PUSO in Action: How Dir. Bobbit Castro Turned Service into Lasting Impact

PUSO stands for Purpose, Unity, Service, and Opportunity. From the very beginning, Dir. Bobbit led with this compass, one that was both deeply personal and unmistakably clear.

Community Development has always been known as the heart of JCI Manila, the space where service is felt most deeply and where leadership meets humanity. For Dir. Bobbit, stepping into the role of Director for Community Development was not about reinventing that heart. Rather, it was about honoring it and allowing it to beat stronger, steadier, and with greater intention.

What began as a campaign mantra evolved into a lived leadership philosophy. Every project, partnership, and policy flowed through this lens. Service, for Dir. Bobbit, was never just about doing “good.” It was about doing good with heart and sustaining it with intention and shared ownership.

Anchored on the legacy of past leaders, Dir. Bobbit moved forward with a clear conviction: Community Development must go beyond short-term relief. It must create pathways toward dignity, empowerment, and long-term change.

Rather than navigating the year project by project, Dir. Bobbit made an early and defining leadership decision to craft a year-long design before execution. The result was the 2025 Community Development Playbook, a comprehensive roadmap built through months of transition meetings, in-depth consultations with former directors, commissioners, and chairmen, and alignment with national bid requirements.

More than outlining projects, the playbook aligned purpose. It clarified focus areas, beneficiaries, partners, timelines, funding needs, communication strategies, and success indicators. Most importantly, it gave every Commissioner, Chairman, and Committee Member a shared direction, something greater than individual projects.

This structure proved transformative. It enabled the directorate to manage concurrent initiatives across public health, education, youth development, gender equality, inclusivity for PWD, advocacy for the elderly, and local community impact without losing clarity or soul.

Within this structure, innovation flourished. Ideas emerged organically and were supported by systems that allowed them to scale rather than fade.

With systems in place, Community Development under Dir. Bobbit’s leadership confronted some of society’s most difficult challenges with both heart and rigor.

Project SafeSteps emerged as a defining advocacy of the year. First launched in Smokey Mountain, the initiative addressed child sexual abuse and exploitation through cyber-safety education and prevention sessions. In partnership with Stairway Foundation and My Children’s House of Hope, SafeSteps created safe spaces for conversations many communities struggle to have. Following a successful gala fundraiser, the project expanded its reach, transforming from a pilot initiative into a sustained, year-long movement for child protection.

In Smokey Mountain, service took on a holistic form. The Smokey Mountain Learning Center, once an abandoned police outpost, was reborn as a space for out-of-school youth and ALS learners. In partnership with DepEd Manila, the center now provides access to education, technology, and mentoring. Complemented by sports programs, youth leadership initiatives, and health interventions, the community was supported not through isolated acts, but through an ecosystem of opportunity.

Health advocacy reached new depth with KANser: Laban Para sa Buhay, a comprehensive cancer intervention program anchored on Knowledge, Action, and Nurture. Through awareness symposiums, medical screenings for over over 500 individuals, 28 life-saving surgeries, and chemotherapy support for pediatric patients, the program did more than treat illness. It restored hope. Its impact resonated far beyond communities, earning national recognition as Best of the Best – Most Outstanding Local Project during the 2026 JCI Philippines National Convention.

Dignity and livelihood came to life through Gupit at Pangarap, where residents of Hospicio de San Jose were trained, certified, and equipped to run a fully functioning barbershop. What began as a skills-training initiative became a symbol of restored confidence, proving that livelihood is not just about income, but about identity and purpose.

Inclusivity for PWD found its voice through Tinig 2.0, an assistive communication application designed for individuals with cerebral palsy and speech or motor impairments. Beyond technology, the project brought awareness into public spaces, reminding communities that inclusion begins when everyone is heard.

Behind the scale of Community Development was a disciplined operational rhythm. Dir. Bobbit introduced a structured weekly cycle with clear checkpoints, alignment days, scheduled turnovers, and protected rest periods. The result was predictability without rigidity and accountability without burnout.

Yet systems alone do not build movements. People do.

Dir. Bobbit intentionally challenged the long-held perception that Community Development was only for aspiring members or a “rite of passage.” Under his leadership, regular members stepped forward as project chairmen, bringing

experience, confidence, and renewed energy. This shift expanded ownership and cultivated a new generation of leaders who discovered their voice through service.

Standards were simple but non-negotiable: clear agenda, concise presentations, complete documentation, and public recognition. For Dir. Bobbit, acknowledgment was never ceremonial. It was transformational. Empowerment, he believed, begins when people are seen, trusted, and celebrated.

Under his steady and heart-led leadership, Community Development delivered a banner year marked by depth of impact and disciplined execution. The directorate closed the year with five Temiong Awards and one Sinagtala Award. Yet beyond the accolades, the impact of the directorate, and of its director, was felt in every corner of the chapter: in communities transformed, in members empowered, and in leaders shaped through service.

As the year closed, Community Development stood not merely on completed projects, but on something deeper: lives changed, systems strengthened, and communities transformed.

For Dir. Bobbit, this is leadership in Community Development.

Service guided by heart.

Impact sustained by structure.

People empowered to lead.

It is a legacy measured not by awards or recognition alone, but by stronger communities, more confident leaders, and a chapter that continues to give its puso where it matters most.