Biliran Province State University’s (BiPSU) An Lantugi Debate Society (ALDS) clinched the Novice Championship at the Northern Luzon Intervarsity (NLIV), held online via zoom and discord from May 31 to June 1, after facing off against an Indian university team in the grand final round.

The competition, organized by Saint Louis University, featured universities from across the Philippines and other countries, debating socially relevant motions in the Asian Parliamentary format over multiple rounds.

Representing BiPSU were John Jedidia Maas, a second-year BS Civil Engineering student; Crystel Demate, a first-year Bachelor of Arts in Communication student; and Chazonne Almazon, a second-year Bachelor of Secondary Education student majoring in Social Studies.

During the first and second preliminary rounds, the BiPSU team, taking the government side, debated the motions “This House would allow commercial surrogacy” and “This House believes that government benefits should be proportional to the taxes individuals pay”; however, they were unable to secure wins in these rounds.

Nevertheless, the team made a strong comeback in the third and fourth rounds as the opposition, winning both debates on the motions “This House believes that award-giving bodies should recognize male and female talents under a singular award category” and “Assuming feasibility, this House would adopt a uniform global carbon pricing scheme.”

In the grand final round, BiPSU went head-to-head with an Indian university team as the opposition on the motion, “This House believes that failing economies should prioritize the subsidization of existing start-ups over bailing out corporations.”

After the round, BiPSU Team ultimately secured the championship by a unanimous decision, with John Jedidia Maas earning the distinction of Novice Grand Finals Best Speaker.

In an interview, Crystel Mae Demate, one of the debaters, said that their recent win marks an important part of their preparation for bigger tournaments and reflects their dedication to making the university's support count.

"This victory is just one of the few steps that we believe is essential to prepare us for our upcoming tournament in UP Diliman because we want to make sure that every penny spent on us is worth it, especially since we are funded through the university’s income,” she said.

“I’m also very thankful to the administration for the support all throughout the competition and for giving us the opportunity to compete and bring the name of BiPSU with us,” added Demate.

The team was coached and mentored by Joedel Peñaranda, Atty. Guiller Delfin, Dr. John Cavin Sabonsolin, and Edwardo Almazan.

Moreover, the same team, with Dominic Chad Catipay from BSED-English serving as adjudicator, is planning to compete in the Santiago Ortega Cup from June 6 to 8, and will compete face-to-face in Philippine Intercollegiate Debating Championship (PIDC) at the University of the Philippines Diliman from June 12 to 18.

#WoWBiPSU

[This aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education.]