TWO ECONOMICS students from the Faculty of Arts and Letters tied for the highest speaker ranking at the 17th Young Economists’ Convention (YEC) Debate Competition, an annual tournament featuring 16 three-member teams from various Philippine universities.
Representing the University as Ceteris ParibUST, Economics students Pam Ashley Fale and Vzam Cyruz Gyan Lu shared the tournament’s highest speaker ranking after posting identical averages of 75.67 speaker points. Their teammate, Jego Paulo Martinez, placed fourth with an average of 75 speaker points.
The group advanced to the semifinals as the tournament’s second-breaking team after competing against 16 teams in the open category.
In the semifinal round, Ceteris ParibUST argued from the opposition bench on the motion, “This House believes that the European Union should tighten its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism policies,” contending that stricter carbon tariffs would reinforce climate policies while encouraging sustainable economic competition.
Another UST contingent, Moneycitamol, composed of Asian Studies students Shann Thadea Ravena and Euben Nathaniel Regudo and Legal Management student Alyssa Nicole Riosa, also reached the semifinals as the third-breaking team.
‘Competent debaters’
Fale said the recognition affirmed AB Debate Parliament’s resilience despite limited resources.
“This achievement proves that AB Debate Parliament still has competent debaters who can carry forward the success our seniors have guided us toward,” Fale told The Flame.
She added that the recognition was particularly meaningful to her and Lu, the organization’s former and incumbent presidents, as it affirmed the leadership they strive to provide to younger members.
“In terms of trainers, facilities and funding, the University is at a disadvantage, but the passion of its debaters to self-train and help each other keeps us alive, slowly allowing us to make a name alongside the consistent placers in the debating circuit,” she said.
Martinez said the result marked another step forward for both AB Debate Parliament and the University’s debating community.
Lu said the achievement motivates the organization to continue developing its members.
“For us, it means continuing to push forward, uplifting our current and future members to achieve their competitive and personal aspirations. This win gave us more motivation to accept more defeats to learn from in the future and to prepare ourselves for victories we’ll work hard for.”
The three-day YEC Debate Competition brought together undergraduate students from universities across the Philippines to debate contemporary economic issues in the Asian Parliamentary format.
Organized by De Lasalle University-Manila, the competition centered on the theme of bridging the rural–urban divide. Only the top four teams advanced to the semifinals, and the top two competed in the grand finals on July 25. F
