Photo courtesy of Sophia Pacheco | The LANCE
The Miting de Avance (MDA) for the upcoming Letran Student Council Elections (LSCE) 2026 was held on Monday, Apr. 13, at St. Thomas Hall, with candidates, students, and administrations present. The event was also livestreamed on the commission’s official Facebook page, to formally present the candidates’ platforms and engage with the student body ahead of the official voting period.
Isabella Sarmiento, Chairperson of The Letran Commission on Elections (COMELEC), gave an opening remark to begin the program, emphasizing the importance of informed voting and encouraged students to critically assess each candidate’s vision and plans.
“Every academic year comes with a new set of challenges. Thus we must be able to uniquely adapt and lead the way for the student body. Para sa ating mga botante, ito na po ang pagkakataon ninyo upang kilatisin ang ating mga kandidato,” Sarmiento said.
Two coalitions presented their platforms, highlighting their respective leadership approaches and priorities.
Coalition 1 is composed of Christine Joy Gaspang for Secretary, Rinoa Leigh Ann Lamadrid for Vice President, and Jed Frederico Acosta for President.
While coalition 2 includes Cassandra Jane Janas for Secretary, Raine Ashley Ranjo for Vice President and Ralf Justin Jamias for President.
Each slate addressed key concerns such as student representation, transparency and campus wide initiatives.
Jamias, a presidential candidate, highlighted the need for improved student representation and transparency within the council.
“Being a student leader myself, I’ve witnessed that there are rooms for improvement when it comes to student representation, communication of the students towards the student council, leadership development, and of course transparency.”
Meanwhile, fellow presidential candidate Acosta underscored his legislative priorities, particularly the creation of a formal framework to institutionalize student rights and welfare.
“Kaya naman ang main priority, legislative agenda na gusto kong isulong if re-elected is to call for the creation of the constitution to the collegiate students. Dito natin ilalagay lahat ng makabagong processes about students’ rights and welfare para sa bawat Letranista.”
Candidates running for senatorial positions from various academic programs including Legal Management, Psychology, Information Technology, Marketing Management, and Engineering, highlighted platforms centered on student welfare, inclusivity, and academic excellence.
Jasmine Jade Sy, a second-year Marketing Management student, proposed platforms such as “On-ground Marketing Experience and Linkup: The Marketing Network.”
Representing the Engineering program, first-year Veronica V. Flores proposed platforms including “Introduce and Expose Future Engineers,” “Break it fast! Millions of paper reduces,” and “The Reverse Engineered Networking: Meet the Engineers.”
For Information Technology, Eahn Phillip Zurbito presented platforms such as “Tech-forward: The ‘future-ready’ approach,” “Code & Circuit: The Practical Lab,” “Front-end: The Talent Interface,” and “Project: SYNC.”
Whereas, Jalwin Villaflor, a first-year Legal Management student, laid out his “Core Platform Pillars: Representation, Participation, and Impetus.”
Sophia Isabel Tagab for Psychology also proposed platforms including “Tuklas Sikolohista,” “Kapsyma 4.0,” “Psychconnect Program,” “Project Sinag: Tanglaw ng bawat Sikolohista,” and “Balik Kultura sa Diwang Sikolohista: Sinag Hub.”
Following the platform presentations, candidates participated in a question-and-answer segment with panelists, where institutional concerns were raised to assess their readiness and responsiveness.
A fast-talk segment on social issues was also newly introduced in this year’s MDA, prompting candidates to raise a thumbs up if they agree and a thumbs down if they disagree.
During the segment, candidates showed divided responses on selected issues, highlighting differing stances among the slates.
This was followed by an open discussion, allowing student attendees to directly raise their concerns and questions.
One student asked the senatorial candidates what strategies they would implement to increase student participation in surveys, consultations, and feedback mechanisms.
Flores, an Engineering senatorial candidate, responded by emphasizing the importance of accessibility in scheduling activities.
“We don’t just ask for their time, but we create a time for them. So parang instead of just asking kung kailan sila available, instead, kailan sila pwede available lahat na applicable na pwedeng i-held ‘yung event,”
As for Information Technology senatorial candidate Zurbito, the importance of both listening and action was highlighted. “I believe that every opinion in here deserves to be heard, to be listened to. Pero hindi lang puro listen and puro pakikinig, but also to take action.”
Meanwhile, Legal Management senatorial candidate Villaflor, also shared that he plans to integrate his platform through the establishment of a Legal Management Circle, where students can engage in discussions and consultations.
Similarly, Psychology senatorial candidate Tagab introduced “Project Sinag: Tanglaw ng bawat Sikolohista,” which aims to provide monthly consultations for students.
The event concluded with the presentation of election guidelines for the upcoming onsite voting on April 15-16. However, due to the three-day transport strike organized by Manibela, scheduled from Apr. 15-17, the onsite voting is cancelled until further announcement as per the Letran COMELEC’s advisory.