Photo courtesy of Ateneo Debate Society (@ateneodebate)
REPRESENTATIVES OF the Ateneo Debate Society (ADS) were crowned champions at the 16th National Debate Championship (NDC) held from October 24 to 29 at the University of San Carlos, Cebu.
ADMU A, composed of supersenior Allan Cabrera and senior Inah Robles, took the gold home for the second consecutive year.
Cabrera and Robles were also recognized as Best Speakers of the tournament.
The NDC is an annual debate competition open to tertiary level students, where participants debate on pressing issues in society.
Along with ADMU A, ADMU E, formed by juniors Andrei Buendia and JV Valerio, also advanced to the grand finals.
Moreover, ADMU B made it to the semifinals and ADMU D qualified for the quarterfinals; the former was composed of juniors Michael Agoncillo and Miko Alazas while senior Basilio Claudio and junior Abbo Hernandez comprised the latter.
ADMU C composed of freshman Katrina Chan and junior Nico Flaminiano made it to the octofinals.
Valerio was ranked fourth Best Speaker while Agoncillo, Buendia and Claudio tied in the seventh rank.
Varsity judges for the competition included freshman Jeremy Sison, juniors Kester Go Biao, Denise Recomono and Ilkka Ruso, and senior Marianne Vitug.
The special judges were freshmen Carla Gozo and junior Kristelle Ramos.
Recomono was ranked fourth Best Judge while Gozo was ranked 10th.
Last motion
During the final bout, ADMU A, ADMU E, University of the Philippines-Diliman A, and De La Salle University B faced off against one another for the grand motion: “This house would impose the death penalty on public officials found guilty of severe corruption.”
In an interview with The GUIDON, Cabrera said ADMU A raised points that were in favor of the motion as Closing Government.
“We discussed the symbolic power of these public officials, opening the possibility of historical whitewashing and further corruption in the future,” he said.
Robles further explained their team’s main argument on the issue: “Allan (Cabrera) and I talked about the tendency of people to become apologists and forget crimes committed upon them, which is why the death penalty is necessary.”
She added, “Once implemented, politicians who have done wrong against society cannot revise history through their strong political machinery.”
Robles said that she and Cabrera were more “in sync” in strategizing for this year’s competition.
“We have done so many preparation tournaments together and we read together, we can finish each other’s sentences and thoughts,” she said.
Updated: 11:23 PM, Nov. 3, 2014
