More local government units are teaming up with PLDT and Smart, mobilizing the Filipino youth to champion mental wellness in the Philippines.

Together with the Provincial Government of La Union and mental health advocate Joy Ortega, PLDT and Smart reinforce their commitment to creating safe spaces online for the youth to discuss mental health through the monthly conversations series entitled, “Kamusta Ka, eLyU?”. With two episodes aired, the series has garnered over 10,000 views and counting.

Filipino athletes are actively taking part in meaningful conversations on TikTok through the Better Today program, powered by PLDT, Inc., (PLDT) its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and the MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF).

PLDT and Smart scale up their mental health initiatives online, linking up with more advocacy groups, organizations, and local government units (LGUs).

Twenty-two year old Claudia’s passion for mental health is rooted in her own personal experience. At an early age of 10, she has shown early signs of depression. When she was 16, she was clinically diagnosed with chronic depression and anxiety. Since then, she has been seeking professional help with her prescribed medication.

Employees are at the heart of every company. For PLDT and Smart, ‘taking care of our people’ is one of the key company values, which underscores the critical and essential role that employees play in the growth of the company. Amid the pandemic, PLDT and Smart have ramped up their employee wellness campaigns, which include mental health talk series, entertainment series and various engagement efforts.

Living out empathy is one of the ways in which PLDT and Smart reinforce their commitment to advocate mental health and wellness, especially in the digital space. This includes hyper-collaboration among like-minded individuals and organizations such as the RMAF. 

A 16-year-old incoming senior high school, a mental health survivor, an online ESL teacher and a K-pop fan. They are the four winners of PLDT and Smart’s Better Today Time Capsule Project, a mental health initiative that focuses on art as a form of catharsis.

With the COVID-19 pandemic posing an extraordinary impact on our world today, PLDT and Smart, through its Better Today program, launched the “Time Capsule Project”.

We culminated a month-long virtual storytelling series on mental wellness with stories of hope, survival and changemaking.