Pinoy students bag top int’l awards in Japan

MANILA, Philippines - A group of sophomore students, including the son of a senior military official, from Philippine Science High School (PSHS)-Quezon City main campus bagged the two highest awards in the just-concluded international environmental map hazard competition held in Japan.

Out of three entries that PSHS section Champaca students submitted to the 22nd Asahikawa Environmental Map Contest in Hokkaido University, two garnered the highest Award of Excellence for relevance to disaster awareness and preparedness.

The young scientists’ winning pieces – “It Is Not All Your Fault’” and “We Like-en (Lichen) Air” – resulted from the their research on the Marikina fault line and the hazardous effect of air pollution to the environment inside their school campus located along Agham Road in Diliman, Quezon City.

“It Is Not All Your Fault” deals with the devastating effect of an earthquake on PSHS buildings in the event the adjacent Marikina Valley Fault moves.

“We Like-en (Lichen) Air” involved an experiment on the colors of mosses the students found on barks of trees that are plentiful inside their school compound, to measure the amount of outside air pollutants and its effect on plants inside their school.

From their research and experiments, the young scientists translated their findings into maps they submitted to the Japan-based international environmental competition.

Last month, the young Filipino scientists earned two awards of excellence – the highest award in the competition – from the International Geographical Union Commission on Hazard and Risk (IGU-CHR) and from the Society for Environmental Map Education (SEME).

“Actually, the entries were part of the students’ map projects drawn from their research on the effect the Marikina Valley Fault and the hazards of outside air pollution inside the PSHS campus,” said Cynthia Andaya, PSHS environmental science teacher and adviser of the group.

The students are Kelvin Bartilad, Ralph Benedict Bucao, Blanca Isabel Coronel, Adrielle Theresa Cusi, Karl Joseph Hufalar, Jimuel Lara, Raphael Carlos Malixi, Theresa Marie Rigor and Carisse Ma. Betino Tabora and Justine Kyle Mapalo.

Andaya added this year’s environmental competition was participated in by scores of elementary, junior and senior high school students from various international schools in Japan.

For bagging the two highest awards, the PSHS students were flown to Hokkaido last Oct. 26 to personally receive their awards from Prof. Yukio Himiyama, president of Hokkaido University where the awarding rites were held last Oct. 28.

Justine Kyle Mapalo, one of student-awardees, is the son Col. Oscar Mapalo, who put his military career on the line when he openly denounced before the media the “bata-bata” promotion practice in the military during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Arroyo administration relieved Mapalo as anti-terror Task Force Libra commander. He was Metro Manila’s anti-terror military commander under former President Joseph Estrada.

Mapalo was ordered arrested to face general court martial proceedings.

“I was not expecting this,” Mapalo remarked, referring to the congratulatory letter sent to his son by the Institute of Geography, Hokkaido University of Education Asahikawa Campus through Virginia Andres, directress, PSHS main campus.

Along with Himiyama’s letter was an invitation for the young scientists from PSHS to be present during the awarding rites.

Malacañang also lauded the students who won the recently concluded 9th International Mathematics and Science Olympiad held in India.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte encouraged the students to continue striving for academic excellence.

The Philippines won one gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze medals in the contest, which was held in Lucknow, India from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2.  – Alexis Romero