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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Filipino students win 1 silver, 3 bronze medals in international AI olympiad

Filipino students win 1 silver, 3 bronze medals in international AI olympiad

Published Aug 30, 2026 02:57 pm

At A Glance

  • Four Filipino high school students won one silver and three bronze medals in the Philippines' debut at the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence.
  • Silver medalist Theo Lorenzo Bustamante ranked 80th overall, placing him among the top 17 percent of 466 competitors.
  • The four-member Philippine delegation achieved a 100-percent medal rate after undergoing a merit-based selection process and 10 months of training.
AI OLYMPIAD MEDALISTS—The Philippines’ first delegation to the 2026 International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) displays the national flag after all four students won medals. Shown from left are bronze medalist Jhareign S. Solidum of University of Mindanao Ilang High School; silver medalist Theo Lorenzo T. Bustamante of Philippine Science High School–CALABARZON Region Campus; team leader Martin Gomez; and bronze medalists Juan Mateo J. Desuasido of Brent International School Manila and Ellison Matthew S. Ang of Philippine Science High School–Main Campus. (PHOTO: IOAI Philippines)
AI OLYMPIAD MEDALISTS—The Philippines’ first delegation to the 2026 International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) displays the national flag after all four students won medals. Shown from left are bronze medalist Jhareign S. Solidum of University of Mindanao Ilang High School; silver medalist Theo Lorenzo T. Bustamante of Philippine Science High School–CALABARZON Region Campus; team leader Martin Gomez; and bronze medalists Juan Mateo J. Desuasido of Brent International School Manila and Ellison Matthew S. Ang of Philippine Science High School–Main Campus. (PHOTO: IOAI Philippines)
Four Filipino high school students won one silver and three bronze medals in the Philippines’ debut at the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) held in Astana, Kazakhstan from Aug. 2 to 8.
The week-long competition drew 466 high school students from 108 countries and territories.
Now in its third year, the IOAI tests students in machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and multimodal processing.
Theo Lorenzo T. Bustamante of Philippine Science High School–CALABARZON Region Campus won the silver medal.
Ellison Matthew S. Ang of Philippine Science High School–Main Campus, Juan Mateo J. Desuasido of Brent International School Manila, and Jhareign S. Solidum of University of Mindanao Ilang High School each won a bronze medal.
Their results gave the four-member Philippine delegation a 100-percent medal rate.
Bustamante ranked 80th overall, placing him among the top 17 percent of competitors.
The Philippines was also among only 11 of the 18 countries that debuted in the IOAI in 2026 to win at least one silver medal.
Overall, the competition awarded 37 gold, 73 silver, and 110 bronze medals.
“A 100% medal rate on our global debut proves that Philippine talent can immediately compete at the highest level of international AI,” IOAI PH Executive Director and Team Leader Martin Gomez said.
The students qualified through a merit-based national screening process, with participation offered free of charge.
They were selected, trained, and managed by International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence Philippines (IOAI PH), which is hosted by the Ateneo Business Insights Laboratory for Development (BUILD) under the John Gokongwei School of Management of Ateneo de Manila University.
Over a 10-month period, Ateneo BUILD provided the Philippine team with cloud testing infrastructure and proctoring environments. It also conducted intensive, expert-led boot camps covering machine learning theory, computer vision, natural language processing, audio processing, and VRAM constraint optimization.
“Outranking competitors from traditional global STEM powerhouses in our very first year establishes a baseline for what our students can accomplish with structured training, corporate backing, and national support,” Gomez said.
“This victory is a shared triumph made possible by the tireless dedication of our coaches, the academic foundation of our schools, the sacrifices of our families, and the whole-of-nation backing of our community,” he added.
The IOAI Board and Committee provided full financial assistance covering the delegation’s travel, lodging, meals, and registration.
Government support came through the Office of the President, Office of the Executive Secretary, Department of Education, and Department of Science and Technology–Science Education Institute.
Held under the patronage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the IOAI was hosted by the Kazakhstan Competitive Programming Federation with support from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development and Ministry of Education.
Singapore will host the fourth IOAI in 2027.

Related Tags

International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence IOAI Filipino students artificial intelligence Philippine Science High School Ateneo de Manila University student achievement
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