MANILA, Philippines — For young Pasigueños, governance goes beyond elections and a seat in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) as youth organizations find ways to stay involved in decisions and initiatives that shape their communities.

Youth organizations like Kabataang Tambuli ng Pasig (KTP) and PasigLaban do so by contributing to local policies, community programs, and youth-led advocacies across Pasig City. Their work is supported by the communities they serve and by institutional mechanisms that provide them with resources and a seat at the table.

KTP board of trustees member Kiko Santos, a former KTP president, recalled how it started.

“We were really inspired by Vico Sotto’s win in 2019; a lot of us were energetic and passionate to participate in governance.”

KTP is a city-wide youth organization focused on skills development for participatory governance.

For Santos, however, youth participation should not depend on who leads the city.

“Vico’s win might have been what inspired us to mobilize, but he’s not the end-all, be-all. Hope doesn’t lie with the mayor, but in the youth and processes within the institution,” he said.

Prior to Sotto’s win in 2019, the city was governed by Bobby Eusebio, a member of the Eusebio dynasty that ruled Pasig for over 27 years.

With the youth, for community

Community support did not come overnight for KTP.

When they started, KTP operated almost entirely on out-of-pocket contributions from its members. Like many grassroots organizations, it had little funding and few resources to sustain its work.

Still, Santos said the goal of helping shape a culture of good governance in Pasig kept the volunteers engaged.

“When discussions on good governance began, the youth wanted to be a part of it as well because they didn’t want to go back to the way things were,” Santos said.

“What drives people to participate is the knowledge that the work they do would come back to benefit them through better processes, benefits, and services,” he added.

One of KTP’s first major initiatives was the 2019 Pasig Youth Summit, which gathered 154 young Pasigueños to identify community issues and propose solutions, including better access to government information, scholarships, healthcare, employment, and greater youth participation in governance.

The recommendations were later elevated to the local government, with KTP contributing to the city’s 2021-2023 Youth Development Plan.

As the organization expanded its work, support from the community followed.

During the KTP voter education caravans in 2022, residents donated monobloc chairs, speakers, and a projector system that members previously had to borrow from barangays, while a private benefactor offered KTP a temporary office space.

“A lot of people saw our efforts, and with word going around, they trusted us enough. That helped us mobilize our resources and made it easier for members to participate,” Santos said.

As youth participation in Pasig continued to grow, more organizations emerged to create spaces for young people to take part in civic work.

Aside from KTP, another youth group named PasigLaban came into the picture.

PasigLaban began as a political campaign group during the 2022 national elections before transitioning into a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. After the elections, it shifted its focus toward community-based programs.

“After the elections, we didn’t want the energy from the youth and our volunteers to go to waste, which is why we reorganized PasigLaban into a non-profit focusing on volunteer mobilization and designing projects with the youth, for the youth, and our community in Pasig,” said PasigLaban executive director Mark Alcazar.

It launched one of its initial programs, EduKart, in 2024 to address and improve learners’ basic and functional literacy. Through the program, PasigLaban supported three public schools in Pasig and helped more than 150 learners complete the literacy program with the assistance of volunteer teachers.

As of writing, PasigLaban continues to equip young people with skills in leadership, advocacy, and good governance through programs like Project KASAPI, which brings together student organizations to discuss juvenile justice, school-related violence, and human rights.

PasigLaban also works with the local government and Sangguniang Kabataan to create spaces where young people can develop their leadership potential and take part in community planning.

A seat at the table

With youth participation growing in Pasig, the local government also developed ways to support these youth organizations.

One such initiative is the Youth Participation Organization Passport (YPOP), a program launched in 2022 by the Local Youth Development Office and the Local Youth Development Council of Pasig that incentivizes and recognizes youth organizations’ participation in city activities.

**ORGANIZATION PASSPORT**. A booklet is provided to registered youth organizations to track their participation in city events and programs they organize. Photo from Francine Lauron/Rappler

YPOP initially offered grocery packs as incentives but later expanded to provide semestral project grants ranging from P50,000 to over P100,000 for community initiatives. Through the program, youth organizations earn points through their participation in government activities and implementation of their own projects.

In the latest 2026 YPOP cycle, Kabataang Tambuli ng Pasig and PasigLaban were among the seven youth organizations awarded grants to support their programs focused on women’s empowerment.

**EMPOWHERMENT PROGRAM**. Young Pasigueños partake in a women’s empowerment program organized by the Kabataang Tambuli ng Pasig, made possible with a project grant from the local government. Photo from Francine Lauron/Rappler

Alcazar said programs like YPOP make government support more accessible to youth organizations by providing institutionalized avenues for funding and participation.

“When you institutionalize support through the local government, nonprofit groups don’t need to rely on solicitations or seek out special favors from politicians. And when the government invests in our youth, we get more platforms for civic participation,” Alcazar said.

But institutionalized support does not mean youth organizations are expected to remain silent. As governance partners, groups like PasigLaban and KTP contribute to checks and balances by participating in local special bodies, engaging in policy discussions, and assisting in blue ribbon committee investigations.

“When [the government] says or does something that is not right or politically correct, we call them out,” Alcazar said. “We are grateful, but we will hold you accountable,” he added.

For Santos, having a voice in these spaces is what makes youth participation in Pasig meaningful.

“Hope truly runs through Pasig because the youth here are not just seen as volunteers, participants, beneficiaries, or clueless young people without experience. The youth are part of Pasig, and being part of it means having a seat at the table. Having that seat makes a huge difference,” said Santos. — with reports from Francine Lauron/Rappler.com

Francine Lauron is a Rappler volunteer from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She is a senior taking up a Bachelor of Arts in English Studies.

Quotes are translated into English for brevity.

In Pasig, youth take active role in shaping communities, governance

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