MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine delegation to the 51st International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) that bagged silver and other awards arrived in Manila on Thursday.

Carmela Antoinette S. Lao of St. Jude Catholic School, Henry Jefferson Morco of Chiang Kai Shek College, and Zheng Rong Wu of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School arrived from Kazakhstan at around 4:30 a.m. via Philippine Airlines flight number PR 433.

With them is team leader Dr. Ian June Garces of the Mathematical Society of the Philippines (MSP) who is also an associate professor of mathematics at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Together with Garces is Glen Mackenzie Ong, deputy team leader. He is also a former Philippine contestant to the IMO.

Winners of the 51st International Math Olympiad pose for a picture with their trainers and supporters. From left to right: Angelli O. Cortez of Science Education Institute, Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones, Philippine delegation Team Leader Dr. Ian June Garces, Honorable Mention winner Zheng Rong Wu of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School, Honorable Mention winner Henry Jefferson Morco of Chiang Kai Shek College, Silver medalist Carmela Antoinette S. Lao of St. Jude Catholic School, Philippine delegation deputy team leader Glen Mackenzie Ong, and Fr. Lino Nicasio, principal of St. Jude Catholic School. Credit: Raoul Esperas

Lao is the first Filipina to win bronze (at the 50th IMO) and silver (at the 51st IMO) for the country. Meanwhile, Morco and Wu won honorable mentions in the said meet.

This year, Lao makes history again as she won the country’s 2nd silver medal at the IMO after a drought of 21 years.

Garces said Lao got a total score of 21 points which earned her a silver medal.

Garces said the three were selected from over 2,800 aspiring high school students nationwide who participated in the Philippine Mathematical Olympiad (PMO).

The top 20 finalists of the PMO were further winnowed down to three after undergoing rigorous training through the Mathematical Olympiad Science Camp (MOSC), a month-long summer training program held at the Ateneo.

“The last time we had a silver was in 1989, courtesy of Jerome Khohayting. For the first time, all members of the Philippine team are bringing home honors,” Garces said.

He also said the individual wins of the Philippine team places the country above other nations with six students joining the IMO. It is also the best Philippine performance in the IMO to date. The Philippines ranks 74th in the online published ranking of countries joining the IMO, an improvement from last year’s 78th place.

“The gold, silver, and bronze medalists are the top half of the participants, and they are in the ratio 1:2:3. The cut-off score for Gold is 27, for Silver is 21, and for Bronze is 15. There are 517 participants from 96 countries and territories,” he added.

The Philippine participation in the IMO and the MOSC was under the auspices of the Science Education Institute (SEI) and MSP, headed by Dr. Fidel R. Nemenzo. Garces and Ong were ably assisted in the MOSC by Alva Benedict C. Balbuena of UP-Diliman, Rey A. Barcelon of Misys International Banking System, Dr. Job Nable, and Winfer Tabares of Ateneo.
 
SEI Director Dr. Ester Ogena expressed elation over the Philippines’ recent victory at the IMO.
 
“We are very proud of our students who brought home honor for our country. They are our precious resources which we will continue to nurture through our various programs,” she said.

Ogena said SEI will continue to provide support mechanisms in nurturing gifted and talented students in science and mathematics.
 
“We will be on a continuous lookout for gifted students who can be trained and exposed to local and international competitions to further hone their skills,” she said.

Ogena expressed hope that the victories the Philippines is getting in competitions abroad would translate into more students pursuing science and technology careers.
 
“The Philippines needs our gifted students to pursue science and technology careers and bolster the development of the country to an innovation powerhouse,” she said.

Garces added he hopes that with continued support from SEI and MSP, the Philippines can scale to greater heights in the 52nd IMO to be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2011.