Tobit James Narciso, a graduate of Philippine Science High School Diliman campus won bronze in the recent 20th Asian-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad held at the Ateneo de Manila University.

A student who earns more than seven points gets a bronze medal, silver for over 12 points, and gold for a score higher than 17 points. Total number of points is 35. Narciso had nine, besting nine other students from different schools in the country.

APMO started in 1989. It aims to discover, encourage, and challenge mathematics inclined students in Pacific rim countries. It also fosters friendship and cooperation among students and teachers, and information exchange on school syllabi and practices throughout the region.

APMO participants are given four hours to work on five questions, each question carries a maximum score of seven points. The questions are collected from the contestants at the end of APMO and kept confidential until the senior coordinating country posts them on the APMO website.

Contestants are not allowed to discuss the math problems over the Internet until the results are posted.

This year's APMO generated very low medal turnout with 17 gold, 12 silver, and 7 bronze.
The Philippines, which posted a total of 42 points and only one bronze medal ranked 17th among 28 participating countries. South Korea topped the APMO followed by Japan, USA, Taiwan, and Russia.

Science Education Institute Director Ester B. Ogena explained that “mathematics need not be a difficult subject given the substantial training and knowledge from grade school to secondary level.”

“I urge our dear students to put into good use the foundation they get in joining this kind of competition by taking up science-related courses. We need you to help us pursue our development goals through research and development geared towards building our capacity to innovate our industries and improve our economy,” she said.