“Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not.”
Access to tertiary education remains a challenge in the Philippines. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH), only 28.6% (466,243) of the population had reached or completed the post-secondary level. A 2023 study conducted by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies attributed the less-than-ideal conditions, in part, to insufficient education financing. Recent state-sponsored initiatives such as the 2024 General Appropriations Act have sought to remedy this deficit, as has the work of many large private foundations throughout the years.
Less talked about is the impact of smaller non-profits, which by necessity have to become rather skilled at leveraging their comparatively limited resources. But like David and his slingshot, small but effective campaigns can help bring down a problem of gigantic proportions. Since its founding in 2018, the Coalition of American University Student Experiences (CAUSE) Philippines has done just that.
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CAUSE Philippines was co-founded by Philippe Bungabong, Rafael Santiago, and Janelle Perez—three students who received college scholarships to study in the United States in 2018. All three had been lifelong scholars. Bungabong and Santiago were classmates at Philippine Science High School and Perez a scholar at International School Manila. They would eventually go on to Wesleyan University, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and Dartmouth College, respectively. In the summer of 2018, before departing for the next stage of their lives, they decided that the remarkable gift they each had been given should be granted to as many Filipinos as possible. They believed, and still do, that “talent is everywhere but opportunity is not, and that everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, deserves the highest quality of education.”
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Entirely volunteer-run with no full-time professional staff, CAUSE Philippines has helped over 100 students win US$38.2 million (PHP2.24 billion) worth of scholarships as of 2024, with US$7.9 million for the 2023-2024 school year alone. Equally impressive is where CAUSE alumni end up. Princeton University has admitted the most CAUSE scholars, with five full-rides since its founding six years ago. Admissions have also included institutions such as Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It focuses on students from low-income backgrounds and goes to great lengths to engage those outside Metro Manila.
CAUSE Philippines’ flagship project is a mentorship program that carefully matches high school students with mentors who are current students or alumni of target universities. The relationship is hands-on, with mentors as devoted as their mentees are driven. They play a crucial role in helping students navigate complex international applications from both a logistical and strategic standpoint. This is especially invaluable for those whose secondary schools are not equipped with a dedicated college counselor.
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In many cases, the over 150 mentors are themselves former mentees. Like the CAUSE Philippines founders, they are thankful for the opportunities accorded to them and wish to give back. Marcus Pranga (Vanderbilt University ’26), a CAUSE mentee-turned-mentor, remarks that “When I was a high school student in Iloilo, I had no idea how to navigate the process of applying to colleges abroad. CAUSE Philippines provided me with the mentorship and support I needed, and it made all the difference. My mentors not only acted as a guide but also as a friend that I can converse with or share my concerns every time I faced a daunting task during college applications…Now, I want to give back by becoming a mentor myself. I know firsthand how overwhelming and confusing the college application process can be, especially for students from provinces with limited resources.”
Another, Erika Salvador (Amherst College ’28), writes, “I’ve had conversations with my friends in our mentee batch, and we unanimously agreed that without the mentorship provided by CAUSE, we wouldn’t have achieved the acceptances and scholarships to universities that we did. It’s hard to imagine going through this process alone without the support of workshops and mentors to seek advice from and review my materials. Through CAUSE, I hope to give back and pay it forward by streamlining the college application process and ensuring that everyone has an equal fighting opportunity to gain a global education.”
One might view CAUSE Philippines’ institutional ethos as one iteration of the grassroots mutual aid praxis that has grown increasingly relevant in recent years. In many cases, mutual aid initiatives have often emerged as a supplement to public and large private programs. CAUSE Philippines is solidarity rather than charity, for it is horizontal. Driven neither by pretensions of noblesse oblige, nor the delusion of a Messiah complex, it is simply people helping people—scholars for scholars.
Recent cohorts of CAUSE mentees have gone on to study a wide range of programs, driven by what they hope to contribute to the Philippines in the future. Andre Perez’s (Columbia University ’26) passions lie at the intersection of “engineering and public health, with hopes of bridging healthcare disparities by building accessible and affordable biomedical devices. Currently, I’m a researcher at the Columbia Medical Center where I build microfluidic diagnostic devices aimed to be deployed in third-world countries. In the future, I aspire to go into an MD-PhD program, lead advancements in global health technologies, and, ultimately, return to the Philippines to apply these innovations where they are most needed.”
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Raymond de Guzman (Wesleyan University ’28) aims to study economics, because “Coming from a rural area, I’ve seen that the agriculture sector in the country needs an overhaul improvement. Besides personal development, the long-existing issue of crop management, sustainability, and harvest distribution of our local farmers has been my reason for pursuing education in a more resourced country.”
Reyn Bungabong’s (Harvard University ’28) interest in public policy stems from her “experiences at the Senate and other NGOs, where I have seen the promise of carefully researched and executed policies. I want to champion causes that address systemic challenges in education and employment as I dream of a Philippines where parents no longer need to leave to give their families a brighter future. By focusing on creating sustainable and impactful policies, I hope to contribute to a future where every Filipino family can achieve a brighter and more secure future right here at home.” As the proud daughter of a seaman, hers is a dream deeply rooted in personal experience.
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The CAUSE Philippines model cultivates a communitarian ethos yet affirms individual choice. As co-founder Bungabong puts it, “In an increasingly interconnected world, a global education is needed to hone leaders who are effective and equitable critical thinkers, community builders, and changemakers. It is our greatest hope that our scholars at CAUSE Philippines will come home one day with everything they’ve learned and be leaders in our country.” Here, there are no strings attached to receiving aid. No binding contract. Only a hope. Yet, as the past six years have affirmed, CAUSE alumni will choose to pay it forward anyway.
Applications to become a CAUSE mentee remain open to Filipino juniors, seniors, and gap-year students at: tinyurl.com/causeph2024
Those interested in becoming a mentor are free to visit: tinyurl.com/causementor2024
