Pasig wins $1 million Bloomberg grant

MANILA, Philippines —  Pasig City has been named one of 24 global winners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025-2026 Mayors Challenge.

The city will receive $1 million, along with operational support, to scale up its plan to co-design floating parks and create new community spaces that reconnect its residents to the Pasig River.

Pasig is the only Philippine city included in the list of winners, which spans 20 countries and serves over 35 million people worldwide.

Mayor Vico Sotto said the project aims to address the lack of open and usable public spaces while promoting participatory governance.

“But more than building parks, we want to do this in a way that models participatory governance. We want Pasigueños involved, from designing and building to managing these parks, not just as visitors,” Sotto said.

He said the grant would allow the city to refine its planning processes and deepen stakeholder engagement to make development programs more sustainable.

The winning proposal evolved during the competition’s prototyping phase. Initially focused on crafting a unified parks master plan, Pasig shifted to piloting floating parks after consultations showed strong community interest and support.

Pasig was selected from more than 630 applicant cities worldwide. As a finalist last year, it received $50,000 to test and improve its concept with residents.

Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former mayor of New York City, said the challenge supports cities that are “bold, creative and proactive in solving problems and meeting residents’ needs.”