Candidates for the UP Diliman (UPD) University Student Council (USC) put themselves on the hot seat in UPFront: The official Miting de Avance and USC Elections Forum of UPD (UPFront 2024).

All 14 official USC candidates were present for the event, composed of the 13 independents and councilor candidate Jael Gonzales who is running under the banner of UP Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran.

The USC candidates were Erwin Ace Medina running for chairperson, Charles Justin Shi running for vice chairperson, Samuel Jaime Acabado, Mc Rayson Bautista, Angelito “Gel” Bergonio, Juan Lucas Buenaflor, Charles Jeric Jabson, Kenneth Angelo Noguera, Justine Yuki Ocate, Tristan Matthew Rodrigo, Agape Jared Sombrero, Chris Edward Torres, Jannaika Joviamei Vergara, and Gonzales.

UPFront 2024 began with one-minute introductory speeches from the candidates, followed by a “fast talk” segment where they all had to answer pre-prepared questions with one of only four answers: yes, no, qualified yes, and qualified no.

This was followed by two rapid-fire rounds called punto de vista and open forum, where candidates individually answered questions submitted by the voting public through a Google form. The concluding segment was a live question-and-answer segment where the candidates fielded questions from the live audience.

The topics discussed ranged from the public utility vehicle modernization program, reduction of single-use plastics among campus food vendors, to questions about the handling of finances of the annual UP Fair.

The Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP continues to be unrepresented. According to a Philippine Collegian article titled “STAND UP Rebuilds Internal Process for Handling Sexual Harassment Amid Alliance Strife” by Vyan David Abella, it is now “still working on fixing the mistakes that warranted this distrust from its constituents in the first place, especially as more individuals criticize youth activist organizations for having similar deficiencies in handling AHR [abuse, harassment, or rape] cases.” UPFront 2024, held on May 29 at the UPD School of Economics Auditorium, was organized by the student organization, UP Economics Society.