I use HTML::Template exclusively for my templating and works well when populating a pull-down, using its looping function. Be advised, that the loop requires a referenced AoH to work properly. Also, the <tmpl_var xxx> you use in the HTML must match the key names in your hash.

Perl:

use HTML::Template;

...DBI connect, etc. ...
my $stmt = "SELECT id, name FROM sometable";
$sth = $dbh->prepare($stmt);
$sth->execute();
my $options = $sth->fetchall_arrayref({});

$template = HTML::Template->new(filename => 'form.tmpl')
$template -> param(pulldown => $options);
print $template->output();    

HTML:

<select name="names">
   <option value="">Select...</option>
   <tmpl_loop pulldown>
      <option value="<tmpl)_var id>"><tmpl_var name></option>  
   </tmpl_loop>
</select>
[download]

Enjoy.

UPDATE: fixed a couple of typos.