Isles Rise and Fall in Debate Preliminaries; 4 Societies qualify for Semifinals

By Alliah Mae Banglos

Heated rounds shook throughout Narnia as the first day of Debate commenced on January 24, concluding with four out of seven isles advancing to the semi-finals with Psychology Society’s (PsychSoc) Isle of Psyche in the lead, followed by Junior Philosophers’ Guild’s (JPG) Isle of Sophia, Literature Language and Culture Society’s (LILACS) Isle of Glossa, Political Science Society’s (PSS) Isle of Logos, and by MSU-IIT Historical Society’s (MIHS) Isle of Chronos as a reserved team.

Organized by the MSU IIT Debate Varsity (MIDV), the competition was held simultaneously in five rooms of the old College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) building and followed the Asian Parliamentary Debate format with all seven isles participating, including a swing team invited from MIDV to even out the odd number of teams during matchups. 

The preliminary was sorted into three rounds, each with a different general theme for the motions where the two benches, Government and Opposition, choose which motion they prefer to defend or oppose. 

However, unlike regular Asian Parliamentary where each round had three motions to choose from, the competitors were only given one motion that was neither Government-leaning nor Opposition-leaning and could therefore be debated fairly by both houses. 

The following rounds’ themes and motions are as follows:

Round 1: “Tiktok sa ta! - Pop culture X Politics” with the motion: “TH, as Tiktok would voluntarily cease operations in the US” and concluded with LILACS being the only society who won as the Government bench compared to other matches with a majority opposition bench win.

Round 2: “Beep Boop! - Science & Technology” with the motion: “THW impose a moratorium on the production of AI Chatbots,” with the Government benches having won in majority of the matchups. 

Round 3: “Philippine Politics” with the motion: “TH as PDP Laban would remove Apollo Quiboloy in their Senatorial slate for 2025,” with JPG being the only Government bench win as most matchups concluded with an opposition win.

PsychSoc’s Isle of Psyche ended the day in the lead with two points and 785.5 speaker points, followed by the JPG’s Isle of Sophia with two points and 783.5 speaker points, LILACS’ Isle of Glossa with two points and 776.5 speaker points, and PSS’ Isle of Logos with one point and 762.5 speaker points. The lineup was followed by MSU-IIT MIHS Isle of Chronos as reserved. 

Narnia’s four remaining Isles are set to advance through the semi-finals on Monday, January 27.