“What we say is important…for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Words of former NASA administrator, Jim Beggs. His words ring true for in the dance of words, the heart sings the melody of truth. The 27th of October, 2021 was the day that the Elocution competition was held, and was considered to be one of the most highly anticipated events in the 5-day 39th Foundation Anniversary.

     The said event was held in the afternoon, and was done alongside the writing competition, which was spearheaded by the Computer Technology Wizards. The competition was greeted by the mistress of ceremony, Cerynea Calista Aquino, the Grade 9 Vice President of the Einstein Circle Chronicles—the club that sponsored and hosted the Elocution competition. She then called on stage the Grade 10 Vice President of the ECC, Icey Claire Tocao, and Ansar Cuevas, the ECC’s Secretary to respectively hold the prayers for the Christians and Muslims. After a period of time, the La Liga President took the stage and led the Philippine national anthem. She was then followed by the ECC’s President, Chyl Paolo Ubas, who declared the school’s creed and then gave his heartfelt opening speech.

     As the people gathered in the Facebook live, the adorable Beginners Division kicked off the competition with ‘Fables’ as their assigned theme in which the Kinder PM’s Adam Mustapha was named the 2nd Runner-Up; while Maryam Abduljalil achieved the 1st Runner-Up spot for the Kinder AM; and Asami Mitmug helps the Kinder PM gain its second awardee, as she claimed the number 1 spot. The Primary Division was then given ‘Fables and Rhymes’; the Grade 2-Diligence’s own Ihsan Biruar received the 3rd place; Josef Mardoquio of Grade 3-Pultrichude, gained his 2nd place; and Aeesha Abo won 1st place for her class, the Grade 1-Freedom. Advancing to the Intermediate Division, they brought us down the rabbit hole with their theme of ‘Story Telling’; the competition was greeted by the Grade 6-Justice’s Shawn Gonzales as he was declared the bronze holder, with his classmate, Maia Soyao as the silver bearer; whilst Darrek Magarang left his opponents in the rain, as he won gold for the Grade 4-Pultrichude. The Junior Division offered a close, heated competition, as they declaimed the famous speeches of Filipinos in Internationals, and 2 of the competitors—Maximo Guillermo III of Grade 8-Pultrichude, and Raniah Pamansag of Grade 7-Glory—crossed paths to be crowned the 3rd spot; and Siti Pendaliday reached the 2nd place, as the representative of the Grade 9-Glory; yet Grade 8-Fealty’s Aleyah Escander rose above the rest to claim the number 1 spot of the division. The last set, the Senior Division, put a show for the crowd with the speeches of the gold-bearers of Toastmasters International—a non-profit educational organization, that promotes communication and public speaking; like the Junior Division, the Senior Division reached another crossroad as 2 of the competitors—Raziah Sinsuat of Grade 10-Honor, and Hera Masmodi of Grade 11—were both named the bronze holders; and Cian Carim brought glory back to the Grade 10-Honor, as he took home the 2nd place; whilst Shawqi Ganduan attained the title of undisputed champion, for his class, the Grade 12.

     It was a moment to show the speaking prowess of the youth, who will be the leaders that will be the foundation for more brilliants to see as a figure, for it is important that we see the truth first, so that we can speak the truth, and only the TRUTH.