MANILA, Philippines — ACT Partylist Rep. Francisca "France" Castro said she would run for senator in the 2025 elections under the Makabayan coalition.

Castro announced her plans at the 42nd anniversary event of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers at the University of the Philippines on Wednesday night after receiving an open letter from retired teachers who pushed Castro to run for higher office instead of being considered as Education secretary.

"We see you in the halls of the Senate. We need to increase the level of involvement in our electoral system by bringing a teacher as a senator. It's time for us to have the first-ever classroom teacher who became a senator," Solita Daz, a retired teacher and a former president of the Manila Public School Teachers Association, said in their open letter to Castro.

Castro said that this was a "big challenge" for her, noting that she will bring "real change" to the Senate.

"This is a big challenge. We need to push for real change that's why we need to push for a nationalistic alternative who will run for the Senate, so I am accepting the challenge of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers and our countrymen," Castro said in Filipino.

Castro is in her final term as ACT Teachers Partylist representative.