WILLIAM Matthew B. Cano, a junior student of Mount Carmel School, won the 38th Annual Attorney General Cup’s speech competition on Friday.
Tae Hee Kim, a Grace Christian Academy senior, placed second while Eianne Miel M. Ladao, a junior student of Dr. Rita Hocog-Inos Jr.-Sr. High School, was third.
Honorable mentions went to Marianas High School senior Julia Lin Taitano, Kagman High School junior Jeffrey John M. Atalig, Saipan Southern High School junior Aubrey Tabenas, and Tinian Middle and High School junior Ainsley P. Ancheta.
This year’s topic was birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
The competition judges were Chief Justice Alexandro Castro, Presiding Judge Roberto Naraja, AG Edward Manibusan, Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr., Civil Division Chief Alison Nelson, Assistant Chief Stephen Anson and Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas.
“The amount of practice I put into this [competition] has paid off … and I’m glad my prayers were answered … and I’m just glad that it worked out in my favor,” Cano said in an interview.
He said he won because of his “great coaches,” referring to former MCS President and now Northern Marianas College President Galvin Deleon Guerrero and competition coach/teacher Zeno C. Deleon Guerrero, who won the AG’s Cup in 2017.
“If it wasn’t for their guidance … I wouldn’t be able to achieve this. I do have my own skill sets, my own talent, but they took those skills and talents and shaped them into a winning speech,” he said.
Asked whether having immigrant parents allowed him to fully grasp the issue of “birthright citizenship,” Cano said, “I would say yes, because for the large part my parents … worked here and my dad was the only one making money in our family when he was a contract worker, and his contract had to be renewed every year. To them, [it] was a gamble, and I didn’t realize that until they told me [about] it pretty recently. And so that makes me really grateful for their hard work and sacrifices.”
“We have a wonderful speech team of high school students that really invested a lot of time and effort into conducting very thorough research on the issue and its shows,” said Galvin Deleon Guerrero.
“Everybody knows our secret … we approach it as a team. The topics are usually so compelling and so critical that it’s too much for just one person. We engaged a group of students to come together and do research and write graphs to craft the speech that makes sense to the speaker and the topic. It really is the team approach I think [that] is our secret sauce and it’s not so secret,” he added.
The previous winner was then-MCS senior Jill Anne Mallari in 2023. Last year’s competition was canceled due to insufficient school participation.
MCS has won the AG’s Cup 20 times since its inception in 1984.
Mount Carmel School junior student Willam Cano, 4th left front row, holds the Perpetual Trophy after winning the 38th Annual Attorney General Cup’s speech competition on Friday. Also in photo are AG Edward Manibusan, Chief Justice Alexandro Castro, Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja, the other competition judges and contestants.
Tae Hee Kim, a senior at Grace Christian Academy, placed second.
Dianne M. Ladao, a junior at Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr. Dr. High School, earned third place. Also in photo is Kagman High School junior Jeffrey John Atalig, who received an honorable mention.
CNMI Attorney General Edward Manibusan, center, with judicial and elected officials.
