Tag: 11

Student musicians and vocalists from various campuses and colleges of West Visayas State University (WVSU) showcased their talents in the Musical Category on the third day of the University Days celebration, held at the WVSU Cultural Center on January 29.

The program commenced at 8:30 a.m., with approximately 14 to 17 participants representing their respective departments in each contest. The first category featured was Solo Instrumental, where each contestant performed using their chosen instrument—the guitar.

This was followed by the Vocal Solo Classical category, with performers rendering Filipino classics such as “Nasaan Ka, Irog” and “Dandansoy.” The competition then moved to the Vocal Solo Pop category, where contestants delivered popular Pinoy Pop (P-Pop) songs, including “Amakabogera” and “Araw Gabi.”

The final segment of the musical competitions featured 14 pairs competing in the Vocal Duet Pop category, concluding the series of performances under the Musical Category.

Aligned with this year’s University Days theme, “BANAAG sang West: Celebrating Our Radiant Gleam in Illuminating Generations,” the event highlighted how musical artistry unites the WVSU community. Through their performances, students demonstrated how creativity, cultural tradition, talent, and excellence continue to be passed on across generations.

The competition concluded at around 1:45 p.m., paving the way for the remaining categories scheduled for the afternoon.

#BANAAGsangWEST2026#OneWVSU
#WVSUTransformingGenerations#WVSUexcels

2026 University Days Special Coverage by WVSU Student Publications

Write-up by Helen Natalie D. Bolivar & Tonette Mari S. Jamero/The Blue Quill

Photos by Markey Jaims L. Arboleda/The Blue Quill

Bursting with verse and imagination, 17 competing teams from various colleges and campuses of West Visayas State University gathered for the English Literary Writing Category of 2026 University Days on Jan. 27, from 1 to 5 p.m., at the second floor of the University Learning Resource Center.

The competition featured two categories—Poetry Writing and Essay Writing—challenging participants’ critical thinking, creativity, and command of the English language.

Poetry writers were given the topic “How does a voice refuse to disappear even when ignored?” at the venue and were allotted two hours to conceptualize and complete their entries. Essayists, meanwhile, demonstrated their literary prowess by articulating well-structured and insightful perspectives through their compositions.

The awarding ceremony for the English Literary Writing Category was held on Jan. 28 at the University Cultural Center, recognizing outstanding works in both divisions. The event highlighted not only the university’s academic excellence but also the wit, creativity, and literary skill of its students.

Here are the colleges whose light shone brightest among the rest:

Essay Writing

Champion: College of Nursing

1st Runner-up: College of Communication

2nd Runner-up: College of Medicine

3rd Runner-up: College of Education

4th Runner-up: Integrated Laboratory School

Poetry Writing

Champion: College of Education

1st Runner-up: College of Communication

2nd Runner-up: College of Arts and Sciences

3rd Runner-up: College of Medicine

4th Runner-up: Janiuay Campus

#BANAAGsangWEST2026#OneWVSU
#WVSUTransformingGenerations#WVSUexcels

2026 University Days Special Coverage by WVSU Student Publications
Write-up by Fritz Jaime Sumbo, SILAK Media
Photos by Yoj Frances Chiva, SILAK Media

Armed with confidence and stage presence, 17 participants from different tribes showcased their storytelling skills during the Pagkukuwento Contest of the ongoing University Days 2026, held at the CON Building, Room 302, Jan. 28, 2026.

The contest served as a venue for students to demonstrate proficiency in Filipino while highlighting narrative structure, vocal expression, and creative delivery through original and adapted stories.

Jan Dennis Dariagan, representative of Tribu Elag from the College of Information and Communications Technology, recalled the challenges he faced prior to the contest, including the absence of a coach, limited preparation time of three days, and simultaneous participation in the Suguidanon competition.

“Three days before the contest, I got a runny nose, but despite that, I continued training on my own, especially practicing how to master my ‘lolo’ voice for my Pagkukuwento performance, and thankfully, I managed it,” Dariagan said.

Allan Ken Dominguez, University Student Council councilor, board member of the Federated Student Council, and contest chair for the Filipino Speech Category, said that despite the success of the event, several setbacks were encountered, such as difficulty in sourcing appropriate stories and balancing responsibilities as both contest chair and Suguidanon contestant.

“For the past few days, we have been busy preparing for the event plus managing academic demands, and being a contest chair is not easy. We struggled to find stories to be used, and although our adviser attempted to source pieces from PASUC, none were available. I also had to juggle my role as contest chair and as a contestant for my tribe in Suguidanon the reason why I have to leave for a while the responsibilities to my fellow FSC members and with proper time management, we made it,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez also expressed gratitude to contest facilitators from various colleges and external campuses for their responsiveness and support, noting that their cooperation greatly helped in ensuring sufficient manpower and smooth coordination.

While contest pieces vary each year, organizers noted that this year’s entries mostly carried moral lessons and were largely “kuwentong pambata,” challenging participants to perform as if speaking to children despite being college students.

Pagkukuwento, one of the contests under the Filipino Speech Category, was held on the second day of University Days 2026 alongside the English and Hiligaynon Speech Categories and the Lip Sync Battle.

University Days 2026 commenced on January 27 and will conclude on Jan. 30, 2026, carrying the theme “BANAAG sang WEST: Celebrating our Radiant Gleam in Illuminating Generations.”

Words by Jose Alphonso E. Ceria and Pia E. Maleriado, SBR Class
Photos by Jemmar T. Tejero, SBR Class

#BANAAGsangWEST2026#OneWVSU
#WVSUTransformingGenerations#WVSUexcels

Harnessing their prowess in delivery, representatives hailing from colleges and satellite campuses flocked to the Audio-Visual Hall as the declamation competition began at 1 p.m. on Jan. 28 with pieces reflecting the University Days theme; Banaag sang West: Celebrating our Radiant Gleam Illuminating Generation, the declaimers swept the stage.

Contorted faces, potent voices, and powerful pieces were the focal point of the craft. “Ever since I was a kid, super gid ko ka OA, and a lot of my teachers will say, ‘Why don’t you try this kind of thing acting and declamation?’ Karl Jaesop Sapul, a contender from the Tribu Delan tells us. Years of practice and competitions have led them to the university’s light, taking their place among the generations it has illuminated. In fleshing out stories, they were not only delivered with prowess but were grounded to the temperaments of the locality.

“As students we should be advocates. There should be a balance between tradition and medication,” explains Andrea Gwyneth Casabuena, Tribu Haliya’s contender. Each of their pieces echoed through the four walls of the hall and branded themselves on the hearts of those dawned with the university’s banaag.

“I was expecting to see a lot of different talents; each campus and college brings out their best, and I was really excited to see what each college has to offer in terms of experience, in terms of skill, it’s all a wonderful mix,” says Jeff Sambrano, facilitator for the Tribu Haliya. With audiences flooding the AVH, excitement surged through its high ceilings as declamation contestants took center stage to give life to their pieces. “You’ve gotten this far, you did all your best, and all I can say is bring it out here for the world to see because you deserve to shine,” Jeff tells their contender.

Shining the light for the success of the competition, the performances spoke for themselves; it took a village. “Another thing that I have is the support system from those people that watched out for our performance, and somehow I delivered my performance for them and gave them my all,” confides Karl.

Every number ended with resounding applause.

Words by Tamali Marie Superales, Michael Jansen dela Cruz and Carla Eunice Guevara, SBR Class

Photos by Tamali Marie Superales and Carla Eunice Guevara, SBR Class

#BANAAGsangWEST2026#OneWVSU
#WVSUTransformingGenerations#WVSUexcels

Fifteen students from the different colleges and external campuses of West Visayas State University competed in the English oration contest on Jan. 28, 2026, at the Audio-Visual Hall as part of University Days 2026.

The contest carried this year’s theme, “BANAAG sang West: Celebrating Our Radiant Gleam in Illuminating Generations,” and featured speeches that blended oratorical skill with personal stories of struggle, inspiration and resilience.

Contestants delivered their pieces with projected voices and deliberate gestures, drawing the audience into their narratives and message.

Among the participants was Janquel Carampatana, a first-year student from Tribu Dalikmata of the College of PESCAR, who joined the category for the first time.

Carampatana said he briefly forgot a portion of his piece during his delivery but recovered and finished the speech.

“It was part of my practice to teach myself how to compose when I make a mistake,” he said. “What I do is I actually skip the part, but I don’t make it obvious. As much as possible, I try to be really composed and remain in the momentum so the audience would not be able to notice.”

A significant part of his speech focused on first-generation graduates in Filipino families, a theme he said he found personally meaningful.

Oration is the second contest under the English speech category. It follows extemporaneous speaking and will be followed by storytelling, declamation and character impersonation.

Words by Edniel De Los Reyes and Ramil Ivan Nequia, SBR Class

Photos by Sebastian Acana and Ramil Ivan Nequia, SBR Class

#BANAAGsangWEST2026 #OneWVSU
#WVSUTransformingGenerations #WVSUexcels