MANILA, Philippines?A sophomore student of St. Stephen's High School in Sta. Cruz, Manila got a perfect score while 13 other young Filipino numbers aces registered scores of over 99.7 percent in the tough 2009 Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC).

Julius Vincent Sy was one of only 20 students worldwide who scored 100 percent in this year's AMC.

For his feat, Sy received a medal and a Peter O' Halloran certificate during Tuesday's AMC awarding ceremonies at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Dr. Peter Taylor, executive director of the Australian Mathematics Trust (AMT), which runs the AMC, graced the event.

The 13 other Filipino topnotchers in the AMC were Amiel Sy and Emiliano Tan from Philippine Science High School-Main; Seanne Ng, Adrian Sy, Czarina Lao and Audrey Lao from St. Jude Catholic School; Justin Edric Yturzaeta from Jubilee Christian Academy; John Russell Virata from Gideon Academy; Alvin Uy Lim from Quezon City Science High School; Lormes Pedeglorio from Butuan City Special Education Center; Miguel Lorenzo Ildeza from PAREF-Westrbridge School; Jake Gacuan from the University of the Philippines; and Aldric Cristobal Reyes from Chiang Kai Shek College.

Fifty-six other students also won top honors in the AMC, held simultaneously last August in Australia and 35-plus other countries worldwide, including the Philippines.

Over 2,000 Filipino elementary and high school students took part in the AMC, administered here by AMT representatives, Mathematics Trainers' Guild-Philippines (MTG) and the Science Education Institute of the Department of Science and Technology.

Dr. Simon Chua, MTG co-founder and president, said, ?We at MTG are very proud of the latest achievements of our trainees. This goes to show that many Filipino students are really talented in Math.?

Most of the local contestants are MTG wards. Some of them will also represent the country in the Philippine International Math Competitions which is scheduled for late November in Iloilo City. The first AMC, held in 1976, was limited to Australian students. Two years later, students from New Zealand were allowed to join the contest.

Since 2005, the competition has spread to over 35 nations all over the world, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Bulgaria, Germany, South Africa, and the People's Republic of China.

The contest paper consists of 30 multiple choice questions, which are ordered in increasing difficulty.

Students are given 75 minutes to solve the problems which cover arithmetic, algebra, geometry and problem-solving.