PHL team excels in regional science competition

Young Filipino scientists performed very well at the ASEAN Plus Three Junior Science Odyssey (APTJSO) last week, bagging 15 medals as well as two of the top three places in the competition.

"[T]he Philippines dominated the competition in terms of medal haul as it snatched 15 medals from the different component contests," the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Science Education Institute announced over the weekend.

Held at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, the APTJSO is an annual educational competition in the field of science and technology for gifted students aged 13 to 15 within the ASEAN+3 region.

Among the component contests of the competition are project pitching, laboratory skills assessment, and poster presentations.

The competition was topped by Brunei Team A, composed of Teo Siang Jun, Mohammad Ariff Zikry Mohammad Haziq, and Haji Ahmad Nizam Noor Manina.

The overall second and third places were then bagged by two Philippine teams represented by the Philippine Science High School (PSHS).

Second-placer Philippines Team A was composed of PSHS Cagayan Valley Campus students Jose Benjamin Dela Cruz, Mark Ely Namoro and Hannah Keren Duque.

Third place was claimed by Philippines Team D, composed of Francis Jether Siao, Joseph Karl Salva Jr., and Sean Dominic Abella from the PSHS Central Visayas campus.

The Philippines has consistently topped the competition, noting a four-year winning streak from 2012 to 2015. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News