Written by Nathaniel Capistrano
Illustration by Kyle Banzali & Matthew Profeta
Published 18 November 2021
The 5th Annual Philippine Biology Olympiad (PBO) 2022: TANAW concluded with the victory of four qualifiers for the International Biology Olympiad (IBO), including the championship of Chiara Tan-Gatue, a former IBO medalist.
The annual competition, which ran from January to March 2022, aimed to select four student delegates for the IBO out of the 346 total participants while enhancing students’ interests, passions, and skills in the biological sciences.
Representing the Philippines
In an interview, Tan-Gatue mentioned that she is excited to represent the Philippines again in the IBO which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia1.
“I hope to work hard to bring honor to the Philippines,” stated the Grade 11 champion from Saint Jude Catholic School.
Tan-Gatue is joined by the three other delegates Liam Alleda, Raven Foronda, and Yosef Segotier, who are all from the Philippine Science High School system.
Foronda, the second placer, also invited future PBO participants to be well-prepared when joining the olympiad. “It boils down to how hard you work and how hard you study,” emphasized the Grade 12 student from PSHS Main Campus.
Online conduct
PBO was spearheaded by the project heads, Pauline Cases and Gino Delos Reyes, both 4th year BS Life Sciences students.
In an interview, the project heads mentioned that the PBO was in a span of about two and a half months until the finals on March 13. This is different from the onsite set-up where the PBO spanned for two days only. However, the project heads emphasized that the ultimate goal of the competition remains the same.
Cases and Delos Reyes also said that the online set-up had a lot of challenges, mentioning that it required more manpower and more revisions to adjust to the online set-up. Compromises were made with regards to the platforms and the interaction between the participants and the organizers but it was ensured that they upheld the integrity and credibility of the competition.
The project heads also expressed their congratulations and gratitude to the participants of the national contest.
“We are very thankful to all participants for partaking in the event and we are very hopeful that all of them learned something from the stuff we offered throughout the whole event,” Delos Reyes added.
Furthermore, Cases hopes that the PBO will continue to provide more learning opportunities to deepen their understanding in biology, hoping that this ‘helps in expanding the horizons and perspectives’ for the students.
Looking back and looking forward
ADMU Department of Biology Undergraduate Programs Coordinator Ronald Cruz, the country coordinator for the IBO, is in charge of the IBO delegates moving forward.
The delegates are also looking forward to the two-week training to be conducted by Ateneo’s Biology Department to hone their theoretical and practical knowledge prior to the IBO.
The project heads also clarified that funds raised by the PBO will be used for the transportation of the delegates to the international contest. They are also reaching out to sponsors for additional support to the winners.
References
- About IBO [Internet]. PBO 2020. [cited 2022Mar18]. Available from: https://www.pbolympiad.org/about-ibo
- Capistrano N, Cases P, Delos Reyes G. PBO Project Heads Interview. 2022.
- Capistrano N, Cases P, Delos Reyes G. PBO Project Heads Interview. 2022.
Ateneo BOx 