That was the resounding stance of 11 college students on one of society’s menaces – pornography – in the Grand Finals of the Fourth Community Chest Foundation, Inc. Oratorical Contest held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

With the theme "No to Porno!", the competition, in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education of the National Capital Region (CHED-NCR), was meant to heighten society’s level of awareness on how obscenity in media leads to breakdown of family values and the commodification of women and children. It encouraged participants on expounding on how viewers’ minds are manipulated to show that the female or male's body must be exposed for appreciation as a work of art and how poverty and the lure of money are made as strong justifications for production of pornography.

The battle of the eloquent speakers aimed to reinforce the responsibility of various sectors of society to be aware of the causes and effects of pornography and be involved in the fight to stop it, to promote the role of the youth in stopping the proliferation of pornography and how the effectivity of such role can make a difference in the overall battle, and to develop creative and critical thinking among the youth through effective oral communication.

The contest drew solid support from public and private colleges and universities within the Metropolis, sending one participant each to contend with another in an affair of oration-cum-conversation before the audience. The contestant’s weapon? A speech that took cognizance of the urgent need for concerted efforts among concerned individuals and communities to stop producers of pornography from breaking dearly held values that keep the Filipino family together. Each contestant was allotted eight minutes to deliver his/her respective piece.

Erstwhile, three inter-school elimination rounds were held, which commenced at the University of Perpetual help DALTA System, followed by another one at San Sebastian College and ended at the CCFI Headquarters in Malate, Manila, from the last week of January to the last week of February.

Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chair Ma. Consoliza Laguardia, CCFI chair Justice Rizalina Bonifacio-Vera, award-winning journalist and The Philippine Star columnist Jarius Bondoc, Olivarez College of Arts and Sciences dean Dr. Avelino de Chavez, and Miriam College professor Dr. Aleli Villena Sevilla composed the board of judges which selected the three best among the potential orators.

The grand finalists were graded based on the development of the subject matter, delivery and voice projection, stage presence and audience impact.

Emerging with flying colors after all insights have been delivered and done was Juan Paolo Gabriel Lopez, a second year Economics and Public Policy major at the San Beda College, with a speech that likened the topic at hand to snake.

"You see, whenever we play a pornographic video in our VCRs, or flip through the pages of the latest [porno] magazine, it’s like allowing a venomous snake to enter our houses, crawling in the dark, waiting for it to strike, then kill us right then and there," opens Lopez in his winning speech. "Pornography acts just like that. It affects not only the individual and strikes to destroy our home. Once its poison is injected into our household, it deteriorates the home’s ‘moral fibers until the family members lose control of their senses."

Lopez won P30,000 cash, a trophy and a certificate of recognition. His school also received a cash prize of P5,000 and a trophy.

Second placer Arnel Armenia, a third year Bachelor of Evangelical Ministry at the New Era University, firmly asserted his position on the issue in his speech, as he is expected to live up to the principles of ministry. Armenia believes that those who consider pornography as art are looking at a lopsided perspective because "art doesn’t involve hurting someone and exploiting others."

Third placer Alfred Adrian Chavez, Graduating Philosophy student at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, began his stint by enumerating different pornographic scandals involving schools all throughout the country, taking them as examples. He then stated the causes and effects of pornography, foremost of which is the cultural silence within the family. "Education should start from the family but then, in our country, nagiging taboo kasing pag-usapan ang mga sexual issues. The calling there, especially for us the youth, is that when the time comes for us to form our own families, we should somehow spread the virtues of openness, responsibility and respect towards sexuality," Chavez says.

Armenia took home P20,000 in cash while Chavez took home P10,000. They both received trophies and certificates of participation. Their schools were also given P3,000 and P2,000 in cash and trophies, respectively.

All the other eight finalists – Janina Manlapaz from Adamson University; Mark Alfred Gutierrez, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila; Hazelene Ann Romawac, College of the Holy Spirit; Mary Grace Balagosa, Sta. Catalina College; Angelique Zorena Sanchez, Trinity College of Quezon City; Ada Peñaflor, Far Eastern University; Jonathan Dionisio, Lyceum of the Philippines University; and Rodessa dela Cruz, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa – received consolation prize of P2,000 each. (Leo Ortega Laparan II)