In a rare gesture, hundreds of UP Diliman student council alumni back the Leni-Kiko tandem
Due to the rivalries of political parties, student council elections in the University of the Philippines - Diliman tend to become heated.

But, in a rare gesture, more than 1,000 former members of the different student councils came together and found common ground: to endorse Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan in their bids for top government positions in government.
“We come from different generations and political affiliations, yet we now stand united because we are bound by a movement born and shaped by our continuing struggle for justice and democracy,” the alumni said.
The statement of support, posted on Facebook on Thursday, April 28, included the signatories coming from different generations of UP student leaders --- either affiliated with political parties or independents.
These also include alumni who served in the student council as far back as the 1950s up to the 2020s.
UP Diliman is known to be a bastion of activism and free speech. Its students were always at the forefront in the fighting against Martial Law and the Marcos dictatorship.
Both Robredo and Pangilinan are UP alumni. Robredo is from the School of Economics while Pangilinan is from the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Law who “both exemplify this common creed of Iskolars ng Bayan.”
“In our fight against injustice and incompetence in public service, we need President Robredo and Vice President Pangilinan at the helm,” the alumni said.
Meanwhile, the UP student council alumni also called on their fellow “Iskolars ng Bayan” to actively campaign for Robredo and Pangilinan and share the values of democracy and human rights.
They also asked the UP community to wear pink to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) game of the UP Fighting Maroons men's basketball team on May 1.