The National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Philippine Statistical Association (PSA) will hold tomorrow the national finals of this year’s Philippine Statistics Quiz (PSQ) at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Quezon City. Sixteen (16) regional champions will compete in three rounds of questions and answers on statistical theories and problems. Winners will receive, among others, modest cash prizes, trophies, certificates of recognition and several gift items from the various sponsors and donors of the undertaking.
The program will start with a message from PSA President Ms. Nieves L. Osorio. Participants will be welcomed by Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan, CHED Chairperson. On the other hand, the closing remarks will be delivered by NSO Administrator Carmelita N. Ericta.
Expected to grace the occasion are heads and employees of statistical agencies, representatives of sponsoring agencies, and relatives and peers of the national finalists.
The board of judges for the 2013 PSQ national competition will be chaired by Dr. Romulo A. Virola, former Secretary-General of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), with Dr. Mercedes Concepcion, an academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), and Mrs. Nelia R. Marquez, former NSO Deputy Administrator, as members.
The PSQ is now on its 22nd year since it started in 1992. A brainchild of former NSO Administrator Tomas Africa, the annual competition aims to instill the value of statistics among students and to elicit awareness on its importance in national development planning and thereby generate support and public cooperation in government statistical activities. The CHED began endorsing it in 1994.
Last November 14, regional eliminations were held all over the country, spearheaded by the PSQ regional steering committees, with the support of local officials, government agencies and private institutions. College freshmen students representing various colleges and universities, both public and private, participated in the contest. Those who emerged as regional champions will be the official representatives to tomorrow’s national competition. The regional winners and their respective coaches have been provided by the PSQ organizers with modest accommodation, two-way transportation expenses and per diem for the duration of the national finals.
Last year, Jay Nelson Corbita, a BS Mechanical Engineering student of Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City brought home the 21st PSQ national championship trophy.
This year, live updates on the contest can be viewed at http://www.census.gov.ph/events/psq.