DAMMAM, 28 February — Four junior students from the Philippine School in Dammam excelled in the 3rd Kingdomwide Inter-School Academic, Skills and Talents Competition held on Feb. 22 at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.
Ramon Jeriel Sawit, a second year student in PSD, won the 1st place in the Search for Young Jose Rizal 2002 while Kristina Mae Manalaotao, a third year student, garnered the 3rd prize in the Search for Young Maria Clara 2002 competitions.
Also contributing to the PSD’s feat were Issa Paulino and Veronica Tupaz, both 3rd year students, when they notched the 4th place in the Battle of the Brains.
The competition was organized by the Order of the Knights of Rizal (OKOR), Riyadh Community Chapter, bannering this year’s theme, “Rizalism: For Peace and Unity Towards Progress.”
Jeriel delivered his oratorical piece titled “Rizal, the Hero and his Challenge to the Youth” written by his mentor Cynthia Manalo with gusto.
Principal Lita Rolluda, who heads the PSD delegation, was so proud of her students and lauded the OKOR in Riyadh for holding such an educational and fair competition for the school children.
According to Rolluda, PSD ranked third in the overall award for schools with a total of 20 points.
The International Philippine School in Riyadh won the overall championship award with a total of 24 points while Al Mareefa International School in Riyadh ranked second with 23 points.
The other schools who joined the competition were Second Philippine International School in Riyadh, Riyadh International School, Millenium International School also in Riyadh, The Philippine Community School in Al-Khobar, and the Al-Hekma International School in Jeddah.
The International Philippine School in Al-Khobar and the International Philippine School in Jeddah failed to join in this year’s OKOR competition.
Gracing the occasion was Consul Gary S. Domingo who is also a KOCR area commander for Middle East and Africa.
This year’s competition was sponsored by Power Horse Energy Drink, Al Marai, McDonalds, Philippine Airlines, East-West Placement Center, Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mishari Hospital, Filipino International Martial Arts Brotherhood, Al-Thaney Insurance, and Jarir Bookstore.
