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

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