See the Colleges That Abstained and Swung the 2026 UP Diliman Polls

While technically distinct from last year’s Laban Kabataan coalition, the victorious Sulong Tayo coalition has claimed some descendance from the incumbent USC, full of officials who ran under the Laban Kabataan slate. Both coalitions are also formed by mostly the same mass organizations.

It must be noted that Laban Kabataan vice chairperson candidate Darlene Cerico was missing for most of the 2025 campaign, which along with blue bet Chloe Antonio’s strong candidacy may have contributed to ALYANSA’s competitiveness at the time. 

But even looking at the chairperson race, Sulong Tayo won across the board, save for Law and DEPPO—where abstentions reigned, and in Music and CBA, where ALYANSA chairperson candidate Therese Mangussad won by slim margins.

Councilor results also show that traditional bailiwicks and swing colleges are no more. The coalition has solidified its hold over most of Diliman, although ALYANSA survives in pockets—specifically in the colleges of Arts and Letters, Business Administration, and Music.

Abstention rates were high in both DEPPO and AIT, units outside the campus mainland, and the College of Law, which has historically voted abstain for university-wide standard bearer posts. While Diliman’s overall abstention rate has dropped by 15.7 percentage points, the three units have recorded more modest drops.

Plotting each college based on abstention and turnout rates shows a possible classification of voters. High turnout and high abstention colleges, such as Law and DEPPO, indicate that students are highly engaged but willingly abstain from USC-level races. Low turnout, low abstention colleges such as CHK, Music, and Eduk could show low voter enthusiasm among their students.