The duplo is a debate in verse. Those who planned to do the duplo did a lot of practice in the rice fields or resting under the tree. The participants usually searched for verses from nearby towns, and gave up their fighting roosters or dumalagas in exchange for verses.
The duplo was held during the prayers said for the dead. It was also held during the first anniversary of the death of a person. The widow or survivors of the deceased would usually invite some young ladies and gentlemen from their barrio or neighboring ones to perform the duplo.
The male participants were called belyako, female were belyaka, and there was a king called hari, who acted as a judge who announced punishments to those who made mistakes.
The duplo would follow this format. They would say the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, then, it would go something like this:
King: Ready?
All: Ready!
King: Ladies and gentlemen, the elders and youth who are here now, I greet you one and all, at the start of the duplo game
The kingdom has a rose in its garden which in the morning and afternoon is often sprinkled, with holy water that cures the sick because of its extraordinary smell.
The garden is fenced with strong iron railings, and an iron gate is at the entrance, that rose aforementioned disappeared and was lost, its said the belyakos stole it
Belyako: we didn’t steal it
King: who did
Belyako: the king did
And so forth. If you’d like to read the entire passage, you can find it in the lecture of Teodoro E. Gener, Institute of National Language, Manila, Philippines, March 29, 1944.
The Balagtasan is a modified form of the duplo. It is a poetic joust between two poets. The first balagtasan was held on April 6, 1924, at the Instituto de Mujeres, a school for young women located on the Tayuman Street in Manila. The two poet combatants were Jose Corazon de Jesus and Florentino T. Collantes, two young poets then. The former represented Paroparo, Butterfy, and the latter, Bubuyog (Bee). The question was “Which one does the kampupot (name of flower) like better: the butterfly or bee?” Each poet gave his argument clothed in beautiful words and phrases much to the delight of the listeners.
You can find the full script from another lecture of Tedoro e. Gener which was in June, 1948.
Here is a section. You can see it in its original language as I will post screenshots.
The bee:
Nevertheless, Butterfly, you should realize
That even at the start
You have never been loved;
The kerchief with which she covered you
You yourself declared was tainted with poison
To that the butterfly responded:
That was a wrong premise I kept in my heart,
For my thoughts were kept off the truth
I realize it was really not poison
Instead on that kerchief was love’s potion