MARIA ANGELYKA AMBROCIO has been elected External Vice President (EVP) of the Liderato kan Nueva Atenista (Lideratos), securing 418 votes against 185 abstentions in Special Elections held online from 12:00 p.m. on 6 August to 11:59 p.m. on 7 August.
Ambrocio, the sole qualified candidate for the post, received 69.3 percent of the 603 votes cast, while 30.7 percent abstained.
Her election concludes a Special Elections process that extended nearly two months beyond its original schedule, following two extensions of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) filing period and two postponements of the Miting de Avance (MDA).
Uncontested race, remaining vacancies
Ambrocio’s victory fills only one of several vacancies left after the Lideratos General Elections earlier this year, which the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) declared a failure of elections for the positions of Internal Vice President, Secretary, Public Information Officer, Treasurer, and Representatives across all colleges.
Only the EVP position drew a qualified candidate during the Special Elections.
The remaining vacancies will not be subjected to another student-wide vote. Instead, they will be filled through the Commission on Appointments (COA), pursuant to Article IX, Section 3 of the Omnibus Election Code.
The provision allows vacant positions to be filled through appointment when a special election cannot be held because of a lack of candidates or force majeure. It also bars candidates disqualified under Section 1 of the same article from being appointed to positions for which they had previously filed candidacy.
A shifting election calendar
The Special Elections schedule underwent several revisions before students finally cast their ballots.
COMELEC initially extended the filing period for COCs from its original three-day window to 3 June through Memorandum 2025-2026-036. A second extension, issued under Memorandum 2025-2026-037, moved the deadline further to 30 June.
COMELEC said the extensions were intended to encourage greater participation in the LNA’s democratic processes and provide interested candidates additional time to prepare.
After Ambrocio’s candidacy was confirmed, COMELEC issued Memorandum 2025-2026-038 on 2 July, setting the campaign period for 5 to 11 July, the online MDA for 12 July, and online voting for 13 to 14 July. The Commission on Appointments process was initially scheduled to begin on 15 July.
The commission said the timetable was calibrated to the university’s academic calendar, with the goal of completing the student government ahead of the University Intramurals in September.
That schedule, however, was revised twice.
On 11 July, a day before the originally scheduled MDA, COMELEC postponed the event to 14 July through Memorandum 2025-2026-039.
The MDA was postponed for a second time nearly three weeks later. Under Memorandum 2026-2027-041, dated 3 August, COMELEC moved the event to 5 August and consequently rescheduled voting to 6 and 7 August.
The Commission cited internal arrangements and constitutional realignment from the Student Tribunal, as well as constitutional concerns involving the voter population and the absence of a formal academic semester at the time.
Results
Voting closed at 11:59 PM on 7 August, with 603 students casting ballots.
Of the total votes, 418, or 69.3 percent, were cast in favor of Ambrocio’s election as EVP, while 185, or 30.7 percent, were recorded as abstentions.
With the EVP position now filled through election, the remaining vacant executive and legislative positions are set to undergo the Commission on Appointments process.
