Ateneo HS is champion of Econvergence Debate Tournament
Within the span of six days, the Ateneo High School Debaters were able to bring home several medals and awards from two Interschool Economics Competitions.
On Monday, 4 February 2013, the Ateneans competed in Eco-No-Mix—an interschool multidisciplinary event hosted by the UP Diliman School of Eco-No-Mix. The theme of the competition was “Hyperlinked: Accelerating Economies Through Information Technology.” This was an event that consisted of a quiz bee, a poster-making competition, a debate competition, an essay writing contest, and a stocks trading game. Ateneo High School A, comprised of Joshua Guico (4A), Alfonso Opulencia (4B) and Matt San Pedro (4M) battled their way to the finals of the debate competition where they fought against St. Paul’s College Pasig. They defended the Affirmative Side and proposed, “True democratic participation does not end with online advocacy.” Unfortunately, the judges handed the win to St. Paul on a 2-1 split decision. Alfonso Opulencia, however, was awarded as the Best Speaker of the Final and Overall Best Speaker Of The Tournament.
Recognition also goes to Carmelo Arcilla (4E), Enzo Casile (4E), and Miguel Saavedra (4I) for competing in the debate competition. The team also recognizes the efforts of Tim Yusingco (2A), Tres Yap (2B), and Derrick Ampil (2J) for participating in the Essay Writing Competition and bringing home certificates. The team would like to thank Mr. Paul Daza- Assistant to the AHS Principal for Communications- for accompanying the boys to the event.
On Saturday, 9 February 2013, the team headed to UP Los Banos to participate in Econvergence, the annual interschool economics event hosted by the UPLB Economics Society. Similar to Eco-No-Mix, the competition featured eight different events.
In the debate competition, the team dominated twenty-three other schools. The competition was held in the British Parliamentary Format. AHS A was comprised of Kiko Santos (4A) and Jim Bulan (3N), AHS B was comprised of Ryan Abis (4B) and Luis Sia (4B), AHS C was comprised of Kurt Serapio (4C) and JJ Sagcal (2A), and AHS D was comprised of Enzo Casile (4E) and Josiah Encinas (2F).
In the quarterfinals, all four teams successfully opposed the motion “In countries where death penalty is legalized, This House Believes That prisoners should be disallowed from choosing their method of execution.” They won first place in all four different matches and consequently knocked out half of all competing teams. In the semifinals, all teams also successfully won 1st or 2nd place against in their matches, as there were two matches with two Ateneo teams in each match. They debated the motion, “This House Would Abolish the 60-40 restriction on foreign ownership of companies in the Philippines.”
In the finals, the top four teams were determined not by virtue of ranking in the semifinal, but by cumulative speaker score. Three Ateneo teams were named among the top four teams of the entire tournament and debated the motion “This house believes that the European Union and the United States should abolish their agricultural subsidies.” The affirmative side was comprised of AHS B at Opening Government and AHS A at Closing Government. The negative side consisted of Claret School of Quezon City A at Opening Opposition and AHS D at the Closing Opposition.
After an excellent debate, the unanimous best speaker of the grand final and of the tournament was Jim Bulan. The best speaker of the tournament was Enzo Casile. The declared champions were AHS A, Kiko Santos and Jim Bulan. The silver medals were given to runners-up AHS B, Ryan Abis and Luis Sia. AHS D were 3rd Runners Up Overall.
In the Impromptu Speaking Competition, Adrian Padilla (2J) bested the representatives from all other schools and won a gold medal for earning First Place in the event. He was tasked to look at a picture that was related to the theme of the event, and explain and analyze its message in light of the theme.
The school would also like to recognize Matt San Pedro and Derrick Ampil (2J) for participating in the Photoessay Competition and Impromptu Speaking Competition respectively. Their effort and work were well-commended by organizers and made the Ateneo very proud.
Special thanks and deep appreciation and gratitude go to the CLE Department of the Ateneo High School, headed by Mr. Noel Miranda for sponsoring the Ateneo High School Debaters. Without their generosity and support, none of these would have been made possible.
The coaches of the Ateneo High School Debaters who prepared them for the events were Mahar Mangahas and Henry Fernando. Special thanks goes to Peejay Garcia, Vince Barona, and Daryl Isla who contributed in different ways to the success of the teams. The success of the team is the success of the Ateneo High School, all for the greater glory of God.
