Mechanics

Last November of 2023, the Philippines signed a

A decade after Super Typhoon Haiyan, 15% of the
nuclear energy cooperation deal with the United
housing site is still unfinished. Furthermore,
States of America. Do you think transitioning from
thousands of units are still unoccupied. Do you
fossil fuels to nuclear energy is beneficial to the
think the funds that are put into the construction
cost-cutting of electricity bills of families in the
are wasted? Why or why not?
Philippines? Why or why not?

Figure 1. Table of Topics

Members per set:

1. Prime Minister(PM)- opens the debate, defines the motion and advances arguments;
2. Deputy prime Minister(DPM)- refute at first instance the case of the opposition, reestablish the
government’s claim, and advances arguments;
3. Government whip (GW)- makes an issue-based rebuttal of the opposition’s case and summarizes the
case of the government. And,
4. Leader of the Opposition(LO)- responds directly to the case of the government by giving a direct
clash, and advances arguments. May challenge the motion if the definition is challengeable;
5. Deputy Leader of the Opposition(DLO)- refutes the case of the DPM, reestablishes the case of the
opposition, and advances an argument;
6. Opposition Whip (OW)- makes an issues-based rebuttal of the government’s and summarizes the
case of the opposition.

The environmental debate contestants will get the championship topic thirty (30) minutes prior to the
commencement of the competition. They will have ample time to study and get ready while working under
time pressure. The winning team from the first round of the debate will represent the government side or
endorse the subject or issue, whereas the winning team from the second round will represent the opposition.

During the constructive speeches, Point of Information (POI) may be raised by the opposing side after
the first minute up to the fourth (4th) minute. POI may be refused or accepted by the speaker. During reply
speeches, no POI may be raised.

Reply Speech:

Reply speech is a comparative analysis of the strength and weaknesses of the case of both sides. The aim of
the speech is to give a bias judgment as to why should the people support the team’s claim. The speech is first
delivered by the opposition side and followed by the government side who will close the debate.

Each speaker is allocated five (5) minutes to deliver their constructive speeches. One speaker from each
side (For the Government:PM/DPM, for Opposition:LO/DLO) is given three (3) minutes to deliver a reply
speech. The speakers will be speaking in the following order:

1. Prime Minister
2. Leader of the opposition
3. Deputy Prime Minister
4. Deputy Leader of the Opposition
5. Government Whip
6. Opposition whip
 7. Opposition Reply
8. Government Reply

I. Rules of the Debate

1. The affirmative gives the first constructive speech, and the rebuttals alternate: negative,
affirmative, negative, affirmative. The affirmative has both the first and last speeches of the
debate.
2. No revisions of the team are permitted during the debate.
3. Prior to the argument, research needs to be done. The team will be eliminated from the
tournament if they engage in such behavior during the discussion, as it will be deemed a
form of cheating.
4. Teams are permitted to bring documents with factual data and supporting evidence to back
up their positions during the debate.
5. Once the debate starts, respect must be observed.
6. Interrupting the speaker is forbidden.
7. Audience must not participate in the debate.
8. For every 5 seconds the speaker goes beyond the time limit, the team will receive a
deduction of 1 point.
9. When worded as a proposition of policy, the topic requires the affirmative to support some
specified action by some particular individual or group. The affirmative has the right to make
any reasonable definition of each of the terms of the proposition. If the negative challenges
the reasonableness of a definition by the affirmative, the judge must accept the definition of
the team that shows better grounds for its interpretation of the term.
10. Facts must be accurate..
11. A POI (point of information) can be requested by the opposition team during the
constructive speech. By doing so, the opposition could say “point of information,” while
raising their hand.
12. The POI could either be accepted or rejected by the speaker. If accepted, the opponent shall
ask a question to the speaker not exceeding 15 seconds.
13. The POIs shall be made between minute 1 and minute 4. Therefore, the first 59 seconds and
the last minute of the speech are protected thus POIs can’t be made during this period.
14. Furthermore, if a team continuously offers a POI that results in an excessive interruption, a
penalty from the judge shall be incurred.
15. No new constructive arguments may be introduced in the rebuttal period. The affirmative
must, if possible, reply to the major negative arguments before the last rebuttal.
16. The judge must base his decision entirely on the material presented, without regard for
other material which he may happen to possess.
17. Any gains made outside of the established procedure are disallowed.
18. Red flags are raised whenever a violation is made.
19. After the debate, the audience has five minutes to share their impressions and opinions.
Then they vote by a show of hands.
20. In the vote, yes and no votes are counted.
21. The vote of the audience will be part of the criteria of judging on how impactful the remarks
of the teams were.

On April 22, 2024, at 3:00 p.m., the teams for the environmental debate will be drawn. Instead of
having the option to choose their own spot, they—who will select their teams by drawing cards or by picking
—will be given out the position, following the Asean Parliamentary Debate.
Criteria for Judging

Criteria Percentage Score

Organization and Clarity
The team’s standpoint and responses are 15%
organized and outlined clearly and orderly.
Understanding of the Topic
The team clearly demonstrated a deep and broad
15%
understanding of the topic providing valuable
remarks and in depth explanation of arguments.
Factual information and evidences
Information, evidences, and examples are given
20%
and properly cited by the team with references to
support their arguments.
Use of Arguments
Responses and reasons are given with great
15%
impression and strong delivery to support
standpoint.
Rebuttals
Arguments given by the other team are
20%
understood, responded to and dealt with
accordingly, directly and effectively.
Presentation Style
Use of gestures, tone of voice, enthusiasm is 10%
convincing, and persuasive on the judges.
Audience Impact
Remarks/statements are effective and convincing 5%
on the audience.
Total

One point will be deducted for any behavior that violates the debate’s rules. Deductions will therefore be
noted in this section.
Deductions: __________________________________
The team will immediately be ruled out of the competition if they violate the rules three times in a row.

Total Score: _________________________________