Debaters from Lyceum of the Philippines bested the team from Ateneo de Naga University to qualify for the Octofinals of ANC's "Square Off: Frankahan - The Drilon Debates."

Both sides brought out compelling points on the topic for debate, namely the proposal to tax text messages.

Fighting for the government side, Ateneo de Naga led by Monica Palomares pointed out that the revenues collected from more than 50 million cellphone users would help fund much needed social programs, especially in education and health care. The Naga team proposed a gradual increase in taxation to allow cellphone users to ease into the scheme. They added that in the end, any burden would be offset by well-funded development programs intended for the welfare of the taxpayers themselves.

Lyceum, led by Ryan Castaneda, argued that there are other means to increase revenues without burdening taxpayers and that government should exhaust all possibilities first. They suggested abolishing the pork barrel and using it to fund social services.

Lyceum said texting is already an integral part of Filipino culture as a way of maintaining ties with loved ones -- especially in a country with more than eight million overseas workers.

Ateneo de Naga countered by saying that Filipinos text too much already and have been neglecting other important things in life. The Naga team also argued that the tax will force people to be more prudent with how they spend their money and will not abuse their ability to text.

The opposing side wouldn't have any of it, arguing that text messaging brought families closer together by offering a cheap way to communicate. They also questioned whether the gradual increase in text taxes would generate the revenues needed to implement government programs.

Lyceum also claimed that if the present administration, unpopular as it is, were to impose a tax on text then it could very well lead to political unrest.

Both sides presented very persuasive arguments and rebuttals. The judges, however, said Lyceum was more organized and that ADNU had neglected to cite the numbers that would have backed up their case. In the end, the team from Lyceum was pronounced the winner.

Square Off: Frankahan - The Drilon Debates airs every Wednesday, 8-9pm, on ANC. Replays Thurs 1pm and Sat 2pm.