Mariano was born and raised in a small town called San Isidro, in the northern province of the Philippines. With this, he had witnessed firsthand the struggles of students in rural areas: lack of facilities, outdated books, and unstable income of parents. In response, in 2015, he initiated the 88 Movement: Paying it Forward, a social venture that sells advocacy shirts and university apparels to ra
ise funds to renovate a dilapidating day care center in his hometown. Aside from renovating and providing the school with learning material tools, he also engaged the parents by providing them with livelihood trainings and initial equipment to provide them with additional source of income. In exchange, part of their profit was used for studentsโ lunches and school maintenance. Guill believes that in order to serve the community better, one has to acquire necessary technical skills. He finished his Masters in Southeast Asian Studies with special interest on Cultural Policy Studies from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. And Bachelor of Arts degree in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs as Cum Laude from De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde. He also served as a Junior Program Office at the ASEAN University Network where he managed student mobility and youth related programs in ASEAN for almost three years. Then he served in the academe as a college instructor at the Benilde School of Diplomacy and Governance. In 2017, he became a World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Learners' Voice Fellow that worked on initiative that bridges the cultural gap between host communities and refugees. He is also a fellow of the Young Leaders for Good Governance 5, a program initiated by the Jesse M. Currently, he is serving as an elected Municipal Councilor for 2022-2025 chairing four important committees in his beloved hometown, San Isidro, Isabela.