Globe, NHA help Valenzuela seniors navigate digital services, online scams

• IN PHOTO: The Globe team together with NHA, conducted the Senior Digizen learning session with the senior citizens in Disiplina Village, Valenzuela City.

For many senior citizens, using a smartphone for calls and messages has become routine. Navigating digital payments, government services and potential online scams, however, can still require a helping hand.

Globe and the National Housing Authority (NHA) recently trained 65 senior citizens in Disiplina Village, Barangay Bignay, Valenzuela City on practical digital skills through the telco’s Senior Digizen program.

The hands-on learning session covered everyday tasks such as communicating with family, managing digital payments, accessing government services and using online navigation tools.

Participants were introduced to GlobeOne, GCash, eGovPH and Google Maps. They were also taught how to identify suspicious links, messages and other potential scams, an increasingly important skill as more transactions and services move online.

Globe employees and volunteers from the Globe Pathfinder Internship Program provided one-on-one assistance, allowing the seniors to practice using the applications on their own devices and ask questions about difficulties they encountered.

“Digital inclusion means making sure that the benefits of technology are within reach of every Filipino, including our senior citizens,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer. “Through Senior Digizen, we hope to give them practical skills and greater confidence to connect, transact and access services safely.”

For 70-year-old Cristeta, the training offered an opportunity to learn more about applications beyond the communication tools she regularly uses.

She primarily uses her phone to chat with siblings living in other parts of Metro Manila and joined the session to better understand GCash and other applications available on her device.

Evangeline, 71, was already accustomed to making calls and using Facebook and Messenger but previously depended on younger relatives for other digital tasks.

During the session, she learned how to navigate GCash, GlobeOne and eGovPH while receiving additional guidance on avoiding suspicious links and online scams.

The initiative reflects the growing need for digital literacy among older Filipinos as services ranging from payments to government transactions increasingly become accessible through smartphones.

Globe said Senior Digizen forms part of its broader digital inclusion efforts aimed at making technology more accessible and useful across generations.

Through partnerships with organizations such as the NHA, the program seeks to provide communities with practical digital skills that participants can apply to everyday activities while helping them navigate online services more safely and independently.