Since its founding in 1991 by former WUDC Chair Ian Lising, the Ateneo Debate Society (ADS) has grown into one of the largest and most successful debate organizations in the region. The ADS has won seven Asian championships and seven national championships. The ADS has also reached the Australs final (2005) and has broken at Worlds consistently since the 1998 championship in Greece.
ADS success in national and international competitions is matched by its firm and long-standing commitment to national and regional debate development.

In 1999, the ADS brought the World Universities Debating Championship to Asia for the first time. That championship is now largely remembered as one of the most successful Worlds in history. Manila Worlds also had a historic number of teams from non-charter nations participating and making the break rounds, with teams from the Philippines, Singapore, and Pakistan reaching the quarterfinals. The grand final of Manila Worlds was televised live nationally and was opened by former Philippine President Joseph Estrada.

The ADS has also had a strong role in the growth of Philippine debating. In the mid-90s, the ADS co-founded the Philippine Parliamentary Debate Union with the University of the Philippines Debate Society. A few years afterwards, the ADS helped set up the National Debate Championship, which is now on its 8th year. More recently, the ADS founded the Philippine Schools Debate Championship (PSDC), the annual national competition for secondary schools started in 2002.

PSDC was an outgrowth of numerous training sessions conducted nationwide under the Ateneo Debate Education Program, which is supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The KAF-ADEP also includes training at the university level and reaches approximately 1000 people annually.

Other ADS events and projects include various intervarsity championships, internal competitions, issue awareness campaigns for both student and national politics, and policy analysis and social involvement programs, focusing particularly on democracy-building. The ADS was recently involved in organizing public debates for the 2007 Philippine senatorial elections.

In 2004, the ADS was recognized by the Office of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the National Youth Commission as one of the country's Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations.