Diliman dominates PIDC 2008: The Sun Life Cup rankings April 2008
Five out of UPDS' six teams placed in the top 16 teams of the Philippine Inter-collegiate Debating Championship 2008: The Sun Life Cup, which qualified them to compete in the Finals Series. With 5 teams, UP Diliman was the institution with the most number of teams in the Finals Series.
UPD-D composed of Richard Beltran (III-PolSci), Jovan Cerda (II-Journ), and Bianca Deslate (I-Pol Sci) ranked 12th out of 64 participating teams. The team reached the octofinals.
Three UP Diliman teams reached the quarterfinals of the tournament: UPD-B's Anna Arcellana (II-Bio), Aaron Chan (II-PolSci), and Florianne Jimenez (II-CompLit), UPD-C's Jonjon Avila (III-SpeechComm), Kenneth Cardenas (IV-Socio), and Alistair Zosa (I-BAA), and UPD-F's Norman Cualteros (III-Mech Eng'g), Joel Santos (II-Bus Econ), and Jennie Uy (III-SpeechComm). The teams were ranked 7th, 12th, and 13th respectively.
UPD-A's Joanne Atienza (IV - Nutri), Theresa Grajo (IV - BA), and Claire Jiao (III-Journ) reached the semifinals. The team was ranked fifth out of 64 participating teams.
All UP Diliman adjudicators broke into the Finals Series as well. Clarisse Osteria (II – Journ), Mahon Andaca (II – Pol Sci), Paolo Bernardo (I – Philo), and Diana Dy (IV – Socio) adjudicated until the octofinals of the tournament. Katherine Diaz (IV – Pol Sci) adjudicated until the quarterfinals of the tournament, while Bernard Guerrero reached the finals round. Diaz and Guerrero were also recognized as the 5th and 2nd Best Adjudicators respectively.
UP Diliman took home individual and team awards as well. Claire Jiao was awarded the Best Speaker prize, while Joanne Atienza and Theresa Grajo were ranked 9th and 7th Best Speaker respectively. UPD-F was recognized as the Best Rookie Team of PIDC 2008, which is an award given to any team which has never participated in any Asian Parliamentary debate tournament.
Prizes in public speaking were up for grabs as well. Four out of the eight finalists in the English Speaking Union's Search for the Philippine Representative to the International Public Speaking Competition were from UP Diliman. In the end, Jovan Cerda and Carla Sia took home the third and second place prizes respectively. (Sia may enter the competition in London in May along with the first placer, but this is still under negotiation.)
Moreover, the Society successfully organized and ran the entire tournament, after several months of intense planning and preparation. PIDC 2008: The Sun Life Cup had an attendance of over 300 participants, including several schools from Visayas and Mindanao, an international contingent from Malaysia, and volunteers from high school debate teams and other UP organizations.
With PIDC 2008: The Sun Life Cup under its belt, the UP Debate Society hopes to continue its achievements in debate, adjudication, and tournament organization in the future.
