Filipina youth bags bronze in 2014 int’l letter-writing contest

MANILA, Philippines - Ashley Nicole Abalos is accompanied by her grandmother, director general Sylvia Palanca-Quirino of the Carlos Palanca Foundation in receiving a plaque from PHLPost chairman Cesar Sarino, postmaster general Josefina dela Cruz, Education Sec. Armin Luistro and Comm. Virgilio Almario of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino when she won first prize in the PHLPost national writing contest last March.

Ashley, an 11-year-old student from PAREF-Woodrose School, Muntinlupa, eventually won the bronze prize for the 2014 International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People last Aug. 6. The first prize winner is a 13-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the second prize winner is a 10-year-old from China. The competition had 1.5 million participants and was organized by the Universal Postal Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations. The winners will receive their prizes on World Post Day, Oct. 9.