FOR THE first time since 2019, abstention received the highest votes for president in the 2025 Sanggunian General Elections, garnering 720 (25.15%) of the 2,863 valid votes cast. Ateneo Commission on Elections (COMELEC) formally confirmed the outcome after it released the final results of the General Elections on April 5, following the release of the initial results on March 31.

With 2,958 out of 9,800 undergraduate Ateneans voting, this year’s elections reached a total voter turnout of 30.18%, surpassing last year’s total voting population of 22.66% or 2,143 valid votes. The Ateneo COMELEC also noted that the turnout is the highest in 10 years.

Vacant presidential seat

While incumbent John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) representative and presidential candidate Romaine James Hubilla secured the second highest number of votes with 536 (18.72%), the Ateneo COMELEC emphasized that a candidate must garner more votes than the total number of abstentions to be officially declared the winner, in accordance to Article XIII, Section 1 of the 2024 Electoral Code.

The outcome now leads to a Special Elections, which the Ateneo COMELEC is mandated to hold, as stipulated in Article X, Section III of the said electoral-related document. The special polls is considered “a remedy to abstention” to ensure that vacancies are filled. 

During the special elections, all non-graduating undergraduate students—apart from the five candidates who lost to abstention—are eligible to run for president.

Incoming officers

Meanwhile, Jedryc Romero (2 AB POS) won the vice presidential race after garnering a total of 906 votes (31.63%). On the other hand, incumbent Sanggunian Vice President and re-electionist Iver John Delos Santos lost his bid to retain the seat, placing fourth in the race after receiving 365 (12.74%) votes. Notably, abstention received the second highest number of votes for the said position with 704 (24.58%).

Furthermore, all unopposed candidates from JGSOM, the School of Humanities (SOH), and School of Science and Engineering (SOSE) secured their respective positions.

JGSOM representative candidate Jeremy Lim (2 BS ITE) garnered a total of 428 (63.31%) out of 676 valid votes, while SOH candidate Vharon Gatchalian (2 AB PH) tallied a total of 183 (60%) out of 305 valid votes. Furthermore, SOSE representative-elect candidate Maria Francesca B. Montaña (3 BS MIS) accumulated a total of 518 (70.28%) out of 737 valid votes.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rosita G. Leong School of Social Science (RGLSOSS) candidate Giorgia Orda (2 AB MA-POS) won by a landslide, garnering a total of 629 (56.36%) votes against fellow candidate Miguel Angelo Basuel’s (3 AB POS) 96 (8.60%) votes.

With the Scholars’ Sector Representative elections concurrently conducted with this year’s general elections, sole candidate Hxyll Nozaleda Almonguera (3 BS ES) won the position with 740 (81.68%) votes out of 906 valid ballots cast by the University’s undergraduate scholars.

According to Ateneo COMELEC Chief Commissioner Kenneth Gonzales, this year’s polls marked the first time the Sanggunian General Elections and the Scholars’ Sector Representative Elections were held simultaneously.

He explained that this decision came after incumbent Scholars’ Sector Representative Barbie Ortiz proposed to include the Scholars’ Sector Representative Elections in the same period to allow the Scholars’ Sectoral Board a longer transition period.

Gonzales noted that the election for the said position was previously held in May, which typically resulted in low voter turnout as it often coincided with the moratorium and finals period.

As for the course representatives, the breakdown of the results is as follows:

For RGLSOSS, Jaya Cabagnot (2 AB Dip IR) and Guada Guzman (2 AB Dip IR) each received 45% or 36 votes, securing their respective seats as course representatives.

Meanwhile, Vernice Arocena (2 AB POS) and Nashley Reyes (2 AB POS) both won as sophomore course representatives, with Arocena having 56.25% or 54 votes and Reyes amassing 42 votes (43.75%).

Similarly, Dominic Carpio (2 AB EC-H) accumulated six (85.71%) votes, enough to claim his seat as the upcoming representative of students belonging to Carpio’s year and course. 4 AB DipIR course representative-elect Bonnie de la Paz also successfully also secured the position after receiving 68.75% or 22 votes.

Anton Ang (4 AB EC) and Xavier Tan (4 AB MEC) will also be representing their respective undergraduate programs as course representatives for the upcoming academic year. Ang garnered a total of 24 (96%) votes, while Tan accumulated 34 (97.14%) votes.

Lance Sasis (4 AB POS-MPM) completes the list of RGLSOSS course representatives, tallying a total of three (60%) votes to earn his spot as senior course representative.

Meanwhile, the JGSOM Sanggunian will have three course representatives in the next academic year after the general elections. Alyssa Gabriel (2 BS LM) and Frances Claire Lo (2 BS LM) both secured their seats for course representative after being voted to the position with 62 (50.82%) and 56 (45.90%) votes, respectively.

For junior course representative, Cath Uy (3 BS MGT-H) claimed the seat for her course with seven (87.5%) votes.

However, the course representative seat for 2 BS MGT will remain open, as abstention also won the representative position for the said year and course, with 17 (53.13%) votes, against candidate Guel Tuazon’s 15 (46.88%) votes.

For SOH, Maxine Clarice Lo (2 BFA ID) secured the course representative position with 22 (73.33%) votes. Ryly Sorbito was also elected as the next 4 BFA Information Design course representative with 17 votes (62.96%). 

Meanwhile, the seat for the 2 BFA CW course representative remains unfilled, with abstention receiving another significant majority of 25 (92.59%) votes over Clive Carigtan, who garnered two votes (7.41%).

In SOSE, Charlize Dabalos was elected as the 2 BS BIO course representative after receiving 21 (75%) out of 28 votes. Meanwhile, Ren Domingo secured the 2 BS ES seat with six votes (54.55%).

Similarly, the 3 BS HS course representatives for the upcoming school year are Jec Benter, Rey Stephen L. Chua, and Borgie Reyes, who received 35 votes (29.17%), 42 votes (35%), and 37 votes (30.83%), respectively.

Notably, the seat for the 2 BS HS course representative will remain vacant for the time being, as Angeliz Navarro received 10 votes (50%), which equaled the number of votes cast for abstention.

Strengthening campaigns

With the conclusion of the 2025 Sanggunian General Elections, Gonzales shared that this year’s highest voter turnout record was proof of the “thriving” student democracy in the University.

“This election was more than just a record-breaking moment—it was a turning point. […] The unprecedented voter turnout, the engagement of the student body, and the success of our new initiatives all signal a new era in our student democracy,” he said.

Gonzales attributed the improvement of voter turnout to the “heightened level of competition in the elections,” as evidenced by the increased number of candidates who ran for president and vice president. He also acknowledged the candidates’ strengthened onsite campaigns and the Ateneo COMELEC’s visibility efforts and marketing tools.

This year, the Ateneo COMELEC launched various initiatives to boost student engagement. Efforts included the utilization of the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) via Servire for information dissemination and the centralization of polling stations in a single high-visibility venue, which they identified to be at the Zen Garden. To incentivize the students, Ateneo COMELEC elections continued to offer free ice cream for students.

While celebrating these efforts, Gonzales also recognized the feedback about election dates overlapping with midterms, noting that student voters may have focused on academic priorities. In response, the chief commissioner said that the Ateneo COMELEC is considering shifting the next elections to April to give students a “more conducive environment” for informed voting.

Moving forward, Gonzales mentioned that the Ateneo COMELEC aims to shift their strategies to a more sustainable approach, saying that their long-term goal is to go beyond “incentive-based strategies” while cultivating participation that is driven by “genuine engagement and awareness.”