Inspired by the Safari Zone event in Taiwan, the Pokemon GO Philippines Community started a petition for the local telecom companies to help host a Safari Zone Event in the country. The players are also doing all they can to make this dream a reality, especially with the recent developments with Globe and Niantic.
We talked with a local player named Martin who created the petition in change.org to see what motivated him to start this initiative and what are the plans for the future.
When asked about why he started one, Martin shared the following:
The initiative started when me and my friends noticed that other countries held Pokémon GO: Safari Zone events. We had high hopes that the Philippines would too, with the knowledge that Globe Telecom Incorporated entered a partnership with The Pokémon Company and Niantic. That was two years ago. So me and my friends had a “What if?” moment. “What if we started an online petition that would garner the local and international Pokémon GO community?
At the time of writing, the petition has been signed by more than 2,000 people. It was even promoted by Nick of Trainer Tips, a YouTuber of Filipino descent.
My friends in the Pokémon GO Philippines community are petitioning local Pokémon GO sponsors to show interest in a Safari Zone event! Help them get the attention of local government agencies and mobile carriers by signing the petition!https://t.co/Hv9XlKrdmp
— Nicholas Oyzon (@trnrtips) March 9, 2018
Other than starting a petition, some players took the initiative to contact possible event sponsors such as Globe Telecom, which was a sponsor of Pokemon GO until March 15, 2018 where it opted out of its contact (More info here). It led to the removal of sponsored gyms and stops throughout the country. The admins of the local Discord group are now preparing to have a sit-down with Globe representatives. Other players are planning on speaking with their local government officials as well.
With around 80,000 active players in the country, the Philippines has a very loyal player base. Each city in Metro Manila have groups of players that organize raids. In the city I live in, there are 6 separate groups that raid in different parts of the city. There are also dedicated players in Ingress. There have been multiple Ingress events in throughout the country. John Hanke even visited the Philippines during one of the events.
The Chiayi Safari Zone event sparked the start of Pokemon GO events outside of Europe, USA, and Japan, and the Pokemon GO Philippines Community are taking notice. The community didn’t stop by just starting an online petition but took action as well. We hope other communities follow suit and do the same. We should help each other out on spreading each community’s cause.
To learn more on this petition, a local YouTuber malcomjudd made a video about this.
See Also
- Playing Pokemon GO in Manila
- Globe Telecom is no longer sponsoring Pokémon GO in the Philippines