PHL reaps 3 bronze medals in int’l math olympiad

Medals from international math and science competitions keep on pouring for the Philippines as the country’s contingent reaped three bronze medals in the recently concluded 52nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Amsterdam.

Chiang Kai Shek College’s Henry Jefferson Morco and St. Jude Catholic School’s Vance Eldric Go and Carmela Antoinette Lao cornered three bronze medals — the highest medal haul the Philippines obtained since it joined the competition in 1988.

According to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the team was headed by Julius Basilla and Glen Mackenzie Ong from the Mathematical Society of the Philippines.

Morco obtained the highest score among the team members at 20, while Go and Lao got 19 and 17, respectively, the DOST said. Out of 564 participants, Morco ranked 171st, Go at 186th, and Lao at 222nd.

This is the third time Lao joined the IMO, where she got a bronze medal in 2009 and a silver medal in 2010, making history as the first Filipina to achieve both awards.

Morco also got an honorable mention in the 2010 competition in Germany.

The Philippine contingent was picked from the DOST-organized 12th Philippine Math Olympiad (PMO). The team was selected from over 3,851 aspiring high school students nationwide.

The top 20 finalists of the PMO were further winnowed down to five after undergoing rigorous training through the Mathematical Olympiad Science Camp, a month long summer training program held at the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Dr. Filma G. Brawner, director of DOST-Science Education Institute, extended her congratulations to the Philippine team, taking note of the increasing medal haul of the Philippines.

“In our 23 years of participation in the IMO, we have gathered two silvers, 11 bronze medals, and 13 honorable mentions. Our performance is improving as well and we are optimistic that we can get even better in the coming years,” she said.

Brawner vowed that the DOST shall continue to provide support in competitions such as the IMO and PMO to bring forth talented students in science and mathematics and to provide them the avenue to improve their skills and test it against students here and abroad.

“We shall continue to be on a lookout for young science and mathematics human resource that in the future will be part of our science community and bolster it with exemplar research and development,” she said. — JE, GMA News