UFest ’26 Closes with Shared Event Wins, ACC Named Overall Champion

The Accountancy (ACC) cluster was crowned overall champion of KISLAP: The Ateneo UFest 2026 on 16 October 2026. The three-day festival of competition, performance, and celebration ended without any single cluster sweeping the events.

The Social Sciences (SS) cluster placed first runner-up overall, followed by the School of Nursing (SON) as second runner-up. ACC received the Fortes in Fide trophy, the festival’s champion’s trophy.

Held annually under a different theme, UFest celebrates the talents, wit, and creativity of the Ateneo student body. This year’s theme, KISLAP, takes its name from the Filipino word for a spark. Guided by the tagline “Lighting Up The Blue Skies,” the festival honored the brilliance within every Atenean, whether on the stage, on the court, in classrooms, behind production booths, or within organizing teams.

Day 1: A parade, a dance floor, and a night of live music

UFest opened on 14 October 2026 with the Grand Parade, as the university’s nine clusters marched to Martin Hall in their colors. The parade was organized by the Samahan ng mga Mag-aaral ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Davao (SAMAHAN) and the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo – Davao (COA-D).

The opening ceremony at Martin Hall began with Hiyawan, a non-competitive cluster cheer-off in which clusters bring their spirit to the floor. The School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) was recognized as the liveliest cluster. The banner-raising for each cluster followed, putting the entries of Bandera, the banner-making competition, on display. The Business and Management (B&M) Vipers took Bandera’s counterpart on the dance floor, winning Galanté: The DanceSport Competition, a recent addition to the festival’s opening program that needs a large floor for its dancers. For this edition, Accountancy and Computer Studies (CS) pooled their dancers as the joint entry Chimera.

The night ended with Musikahan: Battle of the Bands, a ticketed showcase open to the Ateneo community, including bona fide higher education students, alumni, and Senior High School students. Seven entries performed before a cheering crowd. Humanities and Letters (HumLet), Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM), and the School of Education (SOE) joined forces as Pegasus. EA Octaves of SEA took the championship.

Lola Amour, the guest artist of Musikahan, closed the evening as the festival’s headliner. Their set drew the audience into a sing-along, turning the venue into a shared celebration of music.

Day 2: Stories on screen, stars on stage

The second day, 15 October 2026, was held at the Bapa Benny Tudtud Auditorium. The MUGNA Short Film Screening opened the day. MUGNA is the university’s short filmmaking contest, and the clusters’ entries played on the big screen. NSM won the MUGNA Short Film Awards.

The evening shifted to the Star Search Competition, a showcase of musical performance. Guest performing group KiKO: Il Poverello The Musical delivered a live rendition for the audience. The School of Nursing won this year’s Star Search.

UFest also gave clusters room to compete in the academic and creative arts. The Ignatian Cup is a debate competition traditionally organized by the Ateneo Debate Varsity to build a culture of critical thinking through debates and extemporaneous dialogue. Accountancy took this year’s title. Accountancy also won Dibuho, the graphics competition of the festival’s Creative Series, and the School of Education won Bandera.

Day 3: Honoring modern-day unsung heroes

The festival’s final day, 16 October 2026, was given to the Sayawtenista Competition and the awarding ceremony. Sayawtenista is the festival’s cluster dance competition. Its theme changes each year: the 2024 edition centered on key events in Philippine history, and the 2025 edition drew on folklore’s mythical creatures. This year, under the theme of modern-day unsung heroes, each cluster built its performance around an everyday occupation.

Accountancy portrayed miners, honoring the laborers who work beneath the surface to supply the materials society relies on. Pegasus took on jeepney drivers, paying tribute to those who carry thousands of Filipino commuters along their daily routes. SEA honored delivery riders, recognizing the workers who bring goods and food to people’s doors in all kinds of weather. Computer Studies spotlighted garbage collectors, whose early-morning work keeps neighborhoods clean and healthy.

Social Sciences depicted real-life artists, highlighting the creatives whose work gives voice to culture and community in an age of generative AI. The School of Nursing portrayed the very profession its students are training to join, honoring the frontliners who care for the sick. Business and Management paid tribute to fisherfolk, who spend long hours at sea so families can have food on their tables. The School of Nursing took the Sayawtenista championship.

The overall standings

After three days, the Accountancy cluster was declared overall champion, having won the Ignatian Cup and Dibuho, placed second in Bandera, and shared third place in Galanté as part of Chimera. The Social Sciences cluster, which reached the podium in six events without winning one, finished as first runner-up overall. The School of Nursing, champion in both Star Search and Sayawtenista, took second runner-up.

As the festival closed, UFest 2026 stood as a celebration of every spark, every story, and every Atenean, lighting up the blue skies.

Summary of results