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

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