Four Philippine universities are in the top 50 debate societies in the world, according to the latest rankings of the International Debate Education Association (IDEA).



The Ateneo de Manila University ranked 7th, with 3,070 points scored by 31 teams, is the only Asian university in the top 10 of the World University Debate Rankings.



The University of the Philippines Diliman came in 23rd, with 2,171 points scored by 22 teams, while UP Manila followed at the 40th spot with 1,511 points by 15 teams.



De La Salle University Manila placed 42nd with 1,485 points scored by 23 teams.



“The World University Debate Rankings draw from the results of 33 high-profile tournaments across the world to show an accurate representation of the comparative strength of debating societies against each other,” IDEA said on its website.



Emeritus member and former Chair of the World Debating Council Colm Flynn maintains the rankings which include 500 debating societies.



“The totals are calculated by adding the results of all the teams that society fielded in the tournaments we track over the course of the year, right up to the largest event – the World Universities Debating Championships,” IDEA added.



The Philippines hosted the 2011 World Universities Debating Championships, considered as the “Olympics of Debate,” last December. It was held in DLSU Manila with 1,400 participants from 43 countries.



As of January 2012, the scores included in the ranking were from tournaments held in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Austral Asians, Europe, United Kingdom, North and South America.



IDEA said it will expand the number of tournaments in response to criticisms that the list is not comprehensive enough to be called a “world ranking.”





































