DAMMAM, 16 March 2005 — Thirty-nine Filipino students in the Kingdom passed the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) for the school year which starts in June, a Philippine Embassy official said yesterday.
Of the total passers, 19 are from Riyadh, 12 from Alkhobar and Dammam, and eight from Jeddah schools, Consul and Second Secretary Germinia Aguilar-Usudan said.
A list of the passers obtained by Arab News showed that six of 18 examinees from the Second Philippine International School (SPIS), or 33 percent, were among the passers. They were Marie Nicole Alcantara, Andrew Bagaoisan, Charina Bantugan, Charles Phillip Brioso, Rey Vincent Generales, and Rosa Borja.
Millenium International School (MIS) scored 28% with four qualifiers out of 14 examinees. They were Phoebe Alejo, Kevin Ray Cabanting, Dana Delgado, and Arnold Brent Reyes.
The International Philippine School in Riyadh (IPSR) followed with 26%, or four passers out of 15 hopefuls. The students were Carla Tantiangco, Mary Grace Velasco, Hajara Ayunan, and Ivan Francis Bermudez.
Nour Al-Maaref International School (NAMIS) had two passers — Rhodanne Nicole Lambarte and Von Reinier Santiago — out of six candidates.
Al Taj International School (ATIS) had 10 candidates and only Gerald Mudlong and Peire Martin Reyes made it.
Monica Ruth Dazo was the only passer from Palm Crest International School (PCIS), which had eight candidates.
Again, the International Philippine School in Alkhobar (IPSA) led the list in the Eastern Region with eight out of 38 students hurdling the test. The passers were Joanna Carlos, Roxanne David, Krystalle Dayandante, Donna Golingay, Caselyn Ibaseco, Ivy Joy Mallare, Angelica Villanueva, and Jhamie Villanueva.
The Philippine School in Dammam had three qualifiers out of nine students for a 33% batting average. They were Ria Karla Arana, Mabelle Hugo, and Jomell Mendoza.
Mark Alexander Collado was the only passer out of 9 takers from Al Andalus International School (AAIS).
In Jeddah, the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ) fielded the biggest number of examinees — 53 — and only six passed, for a batting average of 11%. The passers were Khadijah Abduljalil, Alain Andrew Boquiren, Princess Amani Escano, Christian Paul Justiniano, Iman Acmad Maranda, and Sondoz Udasan.
Al-Hekma International School (AHIS) had only one passer — John Rodulf Adriano — out of 14 hopefuls.
Donna Marie Kiritharan gave Bader International School (BIS) a 50% passing rate. Her classmate did not make it.
According to Usudan, the total passing rate is only about 20 percent or 39 passers out of 196 total Filipino students who took the UPCAT in October 2004. However, the number of passers in the Kingdom had continued to increase compared with the past years. There were only 16 passers in 2001, 25 in 2002, 34 in 2003, and 37 in 2004 according to records.
“I still believe that most of the students in the Kingdom who took the UPCAT passed. However, due to the tight quota system of the course the students’ selected, most of them did not reach the cut-off of the UPG,” Usudan said, referring to the different predicted grade in every campus of UP.
UP is the premier state university in the Philippines and is considered to have the toughest entrance examinations in the country, after that of the Philippine Military Academy.