‘Will we succeed in keeping things civil? I have my doubts but I remain hopeful.’
I HAD the distinct privilege of being the moderator for the finals of the three-day Tañada-Diokno Debate Tournament that was organized by Just VOTE:RSVP – Register, Screen, Vote, Protect. The group is made up of lawyers and law students and is dedicated to raising awareness regarding the right to vote of every Filipino, most especially among the youth.
Just Vote RSVP partnered with Paragon Law Circle, various law student governments, and debate societies. The Philippine Association of Law Schools, the Association of Law Students of the Philippines, and the Pi Sigma Fraternity of the UP were the presenters.
The debate featured 16 law schools which battled online last April 29 during the whole-day knockout round. By April 30 there were eight schools left, and by morning of May 1, four law schools remained: PUP, Bukidnon State, Ateneo de Zamboanga and Liceo de Cagayan.
PUP and Bukidnon State debated on the mandatory military service bill, while Ateneo de Zamboanga and Liceo argued over the abolition of the PCGG.
PUP which had taken the negative position edged Bukidnon, while Ateneo de Zamboanga which took the positive side eliminated Liceo.
It was the Ateneo vs PUP finals that I moderated and the topic was the approval of Senate Bill 896 on the practice of labor contractualization. Ateneo took the affirmative and PUP argued the negative side.
As an intro to the debate, I congratulated the organizers and wondered whether some time in the future we would be holding a Tulfo-Padilla Debate Tournament. I of course hailed the practice – Pi Sigma started hosting the Open Debate in UP in 1988 – as the exercise contributes to the broadening of knowledge of those even just listening intently to the debaters and taking note of their arguments and counterarguments.
But I also added that the exercise had one additional value – teaching those involved to be passionate about the sides they take but engaging in argumentation and debate in a civilized manner. (No throwing of chairs the way Taiwanese parliamentarians do!).
And with the elections less than a week away, nothing can be more important than reiterating that we all need to be civil even amidst all the heightened passion of the campaign.
Will we succeed in keeping things civil? I have my doubts but I remain hopeful.
By the way – the winner of the first Just Vote: RSVP was the negative side as argued by Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
