Candidates running for senator in the upcoming national elections on May 12 presented their platforms and answered questions during the 2025 UPLB Senatorial Forum, held at the SU Ampitheater on May 5, 2025.

Senatorial candidates Jerome Adonis, Alyn Andamo, Arlene Brosas, Ronnel Arambulo, Teddy Casiño, France Castro, Mody Floranda, Mimi Doringo, Amirah Lidasan, and Danilo Ramos of Makabayan Bloc, as well as David D’Angelo from the Bunyog political party, joined the forum.

The forum opened with each candidate briefly introducing themselves and their core advocacies before proceeding to a thematic roundtable discussion (RTD). 

Each candidate was given 90 seconds to answer one of two randomly assigned questions based on the theme for that round. 

The first round, which focused on economy and labor rights, asked candidates whether they would support a wealth tax targeting the richest Filipinos and their position on the privatization of essential services and utilities. 

The second round of questions centered around human rights, peace, and democracy and asked the candidates’ stance on the militarization of communities and red-tagging. 

The final round revolved around climate and environmental justice. The candidates were asked how they would handle the climate crisis and the transition to sustainable energy sources, as well as their stance on widespread reclamation, mining, and infrastructure building.

An open forum followed the thematic RTD and a youth challenge round, where the candidates fielded questions from the audience and answered challenges and questions from the youth. The forum ended with each candidate giving their closing statements.

The 2025 UPLB Senatorial Forum is organized by UPVote, a non-partisan initiative of the UPLB University Student Council, the UPLB Perspective, and the All UP Academic Employees Union-Los Baños, to increase student participation in elections. (Albert Geoffred B. Peralta)