The City of Pasig was awarded USD 1 million as a winner of the The Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge to create floating parks, which will transform underused rivers into green spaces.
The project, named “Hope Floats,” aims to restore the Pasig River’s historical and cultural significance to the city. To do this, it will utilize Metro Manila’s central river network to create open spaces for community engagement.
The iconic Pasig River connects several cities such as Pasig, Makati, Mandaluyong, and Manila. Historically, it acts as a major hub for trade, flood management, and alternative transportation through the Pasig River Ferry Service.
Placing in The Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge
The Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge is a global initiative that awards local municipalities for breakthrough ideas. Proposals are expected to address essential issues like housing, waste, transportation, and more. Each year, it selects the most promising prototypes developed by cities from around the world.
Beyond financial aid, Pasig City Office will also receive expert guidance and additional funding to “hire dedicated staff for the co-design of floating parks with the help of Pasig residents.”
Aparna Ramanan, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge, highlighted the concept’s environmental impact, founded on people-centric ideas. Ramanan told Manila Times, “By turning flood-prone waterways into floating parks, the city’s Mayors Challenge-winning program will, yes, reduce river overflow, but also create public spaces shaped by the people who live beside them.”
“From over 630 entries, Pasig City was selected as one of 50 finalists that received technical assistance and a USD 50,000 grant to prototype its innovative idea. The lessons learned from the prototyping stage were used to finalize the proposal, which was submitted in the last quarter of 2025,” Pasig City stated.
This innovative solution secured a place among the 24 winning cities worldwide. The winners, Bloomberg Philanthropies states, were chosen for their novelty, potential impact, and strength of implementation plans.
Modeling ‘participatory governance’
Ramanan attributed Pasig’s win to its community-driven proposal. In fact, the final concept was preceded by a series of consultations with community members. Most especially, residents of the four barangays near the prototyping area along Pasig River. These sessions were joined by representatives from the national government, non-government organizations, and the private sector.
Ahead of the final proposal, the local government held a day-long engagement in September 2025 to test the floating park. True to its people-driven approach, Pasig City made a community event out of it with free bike lessons, fishing competitions, face painting, and more.
The Prototyping Day was instrumental in shaping the proposal with feedback from residents on design, safety, and other facilities.
“But more than building new or floating parks, we want to do this in a way that models participatory governance. We want Pasigueños to be involved—from designing, building, and managing or operating these parks, and not just mere visitors of the parks,” Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said.
