Cordillera Administrative Region representative Daryl Abiog clinched first place in the 1999 Philippine Statistics Quiz (PSQ) National Finals held at the William Shaw Theater at De La Salle University (DLSU) last December 3.
Abiog, a 17-year old BS Mathematics freshman at Saint Louis University-Baguio City scored perfect in the final round besting 14 other students from the 15 regions in the country. His victory ended the winning streak of Region 4’s University of the Philippines-Los Baños, which had bagged the championships since 1994.
Macelino Uy of DLSU (NCR) came second, while William Cheung of Computronix College in Dagupan (Region I), was the third-placer. Other winners were Carlo Jan Garingarao of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (Region 12) , in fourth place and Allen Michael Arendon of University of St. La Salle in Bacolod (Region 6), in fifth place.
Winners took home trophies and cash prizes. The champion received P20,000, while succeeding placers were given P16,000, 12,000, 8,000 and 4,000, respectively. Coaches were likewise rewarded cash prizes equivalent to half the amount their ward's received. All the national finalists, who are actually regional champions, were all duly recognized and presented a medal prior to the contest proper.
Dr. Tito Mijares, academician from the National Academy of Science and Technology chaired the board of judges for this year’s contest. Other members were Dr. Amelia Biglete of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Dr. Jose Ramon Albert of the Statistical Research Center (SRTC). Television personality Christine Ong, PTV-4 News, was the quizmaster.
Keynote speaker for the 8th PSQ was Dr. Vicente Valdepenas Jr., Monetary Board Member, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In his message, Dr. Valdepeñas emphasized on the importance of statistics to national planning and policymaking as they represent "a better estimate of reality".
The PSQ is an annual national competition for college freshmen designed to instill interest and appreciation on the uses of statistics in development planning. It also gauges the effectiveness of current statistics curriculum in high school and helps determine possible areas for improvement. The quiz was launched in 1992 by the National Statistics Office and the Philippine Statistical Association, in cooperation with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and SRTC.
The list of sponsors for this year’s national finals included APO Production Unit, BSP, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, DLSU, Department of Interior and Local Government, Metrobank Foundation, National Statistical Coordination Board, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, PETRON, Philippine Stock Exchange, SRTC and UP Statistical Center Research Foundation, Inc.