DAGUPAN CITY — Students from the six schools divisions and various universities in Pangasinan battled it out for the provincial competition in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The ASEAN competition, organized by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Region I, aims to strengthen the awareness of the general public on ASEAN and to widen their knowledge on the benefits and opportunities of being a member-country of the globally-recognized association.
“This activity will help the different sectors of the society, specifically the youth, to appreciate the developments that ASEAN can bring to the country,” said Regional Director Jennilyne Role of PIA.
Participants for the poster-slogan making contest were students from Grades 4-6 while for the quiz bee were students from Grades 7 to 10 and for the essay writing were college students.
The said competition was held simultaneously in the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte. Representatives from the three ASEAN Pillar offices— Department of Social welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)—served as judges along with representatives from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
In Pangasinan, the provincial elimination was held at the Division training hall of DepEd in Dagupan City attended by more than a hundred contestants, coaches, and supporters.
Isaac Jonathan Magno of West Central Elementary School was declared the poster-slogan making champion while Mary Joy Narciso of San Carlos City Division and Shekinah Dizon of Bayambang I Central School were declared 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up, respectively.
Winners for the Quiz Bee were: Andrew Racuya of Mother Goose Special School System as champion, Rico Romero of the Alaminos City Division as 1st runner –up, and Irish Mae De Vera of St. Albert the Great School as 2nd runner-up.
For the Essay Writing contest, Dionas Delos Angeles of the Pangasinan State University was declared the champion while Paul Javillonar of the University of Pangasinan -PHINMA , and Justin Aboy of the University of Luzon came in as 1st and 2nd runners-up respectively.
The first-place winners for each category will be the provincial representatives to the regional finals to be held on September 14 in San Fernando City, La Union. (JNPD/VHS/PIA-1, Pangasinan)
