Showcasing the depth and reach of student leadership, Tribu Adlaw of the College of Arts and Sciences emerged champion of the 2026 Banggianay after a hard-fought finals against Tribu Haliya of the College of Nursing.
The two teams debated whether to reverse and set aside the 2023 WVSU Student Court rulingon term limits, with Tribu Adlaw on the affirmative and Tribu Haliya on the negative.
Opening the debate, necessity speaker Joe Allen Marañon argued that the ruling was erroneous for imposing candidacy restrictions not found in the Student Constitution.
“The law is permissive, not prohibitive,” Marañon said, stressing that election rules should encourage democratic participation among students.
Tribu Haliya defended the ruling as a necessary interpretation of a vague constitutional provision, citing its continued application across the past three elections and student administrations.
Beneficiality speaker Kristine Kaye Serra countered that the ruling limits students’ freedom to choose their leaders and creates gaps in student governance, particularly the second-year leadership gap.
Practicability speaker EJ Gatila added that the proposal was feasible and well within the Student Court’s power of judicial self-correction.
In rebuttal, Serra reinforced the team’s main arguments and concluded her speech with, “It is our side that has truly shined the brightest.”
After deliberation, the adjudicators ruled in favor of Tribu Adlaw, with Angelie Marie Garrido, Non-necessity Speaker of Tribu Haliya, taking both Best Speaker and Best Debater honors in the finals, officially concluding the 2026 Banggianay.
The following are the individual awards from the semi-finals:
Match 10 (CAS vs PESCAR)
Best Speaker – Kristine Kaye Serra, Beneficiality Speaker (CAS)
Best Debater – Kristine Kaye Serra, Beneficiality Speaker (CAS)
Match 11 (CON vs COE)
Best Speaker – Jeff Emmanuel Sambrano, Practicability Speaker (CON)
Best Debater – Jeff Emmanuel Sambrano, Practicability Speaker (CON)
Here are the overall standings of the colleges for this year’s Banggianay:
3rd Runner-up – Tribu Hanan (COE)
2nd Runner-up – Tribu Dalikmata (COP)
1st Runner-up – Tribu Haliya (CON)
Champion – Tribu Adlaw (CAS)
The team was also backed by researchers Jafra Jul Siruelo, Samantha Lourdes Baniel, and Mag Jey Aribal,whose support proved vital to their success.
As the event concluded, Serra shared in an interview that the victory was fulfilling and credited the success to the collective effort of the team and their researchers, emphasizing that the achievement would not have been possible without their support.
#BANAAGsangWEST2026#OneWVSU
#WVSUTransformingGenerations#WVSUexcels
2026 University Days Special Coverage by WVSU Student Publications
Write up by Tracy Anne Freires/The Courier
Photos by Cassandra Alexa Ciasico/The Courier
