MSU – Marawi bags 1st Dimaporo Cup prize

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AdDU’s Salisipan is Tournament Best Speaker, MSU-M’s Sacan is Public Speaking Champ

In the first Mindanao-wide tournament where debate enthusiasts were competing for the money, Mindanao State University – Marawi A (John Louie Balagot, Rashid Pandi and Abdel Sultan) won the top prize of a cool P25,000, beating Xavier University A (Zed Abantas, Lee Arvin Gogo and Gian Marlon Libot) in a unanimous but close decision in the final round of the 1st Mindanao Debate Championship – Governor Khalid Q. Dimaporo Cup in Tubod, Lanao del Norte. They opposed the motion “This house believes that Western democracies should support violent insurgencies in 3rd world dictatorships.” XU A took home the runner-up prize of P10,000.

Also getting prize money were Tournament Best Speaker Sam Salisipan of AdDU A, Public Speaking Champion Adrian Sacan of MSU-M, and Tournament Best Adjudicator Mara of MSU-IIT. They received P1,000 each. The tournament was sponsored by Gov. Mohammad Khalid Q. Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, who, at 27 years of age, is currently the youngest governor in the Philippines. This was held in accordance to his youth development programs in the province. The tournament was held on Jan. 11-13, 2008.

MSU-M A, the 4th ranked team in the prelims, and XU A, the 3rd ranked team, beat the top two breaking teams in hotly contested semifinal matches. MSU-M A beat AdDU B (David Jalotjot, Kristine Uy and Kristine Castrodes) despite the chair, Sharmila Parmanand, who was Chief Adjudicator for the tournament, dissenting in the decision, while XU A beat AdDU A (Sam Salisipan, Ria Lumapas, and Marj Lamboso) in a close, disputed split.

Deputy Chief Adjudicator Andrew Macuto of AdDU had to sit out of the semifinal round due to institutional conflict, while the other DCA, Atty. Roel Camoro of MSU-M, adjudicated the AdDU A-XU A semifinal. However, the adjudication in the tournament, especially in the break rounds was deemed below par, since top adjudicators in Mindanao did not go to the tournament, due to the perceived low cash prize for adjudicators. And since it was in the Asian Parliamentary format, conferral of decision were not allowed, so chairs could be easily overruled by relatively inexperienced adjudicators.

Other teams to make the break rounds for this tournament were quarterfinalists MSU-IIT B (Dickson Dagondon, Rei Maranda, Regine Lapida), MSU-M B (John Jay Zoleta, Adrian Sacan, Jan Feliz Marohombsar), MSU-IIT A (Ronemay Gatillo, Mark Magaro, Ara Mamon) and XU B (Rene Gandeza Jr., Rupert Musni, Lorenzven Vallar).

AdDU A produced the Top 3 Speakers of the tournament, with Salisipan, Lamboso and Lumapas going 1-2-3. Tied for 4th were Sultan of MSU-M A, Abantas of XU A and Gandeza of XU B. Two speakers were tied at 7th, Libot of XU A and Dagondon of MSU-IIT B. AdDU B’s Jalotjot and Castrodes rounded up the Top Ten, both tied at 9th.

Adonis Corre of MSU-M was the 2nd Best Adjudicator of the tournament, while Darwin Manubag of MSU-IIT rounded up the Top 3.

Despite the thin adjudication pool, the date of the tournament being delayed numerous times and the proximity of the Dimaporo Cup with the 17th MPDC resulting to several MPDU schools not participating in the tournament, the MDC was considered a preliminary success, and it has made the Mindanao debate community look forward to more money tournaments in the future. Debating, after all, is not a cheap hobby.

1st Dimaporo Cup Champions: Abdel Sultan, John Louie Balagot, and Rashid Pandi of MSU-M A

Ateneo de Zamboanga reaches Square Off Final

Hajim is final round Texter’s Choice, but Ateneo de Manila prevails

It was an All-Ateneo final that featured the best debate society in the Philippines against an upstart from Mindanao. Although Ateneo de Manila won the final and the prize of an all-expense paid trip to the 28th World Universities Debating Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, Ateneo de Zamboanga managed to turn heads by beating several nationally renowned debate societies on their way to the championship match.

Square Off: The Philippine Debate Championships, debuted its first season of competitive debating on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) this year. The debates were in a modified British Parliamentary format, with only opening teams of two members each going head-to-head. The tournament ran from September to December of 2007, with matches televised live every Wednesday evening.

It featured teams from the 16 schools that competed in the Philippine Inter-collegiate Debating Championship 2007. Seeding was determined according to the school’s break rank in the PIDC. Five schools from Mindanao were picked for the competition: Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Xavier University, Mindanao State University – Marawi and Western Mindanao State University.

Despite the high seed courtesy of AdDU A’s (Sam Salisipan, David Jalotjot and Kristine Uy) octofinal break in the PIDC, AdDU was not able to advance to the Square Off quarterfinals after David Jalotjot and Kristine Uy were beaten by Lyceum’s Barny Rivera and Suzy Claire Selleza. Also failing to advance beyond the octofinals were MSU-M’s John Louie Balagot and Abdel Sultan, losing to semifinalists Claire Jiao and Melissa Sayoc of the University of the Philippines – Diliman, and WMSU’s Grace Agudelo and Annaly Estores, who were beaten by top seed and eventual champions Sharmila Parmanand and Charisse Borromeo of AdMU.

The first to make waves in the tournament was AdZU, who beat Adrian Rabe, one of the Top Ten Speakers in Asia, and his teammate from the University of the Philippines – Manila in their octofinal match, scoring one of the biggest upsets in the octofinal round. In a battle of upstarts in the quarterfinal, AdZU went on to beat the team from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, which upset the 3rd seeded University of Santo Tomas in their octofinal match.

Xavier University’s Zed Abantas and Gian Marlon Libot also won their octofinal match against Jahzheel Cruz and Arlene Bonifacio of the University of the Philippines – Baguio, but fell to Dino de Leon and Robin Sebolino of De La Salle University in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals was a stage for another huge upset as Segovia and Hajim beat the 2nd seeded team of the tournament, UPD, despite the team from Diliman having Jiao, one of the Top Ten Speakers in the Philippines. In the round, Hajim was the panel’s choice and texter’s choice for best speaker. It should be noted that Hajim was the texter’s choice for every round AdZU was in, including the final against AdMU, which elicited a curious comment from host Twink Macaraig.

AdZU’s performance in Square Off is just another proof that Mindanao already has debate talents that can compete with the best that the rest of the Philippines can offer.

Mindanao teams give a strong performance at the 9th NDC

AdDU’s Lamboso, Salisipan, and Jalotjot are among the Top Ten Speakers in the Philippines
There was no repeat of last year’s finals appearance, but MPDU teams continued to do relatively well in this year’s 2007 National Debate Championship, currently in its ninth installment. The tournament was hosted by the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City on October 22-28, 2007.

Leading the Mindanao charge was Ateneo de Davao University, which sent two teams to the break. AdDU B (David Jalotjot and Kristine Castrodes) broke 6th with 15 points after 7 preliminary rounds, the highest break rank so far by a Mindanao team. Second among the Mindanao teams was AdDU A (Sam Salisipan and Marj Lamboso), who broke 11th at 14 points. Ateneo de Zamboanga University A (Henry Segovia and Alzhoheir Hajim) followed, breaking 16th also at 14 points. Last to break from Mindanao was Mindanao State University – Marawi A (John Louie Balagot and John Jay Zoleta), ranked 28th at 12 points.

AdDU B made it to the semifinals before getting knocked out by Ateneo de Manila University A (Miko Biscocho and Gika Mangahas), this year’s champion, and the runner-up University of the Philippines – Diliman B (Katherine Diaz and Jowee Atienza). This is the second straight year an AdDU team has gone to the semis, after AdDU sent two teams in the semifinals and one to the grand final last year. In the quarterfinals, AdDU B knocked out AdDU A, Salisipan and Lamboso, last year’s semifinalists, to proceed to the semis with UPD B. Segovia and Hajim also made it to the quarterfinals, a feat Segovia also achieved in the 7th NDC in Dumaguete, while Balagot and Zoleta remained octofinalists for the second straight year.

Three of the Top Ten speakers in the Philippines this year come from Mindanao, all from AdDU, a new record for MPDU debaters, up from 2 last year. Marj Lamboso of AdDU A was the top speaker from Mindanao, ranking 4th nationally. Sam Salisipan of AdDU A and David Jalotjot of AdDU B were tied at 6th in the Philippines.

Not only did Mindanao send debaters to the break, but an adjudicator as well. Joanne Tubao of AdDU ranked 30th in the adjudicator break, and she adjudicated the octofinal and quarterfinal rounds.

Andrew Macuto of AdDU, a groundbreaking finalist and Top Ten Speaker in the Philippines last year, was a Deputy Chief Adjudicator in the tournament, together with Brian Gaviola of MSU-M, a former NDC quarterfinalist. This marks the first time Nationals DCAs came from Mindanao. Other members of the Adjudication Core were Sharmila Parmanand of AdMU, the Chief Adjudicator, and DCAs Nicolo Cabrera (UPD), Yves Aquino (University of the Philippines – Manila), Cyris Ng (UST), Estelle Osorio (De La Salle University), Mark Garcia (Silliman University), and Angelo Estrada (St. Louis University).

Making the 9th NDC an even bigger success was the winning of the right to host the 10th NDC by Ateneo de Davao University, which beat the UPM in a hotly contested bid war. AdDU lost the bid to PMA last year, but secured the hosting right this time, bringing the NDC to Mindanao for the first time. Sam Salisipan of AdDU was also elected to be part of the Adjudication Core of the 10th NDC, since the national council implemented a policy of electing the Adjudication Core. He joins Glenn Tuazon (AdMU), Adrian Rabe, (UPM), Sir Martin Cortez (UPD), and Estelle Osorio (DLSU).

Overall, despite some problems with the tight schedule, the PMA NDC has been considered one of the best NDCs so far, as debaters and adjudicators from all over the Philippines were able to experience the sprawling campus and the cool mountain weather far from the noise of downtown Baguio, packed with great socials events, like the Cadet Hop. All participants were afforded the unique experience to observe the PMA cadets up close, and make acquaintances with the people who will lead the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the future.

AdDU hopes to be able to give debate enthusiasts the best NDC ever next year, and will work closely with the MPDU and the Philippine debate community towards that goal.

MSU-M A, AdDU A, San Beda College A, and AdDU D meet in Round 3. Sharmila Parmanand (AdMU) chairs.