By Chessa Pae Faustino, Stratcom Correspondent

Exhibiting superior competence, 20 accountancy students of the Mariano Marcos State University won big in the provincial Accountancy Students’ Day as part of the 2022 Annual Accountancy Week held earlier this month in Laoag City. 

Hosted by the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Ilocos Norte - Laoag City Chapter, the students dominated both the academic and non-academic events on August 4.

For the academic competitions, Trisha Mae Corpuz and John Manuel Sanchez bagged the first and third places, respectively, for the Level 1 category while Princess Keith Bilanggo and Coleen A. Castillo also landed in the top two places in Level 2.

Meanwhile, Frances Patrizze Davalos placed first in the Taxation Cup, while Allen Paul Agres earned third place. For the Certified Management Accountant Cup, Joshua Acoba and Jerryl Eunice Mae Castro landed first and second, respectively.

For the non-academic events, Chlarissa Mae Urbi and Daniel James Manuel snatched the first and third places, respectively, for the essay writing. In the digital poster making, Kate Fran Cheska Domingo bagged the first place, while Ma. Johanna Sales placed third. Z Angelhie Mei Blas was champion in the Singing Idol event.

Moreover, a team of students consisting of Mohammad Naim Guro, Eric Charles Montoya, Edgard Reysoul II Maulit, Jaymel James Realin, Jared Angelo Desono, Maria Del Cielo Pahinag, and Brandy Catubay ranked first in the Mobile Legends Tournament. 

Winners were awarded with medals, certificates and cash incentives from PICPA. 

The week-long event was participated by various Certified Public Accountants and BS Accountancy students in the province with the theme: “Play it Forward: Securing Sustainable Future.”

To promote and maintain high professional and ethical standards among accountants, a pool of accountancy experts also served as resource speakers in the event. Four of the five resource speakers for the virtual event are alumni of MMSU, namely, Mr. Meynard Bonoen (BS Accountancy, Batch 2004), a partner of the SGV and Co.; Ms. Cherry Fe Baclig (BS Accountancy, Batch 2015), a partner of Baclig, Bayangos, and Co., a newly established accounting and auditing firm in Laoag City; Dr. Ronalyn Tagudin-Tabur (BS Accountancy, Batch 2013), officer-in-charge - financial and management officer of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center and Mr. Mikhael Anjelu Magana (Laboratory High School – Laoag Campus, Batch 2010), an assistant professor of the University of the Philippines.

Dr. Angelina Abrojena, dean of the College of Business, Economics and Accountancy, congratulated the students whose “outstanding performance in competitions like these truly reflect the superb quality of instruction that we persistently commit to deliver here in MMSU.” 

PICPA, the host organization, is a Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) accredited organization of CPAs in the country. Among the organization’s aims is the  development and improvement of accountancy education in the Philippines. – with reports from Sharon Bactat (JVBT/APT, StratCom)