Home quarantine

On January 31, 2020, the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Bicol Region issued Memorandum Circular No. 2020-018 “Guides to Action Against “Coronavirus”.”

On February 3, 2020, the Office of the City Mayor, City of Naga issued Executive Order No. 2020-004 “Creating the Infection Prevention and Control Task Force.”

On March 16, 2020, a Memorandum from the Executive Secretary on Community Quarantine Over the Entire Luzon and Further Guidelines for the Management of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation announced “the imposition of an Enhanced Community Quarantine and the Stringent Social Distancing Measures over the entire Luzon, including the National Capital Region (NCR), effective 00:00 (12 a.m.) of 17 March 2020 and expiring on 00:00 (12 a.m.) of 13 April 2020.”

Part of it states that “A strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households; movement shall be limited to accessing basic necessities; provision for food and essential health services shall be regulated; and there will be heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce quarantine procedures.”

On March 19, 2020, the Office of the City Mayor, City of Naga issued a Memorandum Order “Mga Bagong Panundon sa Implementasyon kan Enhanced Community Quarantine sa Naga” describing a “Home Quarantine Leave Pass.” (I am unable to translate the document to English.)

Last March 23, 2020, I received the Home Quarantine Leave Pass shown below. It is printed grayscale on glossy paper with a hardly-noticeable dry seal.  It allows me to leave my residence during given hours on three given days of the week.

Official cash tickets

A few months ago, I found these four 5-peso “Official Cash Tickets” on a street in Naga City (in Camarines Sur). It was the first time I knew of their existence. I did not know what they were for. But after looking at a few websites (such as “Philatelic Philippines“), it seems to me that these are receipts issued by an Office of the Provincial Treasurer for small amounts such as those involving permits for street vendors and the use of public bathrooms. (The National Printing Office website states that “Cash Ticket Php 1.00” (“2.00,” “5.00,” “10.00”) is Accountable Form Number 55-C (55-D, 55-E, 55-F).)

The backs of the tickets are stamped with the words “LUIS [B.?] DE LA [CRUZ?]” and “NAGA MEPO.” It seems that “NAGA MEPO” stands for “City Government of Naga City Market Enterprise and Promotions Office.” There is also some handwriting on the back. Given that the front of the ticket states that it is “not valid unless stamped on back with name of municipality and date,” my guess is that the written text is “Jan 29.”

21st Philippine Mathematical Olympiad (Region 5)

Ateneo de Naga University is the Regional Testing Center for Region V of the 21st Philippine Mathematical Olympiad.

The Philippine Mathematical Olympiad, a nationwide mathematics competition open to all junior and senior high school students of the Philippines, is carried out in three stages.

The qualifying stage (to be held on October 20, 2018, Saturday) consists of a written exam administered in fourteen regional testing sites. The exam consists of fifteen multiple-choice questions worth 2 points each, ten multiple-choice questions worth 3 points each, and five answers-only questions worth 6 points each.

The area stage (to be held on November 24, 2018, Saturday) consists of a written exam administered in testing sites for the four areas (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and National Capital Region). The exam consists of twenty answers-only questions and three open-ended questions that require full solutions.

The national stage (to be held on January 26, 2019, Saturday) consists of a written exam and an oral exam administered in Metro Manila. The written exam consists of four open-ended questions that require full solutions to be answered in 4.5 hours. The oral exam (which is open to the public) consists of 30 questions read to the participants and to be answered within a specified time for each item.

Each school may send up to thirty participants (students with a final grade of 88% (or its equivalent) in mathematics in the previous school year). The participants with the top fifty scores in the qualifying stage per area will qualify for the area stage. The participants with the top twenty scores (national ranking) in the area stage will qualify for the national stage. The national finalists will be qualified to join the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp (MOSC). The representatives of the country to the International Mathematical Olympiad will be selected from the participants of the MOSC.

Translating Filipino to Filipino?

This semester, I am teaching an undergraduate class in Filipino. (The course is called “Matematika sa Makabagong Daigdig” or “Mathematics in the Modern World.”) I was trying to say “When was the concept of zero invented and accepted as denoting a number?” in Filipino and I came up with “Kailan inimbento at tinanggap na nagtutukoy ng isang numero ang konsepto ng sero?” I entered it in Google Translate to see how it would translate it. But instead of translating Filipino to English, it seems that it was set up to translate English to Filipino. I was surprised with the sentence that Google Translate came up with (“Anu-ano ang mga halimbawa ng mga tula tungkol sa wika?” means “What are the examples of poems about language?”).

I made a small change to my sentence (using “naimbento instead of “inimbento“) and Google Translate came up with “Sinu-sino ang mga pilipinong nagtaguyod ng pangatnig?” which I would translate as “Who are the Filipinos who established conjunctions?” However, it seems that Google Translate has a different translation.

20th PMO: Area Stage Qualifiers (Region 5)

There were 210 participants who took the 20th Philippine Mathematical Olympiad Qualifying Stage for Region 5. Of these, eight made it to the Area Stage:

• Gabrielle Jackie C. Candano (University of Santo Tomas Legazpi)
• Dale Angelo A. Cortez (Ateneo de Naga University Senior High School)
• Jericho M. Fraginal (Ateneo de Naga University Senior High School)
• Jose C. Ibarrientos (University of Saint Anthony)
• John Angelo O. Oringo (Philippine Science High School Bicol Region Campus)
• Jude Ericsson B. Regorgo (University of Santo Tomas Legazpi)
• Errol John E. Suarez (University of Santo Tomas Legazpi)
• Hans Mackenzie D. Uy (Saint Joseph School)

The list of 50 area stage qualifiers for Luzon (excluding those from the National Capital Region) is here. There were 51 area stage qualifiers from NCR, 55 from Visayas, and 52 from Mindanao.

The Area Stage for Region 5 will be held on November 25, 2017 at room AL411A of the
newly-built Fr. Godofredo Alingal, S.J. Hall in the Bagumbayan campus of Ateneo de Naga University. Registration starts at 12:30 pm (in the same room). Reproduced below is an announcement from the PMO staff:

Reminders for the Coaches and Students (Re: 20th PMO Area Stage)

1. The PMO Area Stage is on November 25, 2017.
2. Confirm the testing venue with the PMO coordinator in your region before the exam date. You may find his/her name, address and contact number at the PMO website (http://pmo.ph). S/he is the same coordinator during the qualifying stage.
3. On November 25, 2017, arrive at the testing center early. Registration will begin at 12:30 pm and the exam will begin promptly at 2:00 pm and end at 5:00 pm. Late examinees will not be given additional time.
4. The student must bring his/her school ID for identification.
5. Each student must bring his/her own blue or black pen for the exam. (All final answers and solutions to the examination must be in blue or black ink.)
6. Students will be allowed to use rulers, protractors and compasses.
7. Calculators will NOT be allowed.
8. The examination will consist of two parts. The first part has 20 questions that require the final answers only and the second part has 3 open-ended questions that require complete solutions.
9. The names of the students who will qualify for the national stage will be released on or before December 20, 2017.
10. The top 3 scorers in each area will be given medals and subsidized fare to attend the National Finals and Awarding Program.

20th PMO: Instructions for Qualifying Stage (Region 5)

The 20th Philippine Mathematical Olympiad Qualifying Stage will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, October 28, 2017.  It is a written exam consisting of fifteen multiple-choice questions worth 2 points each, ten multiple-choice questions worth 3 points each, and five answers-only questions worth 6 points each.

The Regional Testing Center for Region V is Ateneo de Naga University. The qualifying stage will be held at the first two floors of the Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Hall of the ADNU Bagumbayan Campus (Ateneo Avenue, Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City); registration will be done in the same building.  The participants must be in their assigned examination rooms by 1:00 pm.  The exam starts at 2:00 pm and ends at 5:00 pm (even for those who arrived late).

Participants must be at the venue before 12:00 nn to register.  The registration fee of PhP 150 per participant must be paid before the exam starts. An official receipt will be given for each school (and not for each participant).  Applicants who submitted their application forms through e-mail must submit the original application forms to the registration staff during registration. Participants and coaches must bring identification cards that have ID pictures, preferably those issued by their schools.

Scratch papers will be provided during the exam.  The only materials that the participants are allowed to have on their desks immediately before the examination are:  blue or black ballpoint pen, pencil (required), eraser, ruler, compass, and protractor.  All other items such as notes, books, cellular phones, etc. are not allowed on the participants’ desks, but these may be placed in a designated area in the room.  Calculators are not allowed.

Participants are not allowed to leave the examination room during the exam. (Participants who need to use the bathroom must do so before the exam starts.) Participants who leave the room before the exam has ended are considered to have finished the exam; they must submit their questionnaires and answer sheets to the proctor before they leave and they are not allowed to return to continue the exam.

Certificates of appreciation for each student and each coach and certificates of appearance (only for those who explicitly request it) will be distributed to the coaches or school representatives.

20th Philippine Mathematical Olympiad

The Philippine Mathematical Olympiad, a nationwide mathematics competition open to all junior and senior high school students of the Philippines, is carried out in three stages.

The qualifying stage (to be held on October 28, 2017, Saturday) consists of a written exam administered in fifteen (I think) regional testing sites. The exam consists of fifteen multiple-choice questions worth 2 points each, ten multiple-choice questions worth 3 points each, and five answers-only questions worth 6 points each.

The area stage (to be held on November 25, 2017, Saturday) consists of a written exam administered in testing sites for the four areas (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and National Capital Region). The exam consists of twenty answers-only questions and three open-ended questions that require full solutions.

The national stage (to be held on January 20, 2018, Saturday) consists of a written exam and an oral exam administered in Metro Manila. The written exam consists of four open-ended questions that require full solutions to be answered in 4.5 hours. The oral exam (which is open to the public) consists of 30 questions read to the participants and to be answered within a specified time for each item.

Each school may send up to thirty participants (students with a final grade of 88% (or its equivalent) in mathematics in the previous school year). The participants with the top fifty scores in the qualifying stage per area will qualify for the area stage. The participants with the top twenty scores (national ranking) in the area stage will qualify for the national stage. The national finalists will be qualified to join the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp (MOSC). The representatives of the country to the International Mathematical Olympiad will be selected from the participants of the MOSC.

I am the regional coordinator for Region V (Bicol Region). Schools in Region V that are interested in participating should complete the official application form and submit it to me on or before 12:00 noon of October 6, 2017 (Friday). My contact information can be found in the official brochure.

70th Anniversary of the First Stamps of the Republic of the Philippines (part 2)

I earlier blogged about these stamps here when I bought a souvenir sheet and two first day covers. Yesterday I was able to buy in the Naga City post office a miniature sheet (with the designs in a se-tenant strip of three) for 108 pesos. (I also bought an additional souvenir sheet for 55 pesos.)

Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching ‘Mathematics in the Modern World’

I was a speaker during the Council of Deans and Department Chairs of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CODDCCAS) Region V General Assembly held from July 17, 2017 to July 18, 2017 at the Mariners’ Polytechnic Colleges in Naga City. I presented a talk about my experiences being a trainer in the Second-Generation GE Faculty Training.

Click here to get a copy of my slides.

Miss Universe Pageant Philippines

Last April 5, 2017, I passed by the Philippine Postal Corporation in Manila and bought a few items for my “Philippine stamps about Philippine stamps” collection.

To celebrate the holding of the 2017 Miss Universe Pageant in the Philippines, three stamps (with denominations of 12, 17, and 55 pesos) and one souvenir sheet (with a denomination of 100 pesos) were issued on January 24, 2017. 103,500 of the stamps and 6,000 of the souvenir sheet were made.

I was able to buy a miniature sheet (with the designs in a se-tenant strip of three) (for 252 pesos), a souvenir sheet (for 100 pesos) and the first day covers (for 99 pesos and 115 pesos).

There were no ready-made first day covers for the three stamps, so the employee at the store sold me the stamps and the first day cover separately and told me to go upstairs to have them postmarked. From the stamps available for sale, I chose three with a bottom selvage. (I’m hoping mine is the only first day cover with selvage.)