Everyday Legitimacy in Reformist Governance: Trust Cultures and the Relational Politics of Authority in Pasig City

Karl Patrick R. Mendoza; Nathan Mishael O.  Go; Emy Ruth D. Gianan; Brayan Paul Buten; Ralph Federick D. Patag

doi:10.14764/10.ASEAS-0148

Authors

Karl Patrick R. Mendoza Polytechnic University of the Philippines https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5362-0850
Nathan Mishael O. Go University of the Philippines https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9250-0191
Emy Ruth D. Gianan Polytechnic University of the Philippines https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5018-5045
Brayan Paul Buten Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Ralph Federick D. Patag Polytechnic University of the Philippines

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0148

Keywords:

Everyday Legitimacy, Trust Cultures, Relational Governance, Reformist Politics, Philippines

Abstract

This article examines how political legitimacy is constructed and negotiated in everyday governance by advancing a relational and interpretive framework grounded in trust cultures. Moving beyond institutional and cultural accounts that treat legitimacy as an outcome of performance or predisposition, the study reconceptualizes legitimacy as an ongoing accomplishment shaped through citizens’ encounters with authority under conditions of uncertainty. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 16 residents of Barangay Pinagbuhatan in Pasig City under the reformist mayoralty of Vico Sotto, this analysis identifies three interrelated dynamics – relational presence, conditionality, and hybridity – through which legitimacy is enacted in practice. These dynamics demonstrate how governance becomes perceptible, normatively evaluated, and practically navigated across embodied, mediated, and infrastructural forms. The findings show that legitimacy does not follow automatically from reforms but depends on how institutional practices are interpreted in relation to historically embedded expectations about fairness, responsiveness, and accessibility. By introducing trust cultures as a mediating mechanism, the article offers a meso-level account of how legitimacy is continuously produced, differentiated across institutional levels, and recalibrated through everyday interpretive work

Author Biographies

Karl Patrick R. Mendoza, Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Karl Patrick R. Mendoza is an Associate Professor of Communication Research at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and a Surin Pitsuwan Visiting Fellow at the Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University. His research examines trust, legitimacy, and democratic life in the Global South, with particular attention to how publics navigate institutional fragility, governance controversies, and political uncertainty. He is the author of Navigating Trust, Journalism and Health in the Age of Populism (Taylor & Francis, 2025) and has developed concepts including trust cultures, relational legitimacy, and scandal constructivation.

Nathan Mishael O. Go, University of the Philippines

Nathan Mishael O. Go is a former Assistant Professor and Chair of the Political Science Program at the University of the Philippines Manila. His teaching and research interests include deliberative democracy, Philippine politics, and political sociology. He has presented papers in national and international conferences, contributing to debates on participatory politics and democratic practices in the Philippines

Emy Ruth D. Gianan , Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Emy Ruth D. Gianan is an Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, where she teaches public policy, governance, and development economics. Her research examines disinformation, democracy, and digital communication in Southeast Asia. She also serves as Director of the PUP Communication Management Office, overseeing digital communication strategies and partnerships.

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