How this ‘nobody’ from Pasig defeated a beauty queen for city councilor

MANILA, Philippines – Riding on its members’ track record and, inarguably, Mayor Vico Sotto’s credibility, his slate Giting ng Pasig won a sweep in the local election. Even Paul Senogat, who may be considered the runt of the litter among its councilor bets, defeated better-known, better-resourced candidates, including a Miss Universe runner-up.

Senogat’s victory was, for Sotto, the most remarkable.

“Senogat is not a popular family name. Very small family. No political experience. Not wealthy. Pero ito, nanalo po siya (But look, he won). That’s a first for Pasig,” Sotto told Rappler.

Senogat, the 37-year-old son of a humble electronics repairman, began his career as a Political Science teacher at the Rizal Technological University. Moved by a love for societal development, he left his teaching job to become a full-time lay missionary to help young people discover and hone their potential.

When marriage required a more stable income, he joined a private company as a life coach. That’s how he came to be called “Coach Paul.” 

When Sotto ended the Eusebio clan’s 27-year rule in Pasig in 2019, it dawned on Senogat that the old power’s padrino — patronage — system prevented young Pasigueños from participating in local governance.

“Narealize namin, ito ‘yung panahon para maging mas progressive and aggressive ‘yung kabataan,” Senogat told Rappler. “Sa [Eusebio] dynasty kasi, ‘yun ‘yung isa sa mga nawala: natatanggalan ng pagkakataon ‘yung mga kabataan to lead kasi masyadong controlled lahat ng bagay.”

(We realized, this is the time for the youth to become more progressive and aggressive. Under the [Eusebio] dynasty, that was one of the things that disappeared: young people were deprived of the opportunity to lead because everything was too tightly controlled.)

And so Senogat helped initiate a local movement to get Pasig’s youth more involved in the city’s affairs. He co-founded Kabataang Tambuli ng Pasig, a youth-led organization that advocates for good governance, and which became instrumental in the reconvening of Pasig’s Local Youth Development Council after the pandemic.

Senogat believes his work with the youth caught Sotto’s eye and led to his inclusion in the Giting slate in the 2022 elections. He’d only had a few, fleeting encounters with Sotto before then.

“Going by what he said, it seems he looked for people with a good track record. Not perfect. I am definitely not perfect,” Senogat said in Filipino. “But he was particular about youth involvement, about the participation of young people.”

It was a match. Senogat was a fan of a major facet of Sotto’s administration: participatory governance. Although he lost in the 2022 polls, Senogat worked in parallel with the local government to develop what is now Pasig’s Civil Society Organization (CSO) Academy.

This CSO Academy is partially supported but not controlled by the local government and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. It trains CSOs from different sectors in leadership, management, politics and governance, and other subjects relevant to participatory governance — for free.

Senogat regularly donates a part of his earnings from life coaching to the academy, whose top goals include weaning civil society off of dependence on dole-outs from politicians.

“Nasanay ‘yung mga civil society natin sa dole-out. Na ‘pag malakas ka sa mayor, ikaw ‘yung makakatanggap ng mga dole-out na tulong…o mas madali ka makapag-request. Ito ‘yung kultura na gusto nating ayusin,” he said.

(Our civil society has gotten used to dole-outs. If you’re close to the mayor, you’re the first to get the dole-outs or your requests get prioritized. This is the culture we want to fix.)

A clear message

Senogat has none of the advantages of belonging to a political clan. His campaign headquarters is an unassuming shack just steps away from his father’s workshop, which itself is a humble affair.

And yet he got over 30,000 more votes than Shamcey Supsup-Lee, the beauty queen and architect who initially ran under the slate of Sotto’s opponent, construction magnate Sarah Discaya, but went independent mid-campaign.

Senogat ranked sixth among 15 candidates for councilor of Pasig’s second local district (the city comprises a single congressional district) — the last winning slot. Lee came in seventh.

How did a relative unknown manage such a coup?

“Of course, malaking factor talaga ’yung endorsement ni Mayor Vico. Hindi natin maitatanggi na rock star ang ating mayor. Pero at the same time, ‘yung sipag din. Mas data-driven ‘yung aming approach, at doon talaga, tao-tao. Sinipagan ko ‘yung pakikipag-usap sa tao,” Senogat said.

(Of course, Mayor Vico’s endorsement was a huge factor. We can’t deny that our mayor is a rock star. But at the same time, it was also the diligence. Our approach was more data-driven, and really, going to the people. I doubled down on speaking with the people.)

Senogat attributes his victory largely to Sotto’s strong pitch among Pasigueños to vote straight for Giting. The slate doggedly went around Pasig’s neighborhoods, explaining that only a straight win could guarantee the longevity of Sotto-led reforms and good governance against opponents who would have the city regress to the patronage system of the Eusebio era.

“‘Pag bumababa ka, bukambibig ng tao ‘yung good governance, down to the grassroots. Marahil hindi nila ito mai-explain nang technical, pero alam nila ang mabuting pag-gogobyerno — basta hindi korap, hindi nagnanakaw, tama ang direksiyon,” he said.

(When you go down [to the neighborhoods], you’ll hear people talking about good governance, down to the grassroots. They probably won’t be able to explain this in technical terms, but they know good governance — one that’s not corrupt, doesn’t steal, the direction is right.)

“I think Giting ng Pasig made its message clear.”

Giting’s campaign stuck to its ideals: no black ops, no online trolling, no vote-buying, no dirty tactics. The slate, including Senogat, got a boost from volunteers, including some young people he had worked with in the organizations he helped lead.

He also received support from the Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party, of which he is a member.

As a product of the public school system, Senogat said he is looking to further expand and improve on the city’s programs for education, especially for college students. He plans to legislate ordinances anchored on education, good governance, and social justice.

“I want to make sure that the transparent, participatory, and accountable government will be, if not irreversible, then at least to last a long time here in Pasig.” – Rappler.com

Andrei Rosario is an intern at Rappler. She is on her third year studying political science at the De La Salle University in Manila.