''Y Speak'' is a youth-oriented

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

show that discussed Philippine issues. The flagship show of

Studio 23 Studio 23 (officially Studio 23, Inc. and stylized in all uppercase as STUDIO 23) was a Tagalog television network owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. The network was named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV and carried on UHF chan ...

, it was hosted by

Bianca Gonzalez Bianca Monica Malasmas Gonzalez-Intal (; born March 11, 1983) is a Filipinos, Filipina television host and model. Hosting career Gonzalez first hosted ''GameChannel Extreme'' with Iya Villania, Chase Tinio and Aaron Mempin. Her first ever on ...

which aired every Saturday. To date, it is one of Studio 23's most awarded local shows. Aside from the CMMA victory as Best TV Talk Show, it is also a recipient of the UST Students' Choice Award for Best Public Affairs Talk Show, the Gandingan ( UPLB Students' Choice Award) for Best Panel Discussion Show, the Anak TV Seal, and endorsements from the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and the National Youth Commission.

Format

Featuring hosts

Ryan Agoncillo Kristoffer Lou "Ryan" Gonzales Agoncillo (; born April 10, 1979) is a Filipino actor, model, host, musician, and photographer. Career Modelling and hosting Agoncillo started as a model at the age of 15, beginning as one of the early Penshoppe's ...

, Karen Davila, and Bianca Gonzales, the youth debate about the current and relevant issues of the day. The debate is adjudicated by Father Carmelo Caliuag, SJ and a pair of celebrity guest judges in front of a weekly live audience from different schools. By Season 4, Y Speak was reformatted as an all-English youth-oriented documentary program with occasional debates.

History

Y Speak was originally broadcast on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

hosted by Agoncillo and Davila. A 21-year old Bianca Gonzales also started out as a segment host. Father Carmelo Caliuag, SJ was also a part of the show as its resident judge. Its first season premiered on September 8, 2004 with guest judges Senator

Mar Roxas Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II (; born May 13, 1957) is a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines. He is the grandson and namesake of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas. He served in the Cabinet of the Philippines ...

and Bernadette Sembrano. Initially, it aired on Wednesday nights after ''Special Assignment''. The debate show later moved to

and a Saturday timeslot. By Season 4, Y Speak was reformatted as an all-English youth-oriented documentary program with occasional debates. Gonzales was also made executive producer beginning in Season 4.

Hosts

Main hosts

* Karen Davila *

Y Speak Squad

Mo Twister Mohan Gumatay (born October 19, 1977), known professionally as Mo Twister, is a Filipino American radio and television presenter. He is best known for his ''Good Times'' programs, which started as a radio show and later spun off to the televis ...

*Vince Liwanag * Patricia Evangelista *

Sam Concepcion Samuel Lawrence Lopez Concepcion (born October 17, 1992) is a Filipino people, Filipino singer, dancer, actor, VJ (media personality), VJ and host. in April 2006 Concepcion won the Big Division in the first season of ''Little Big Star''. Conce ...

*JC Cuadrado *Ricci Chan *

Mikee Lee Michael Vincent Lee (born January 19, 1990) is a Filipino actor, model, host from Manila, Philippines. He was a runner up in the reality television series, Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition 1 behind the big winner Kim Chiu. Biography Michael ...

*Bettina Carlos *

Bam Aquino Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aguirre Aquino IV (, born May 7, 1977) is a Filipino politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines following the 2025 Philippine Senate election. A member of the Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KANP), he previo ...

Enchong Dee Ernest Lorenzo "Enchong" Velasquez Dee (, born November 5, 1988) is a Filipino people, Filipino actor, comedian, model, host, swimmer, triathlete, duathlete and writer. Dee is a contract artist of ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN's Star Magic. ...

Kim Atienza Alejandro "Kim" Ilagan Atienza (; born January 24, 1967), also called Kuya Kim, is a Filipino television presenter. Prior to becoming the resident weather anchor for ''TV Patrol'', Atienza served as Manila City Council, councilor of the Manila ...

* Atom Araullo *Jaja Bolivar

Guest hosts

Jake Cuenca Juan Carlos Cuenca (; born December 30, 1987), popularly known as Jake Cuenca, is a Filipino actor. He also played for United Football League Division 2 sides Team Socceroo FC. Career At the age of nine, Cuenca was discovered by talent scout ...

Maja Salvador Maja Ross Andres Salvador-Ortega (born October 5, 1988) is a Filipino actress and television personality. Known for portraying Strong female character, strong female leads in Revenge tragedy, revenge dramas in film and television, she has been ...

Gerald Anderson Gerald Randolph Opsima Anderson Jr. (born March 7, 1989) is a Filipino actor, Model (person), model, dancer and basketball player. He is managed and under contract to Star Magic, ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN's home based talent agency. Recogni ...

Billy Crawford Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford (born May 16, 1982) is a Filipino actor and singer. Crawford is a recipient of a NRJ Music Awards, a FAMAS Award and a special Aning Dangal award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Crawfor ...

Chris Tiu Christopher John Alandy-Dy Tiu (born July 15, 1985) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles with whom he won the UAAP title in 2008. He went on to play his entire professional ...

was also offered to be one of the hosts on the show but turned down the offer.

Awards and recognitions

*Winner, Best Public Affairs Program -

PMPC Star Awards for Television PMPC Star Awards for Television is an annual award-giving body recognizing the outstanding programming produced by the several TV networks in the Philippines. It was founded by the Philippine Movie Press Club, an organization of tabloid report ...

2007, 2009-2010 *Winner, Ryan Agoncillo, Best Public Affairs Program Host -

KBP Golden Dove Awards The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP; ) is a broadcast media organization in the Philippines which provides its members broadcasting standards. The KBP was organized on April 27, 1973 in order to promote professional and ethical s ...

2005 *Winner, Ryan Agoncillo, Outstanding TV Host - Gawad Amerika Awards 2006 *Winner, Best TV Talk Show - Catholic Mass Media Awards 2006 *Winner, Best Public Affairs Talk Show - UST Students Choice Awards 2006 *Winner, Best Public Affairs Talk Show - UST Students Choice Awards 2008 *Winner, Best Public Affairs Program - UST Students Choice Awards 2009 *Winner, Best Panel Discussion Show - The Gandingan UPLB Students Choice Awards *Winner, Anak TV Seal Awards (2005-2010) *Winner, Best Public Affairs Program - 6th Gawad Tanglaw Awards *Winner, Best Educational TV Program - 9th Gawad Tanglaw Awards *Winner, Best Public Affairs Program - KBP Golden Dove Awards 2010 *Special Award for Promoting Education - 2009

MTRCB The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion pict ...

TV Awards *Special Award -

Department Of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

*Special Award - National Youth Commission *Nominee, Best Celebrity Talk Show - PMPC Star Awards for Television (2004-2006) *Nominee, Best Public Affairs Program - PMPC Star Awards for Television 2008 *Nominee, Best Public Affairs Program - KBP Golden Dove Awards (2004-2006) *Nominee, Bianca Gonzalez, Best Public Affairs Program Host - KBP Golden Dove Awards 2005 *Nominee, Bianca Gonzalez & Atom Araullo, Best Public Affairs Program Host - PMPC Star Awards for Television 2008 *Nominee, Bianca Gonzalez, Best Public Affairs Program Host - PMPC Star Awards for Television 2010 *Nominee, Bianca Gonzalez, Kim Atienza, and Sam Concepcion, Best Public Affairs Program Host - PMPC Star Awards for Television 2007

References

{{Reflist Studio 23 original programming 2004 Philippine television series debuts 2010 Philippine television series endings Debate television series ABS-CBN talk shows Filipino-language television shows