The Philippines’ grandest festival, Sinulog, returned with a bang after a two-year hiatus with PLDT Inc.’s wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc.’s (Smart) full support and partnership with the local government of Cebu City and Sinulog Foundation, Inc.
In keeping with tradition, Cebuanos honored the 458th Fiesta of Señor Santo Niño with lively parades, concerts, pageantry, and competitions.
“We are thankful for our partnership with the Local Government of Cebu City and Sinulog Foundation Inc., which allowed Smart to be part of the grand comeback of Sinulog. This gave us an opportunity to bring an epic festival experience to both locals and tourists, and offer Smart subscribers perks and rewards for their loyalty. We also boosted our SIM Registration efforts by providing on-ground assistance via booths to keep them connected,” said Lloyd Genesiran, Junior Manager and Sinulog Festival Lead of Smart Go-to-Market and Subs Management.
Smart powered up various activities such as the Grand Sinulog 2023 Ritual Showdown, Ms. Sinulog Festival Queen 2023, and the private events at Sinulog Night, among several other lined-up events.
Smart’s reliable wireless connectivity also enabled media entities and festival goers to Livestream the events, spreading the Sinulog fun and cheer across the world in real-time.
“It has been five years since I last joined the Sinulog Festival, and the good thing about the availability and reliability of Smart’s network is that it enabled me to relay my experiences through live streaming. I also got a lot of positive reactions and comments from my friends and family abroad who were unable to personally join the festival. At least they were able to celebrate with us through my real-time video updates,” said Rudolfo Lara, an Overseas Filipino Worker in San Francisco, California.
Anticipating the massive number of festival goers, Smart also seized the opportunity to invite its customers to register their SIMs by putting up more accessible SIM Registration booths around Cebu City.
Delilah Escobar, a senior citizen from barangay Lorega expressed her delight upon completing her SIM registration at Smart’s booth at Plaza Independencia. “I’m happy to find SIM Registration booths around the city to assist senior citizens like me who have a hard time registering their SIMs since no one can help me at home. Thank you, Smart, for this wonderful initiative.”
As mandated by the SIM Registration Act, which aims to curb the proliferation of text scams and other mobile phone-aided criminal activities, Smart and TNT are accelerating the deployment of SIM Registration booths and touchpoints all over the country, by collaborating with LGUs, partner stores, and regional and provincial distributors. The touchpoints offer assistance to Smart and TNT customers needing information on how to register their SIM, as well as provide physical assistance to customers with special circumstances – seniors, persons with disabilities, those still using basic phones.
Smart also made available its SIM Registration portal http://www.smart.com.ph/simreg on December 27, 2022. Through this platform, millions of Smart and TNT customers have been able to conveniently register their SIMs.
Smart is also making SIM Registration more convenient for postpaid subscribers, who simply need to confirm the personal information and IDs they submitted for their postpaid plan application. To do this confirmation, subscribers just need to text YES to 5858. They shall then receive a confirmation message from Smart upon successful SIM Registration.
All Smart and TNT customers are advised to register their SIMs before the deadline set by law, to keep these SIMs active and to help fight against scammers and predators online.