Pinoy math, science whiz kids bag medals in international olympiad

MANILA, Philippines - Young Filipino math and science wizards placed second in the math category in the 6th International Math and Science Olympiad (IMSO) in Jogjakarta, Indonesia recently.

Host country Indonesia took first place while Singapore landed third.

Winning the Philippines’ lone gold medal in the IMSO was Adrian Reginald Sy of St. Jude Catholic School who earned an 86.5-percent score in the grueling mathematics competition.

The silver medallists were Jason Joseph Fernandez of San Beda College, Alabang; Prince Michael Balanay of Colegio San Agustin, Biñan; John Thomas Chuatak and Nathanael Joshua Balete, both of St Stephen’s High School; and Andrew Lawrence Sy, also of St. Jude.

The six bronze medal winners were Farrel Eldrian Wu of MGC New Life Christian Academy; Benedict Ryan Chua Tiu of St. Stephen’s; Jasper Amadeus Opulencia of North Central School Tanauan; Andrei Triz Patupat of Hold Rosary College-Sta. Rosa; Franz Patrick Villamor from the division of Cagayan de Oro City; and Emman Joshua Busto of Juan Sumulong Elementary School, Antipolo City.

South Africa, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brunei, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Iran, and India participated in the 6th IMSO.

“We are proud of them and we hope this will encourage them to work harder to further hone their math skills so they can win more medals in international competitions and bring more honors to the country,” Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines, said.  

In the science category, the Philippines won three silver and three bronze medals. The country’s ranking in the science category was not stated in the press statement.

The silver medallists in the theoretical and experimental science competitions were Diego Nathaniel Mina of Holy Rosary College-Sta. Rosa; Allan Cedrick Domino of San Beda-Alabang; and Caireen Tuppil of Placido del Mundo Elementary School in Quezon City.

Winning bronze medals for science were Gabriel Estampador of San Beda-Alabang, Sarah Jane Macuja of Kidapawan Elementary School; and Paul Carlo Diamond Salise from the division of Cagayan de Oro City.

The competition was held on Nov.11 and 12.

The IMSO is an annual math and science tournament for elementary school students organized by the Directorate of Kindergarten and Primary Education of Indonesia’s Ministry of National Education.

The competition began in 2003 as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Mathematics and Science Olympiad and was exclusive only to ASEAN members.

The competition was renamed IMSO the following year when non-ASEAN nations were invited to participate.  – Rainier Allan Ronda