various universities, including Bulacan State University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

As part of its advocacy to create safe spaces for children both online and offline, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) through the ‘Better Today’ program, have partnered with Football for Humanity (FFH) to empower youth through sports.

Amid his busy schedule, PLDT Inc. Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan sat down for #BetterToday conversations, a video series under this year’s Power Move Project -- an initiative of PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) to promote mental resilience through sports.