13 September 2005—The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that a total of nine Filipino children were among the winners of the recently-concluded Annual International Mental Arithmetic Competition held on 21 August 2005 at the University of Technology Sydney.

The Filipino contestants, ranging from 6 to 12 years old, topped four of the eight competition categories in the one-day event, which saw over 300 participants from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, India and Taiwan.

Six-year-old Mary Ann Lunar bagged the championship in Level B, with fellows Marianne D.G. Bartolome and Kurkstein Vaughn Pierre Noscal tied in second place. Stephen Hsiao, 6-year-old, also won in Level C, with Australia-based fellow Rastom J'sun Banas as runner-up while 11-year-olds Clarabelle Yvonne Hsiao and Bernell Merwyn Go also bested participants in Levels D and E, respectively. Filipino-Australians Sherilyn Yao and Elizabeth Pauline also became runners-up in their respective classes.  The categories were determined on the age and the program competency level of the contestants.

Philippine Consul General in Sydney Maria Theresa Lazaro congratulated the Filipinos and said  that: "The splendid performance of the young Filipino contingent is a testament that the Filipino can engage, compete and excel in mathematics. It affirms what the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal said; "For genius has no country; genius bursts forth everywhere; genius is like light and air, the patrimony of all."

The International Mental Arithmetic Competition is organized by the Advanced Learning Of Higher Arithmetic Center (ALOHA) and has been held since 2000, involving different ALOHA schools located throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This is the first time the contest was held in Australia. END