Over 200 senior citizens from Carcar City in Cebu participated in the recent mental health awareness and digital literacy training session for the elderly conducted by PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), in partnership with Carcar City’s Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) and French non-governmental organization Passerelles Numériques Philippines (PNPh).

“It is always a meaningful experience whenever we conduct this digital training for our senior citizens. We are grateful for this partnership with LGU Carcar City and PNPh, which allowed us to promote our digital inclusion advocacy to more seniors in Cebu,” said Marylou B. Gocotano, Stakeholder Management Visayas Relations head at PLDT and Smart.

Underscoring the PLDT group’s pioneering inclusion program, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy through Technology (IDEATe), along with its #BeCybersmart anti-SMShing campaign, the training aims to help the city government of Carcar empower its senior constituents by enhancing their digital skills and providing them with useful tips on how to avoid text and online scams, such as the various forms of phishing.

The initiative also includes a mental health awareness session to guide the participants in managing their mental health while navigating the world of digital technology and social media.

“The insights we learned from this training will serve as our defense against scams and will enable us to improve our daily activities with the help of technology. We thank LGU Carcar City and its partner organizations PLDT and Smart, for their efforts to empower us, senior citizens,” said Arturo A. Unabia, Carcar City Senior Citizens Federation President.

Tech-savvy student-volunteers from PNPh also made the workshop easier and fun for the senior participants by assisting them throughout the activity and presenting entertaining skits and performances.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to PLDT, Smart, and PNPh for bringing this activity to Carcar City. It is necessary for our seniors to keep up with the advancement of technology as this can assist them in their everyday tasks, especially in terms of communicating and connecting with their friends and families,” said Carcar City Mayor Mario Patricio P. Barcenas.

This effort under the IDEATe program is aligned with PLDT and Smart’s much larger program to help the country achieve UNSDG 10 on reducing inequality by empowering and promoting the social and economic inclusion for all, while #BeCybersmart expresses the PLDT group’s broad and deep commitment to safeguard its customers from all forms of cybercrime. These advocacies underscore the PLDT Group’s commitment to assist in the government’s key digitalization efforts.