A BS Accountancy freshman from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University placed first in the 23rd
Philippine Statistics Quiz (PSQ) held at the Toyota Asian Center Auditorium in Diliman, Quezon City on December 9, 2014. This is the 3rd time that Zamboanga Peninsula bagged the coveted PSQ national finals trophy.
The seventeen-year-old Andre Gilmore Arpa garnered 28 points for rounds 1 to 3 to inch his way to overall lead among the 15 national finalists.
Being the 23rd PSQ National Champion, Arpa was awarded a cash prize of PhP30,000, a PSQ medal, and a specially designed trophy, among others. His coach, Ms Daisy M. Quisel, was also given special recognition and PhP15,000 cash reward.
The first and second places with total scores of 28 and 27, respectively, were easily won but the third place was a toss among the three finalists from Hussein Zuorba (Central Visayas), Mark Caesar Rosales (Eastern Visayas), and Raphael Christian Sanchez (Northern Mindanao), who all garnered 26 points. But on the basis of their scores in the first round, Zuorba and Sanchez both garnered 9 points while Rosales got 8 points, Rosales settled for the fifth place. Luckily, Rosales and his coach made it to the national finals just in the nick of time. Finally, the tie was between Zuorba and Sanchez. After three questions, Zuorba emerged 3rd place and Sanchez, fourth place.
Dr. Romulo A. Virola, former NSCB Secretary-General and Chairperson of the Board of Judges made the announcement of the national winners. Other members of this year's Board of Judges were former NSO Administrator Carmelita N. Ericta, Commissioner Nieves Osorio of the Civil Service Commission, and former BAS Director and current PSA Interim Deputy National Statistician Romeo Recide.
National Statistician Lisa Grace S. Bersales, together with Philippine Statistical Association President Jose Ramon G. Albert, awarded the top five national winners and their coaches with their respective cash prizes and other goodies.
The other regional champions who qualified for the national finals were Jomar B. Calauod (NCR), John Christian R. Tolentino (CAR), Charlie Joy D. Palalay (Ilocos), Adrian T. Callangan (Cagayan Valley), Xyrus D. Collado (Central Luzon), Raymond John P. Diaz, (CALABARZON), Daniel S. Gidayawan (Western Visayas), Annie Marrise P. Insong (Davao), Lowie M. Gonzales (Caraga), and Jasmin S. Esmael (ARMM). Due to tropical storm Hagupit, Roel M. Rey (MIMAROPA) and Julius John T. Dayawon (Bicol) were not able to make it to the national finals.
This year's contest is a collaborative effort of sponsors and partners from the government and the private sector. Sponsors from the government are Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Social Security System, Department of Science and Technology, and Philippine Statistical Research Institute, and the Correspondence Office of the Office of the President.
Major partners from the private sector are Unisys Philippines, APO Production Unit, Inc, Vibal Group, Teleserv, SM Retail, JACALA, Philippine Statistics Employees Multipurpose Cooperative, and Census Provident Fund, Inc., plus unrelenting support from Ms. Anna Sy Census Planning and Operations Division Chief Minette Eloisa P. Esquivias served as the Quiz Master for the 2014 PSQ National Finals while Administrative Services Division OIC Mr. Joseph Cajeta was the Master of Ceremonies.
The PSQ aims to assess the competency and skills of college freshmen in statistics as acquired from high school. This has been a yearly undertaking since 1992 to promote public awareness and appreciation of statistics. This year's PSQ was the first time it became under the helm of the Philippine Statistics Authority.