The world’s first ever all-female commuter dance crew who penned and sang their own online hit single, “Papa Pasada” says the song came from the frustrations they felt as commuters living under the pandemic.

Through their song and their signature drive, Pasada hopes for government to listen and propose solutions to their daily struggle as commuters.

Christened “Pasada Babes”, the five-member group is being led by MC Shantey, a female dancer cum rapper. Together with her co-dancer, MC Shantey thought of a song that would express their deepest sentiments on the daily plight of commuters and transport workers.

“We are magkakabarkada who are also all performers. We formed 'Pasada Babes' last year as our outlet, our expression of our deepest experiences in life as commuters. Now is the time for the world to know that commuters and transport workers need attention from the government,” says MC Shante “Tey” Bigas, the lead singer of the group.

All of these girls started dancing in the streets, practiced their vocals by competing in singing contests in schools and began rapping as a way of releasing or venting their frustrations about their society.

After suffering from the restrictions imposed by the government due to the pandemic, these five friends had a conversation and began writing songs to express their experiences as commuters.

Their first online hit single, “Papa Pasada” is a song dedicated to transport workers and commuters, the social sectors that suffered the most due to government restrictions on mobility. The song is now being distributed by Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and 30 other international song channels on the internet.

To further bolster their goal of popularizing commuter issues, "Pasada Babes" partnered with Pasada CC, a non-governmental organization that seeks to improve the social conditions of commuters and transport workers in the Philippines.

“The 5,000 strong members of Pasada CC join the 'Pasada Babes' in the collective quest for all Filipino commuters and transport workers to join hands and express our experiences with government. Through our collective voices, we at Pasada CC believes that this will all the more amplify the need for government to create solutions, like building more commuter-friendly infrastructure, solve the colorum problem and improve policymaking by allowing sectoral and private stakeholders a seat in regulatory agencies managing commuter and transport issues. Together, we form the strongest alliance to achieve one goal—change the prevailing social conditions that make life hard for commuters and transport workers,” says Dom Chad Hernandez, the Secretary General of Pasada CC.

Beginning Feb. 1, "Pasada Babes" will tour the country through the Pasada Signature drive that aims for 150,000 signatures from commuters and transport workers. These signatures, together with a manifesto/statement, will be presented to the government come May 1, 2022.