Sooo big, it can't fit this column's width
Originally published in the printed "ASLAG: The Pautakan 2007 Edition"
Pautakan is not entirely an intellectual competition; it’s a venue for social interaction. It’s not just a quiz show for unrelated talents; it’s a gathering.. An ENCOUNTER.
~Mike Penalba, DBA Pautakan Team 2000 and 2001
Being a Pautakan contestant was a great experience for me. At first, I thought that it would be just an ordinary quiz show, but definitely not because what I witnessed was a quiz show full of action and suspense! Seriously, ilang beses kong nasabing “Mamamatay nako, di ko na kaya!” sa sobrang kaba! That was almost every encounter. My Pautakan days were some of the best moments I will never forget in my entire life.
~Cindy Paguio, SSA Pautakan Team 2004
What does it take to be a Pautakan champion? Actually, there are several. First, you should have the passion and dedication on what you really want to achieve. Sometimes, it’s the innate love that drives your willpower to win! Second, you should have the interest to go beyond the basic knowledge a high school student has. Amazing facts and techniques in analysis are just in your school library. Discipline yourself to be diligent in further study you really want to dig; remember that it is so cool to be smart! Third, you and your teammates should have unity. Way back then, I personally learned that a systematic agreement among my comrades is such a crucial part of the game. Fourth, there should be NO PRESSURE! If you feel that heaviness, you would lose. Thank God I didn’t prolong that feeling in the succeeding encounters of my Pautakan days. This leads to the fifth one: You should have faith. Trust me. PRAYERS CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS! I just proved it the moment my team won. Moreover, it changed how I look towards my goals in life. Now, buckle up, break a leg, and prove the power of your mind!
~John Carl Gozun, CS Pautakan Team 2005
I joined the Pautakan during my Elementary and High School years — I never won, though, haha! Akala ko pa noon, the UP Aguman is just another campus, like UP Diliman and UP Manila. UP Aguman and the Pautakan’s essence dawned on me only during my high school senior year — that it is the most exciting and most prestigious academic competition. Parang Olympics talaga. It would've been more fulfilling if my team won (We lost by 5 pts dahil sinuwerte lang yung isang school, haha, bitter!), but the experience was not any less meaningful. The Pautakan really does make you assess yourself, your competence, your goals, etc. The experience really makes you wanna aim for more, to not settle for mediocrity, to raise the ‘bar’ — which apparently, was the real goal of the Pautakan, something I learned when I myself became part of the organization that’s behind the quiz show for the past 34 years.
I ALWAYS look forward to it each year, not only to secretly root for my alma mater but also to interact with the kids. And I am proud of the contestants when they get to answer the questions I made (DBA man sila o hindi). But more than that, it’s so great to see dreams of these kids come true (which was once mine, too, right?), especially for the eventual Pautakan Champion teams each year.
/Here in the UP Aguman, we don't get to give away cash, appliances or other monetary prizes. We really wish we could. Pero wala eh, non-stock, not-for-profit organization talaga kami, mas maraming kailangan pagkagastusan na mas importante. Besides, in the future, I can always buy those things, and probably even donate some of them for my alma mater school. But no matter how financially successful I become someday, I will only have one chance to give them that precious Pautakan trophy, and to myself, that precious Pautakan medal. And it’s something money can't buy.
~Rex Dizon, DBA Pautakan Team 1996 and 2000
Being part of Holy Family Academy’s academic team is a privilege. Winning in the Pautakan is a prestige. The Pautakan, one of the most prestigious elementary and high school academic competitions in Pampanga, is the most exciting and thrilling contest that our team joined. Its unorthodox rules made the event so memorable for us, especially when we clinched to proceed to the final round against CS, after defeating DBA by a single crucial point on the last question. Until now I can still recall how our team’s story became like a movie, with us of course, being the protagonists. We started out in the loser’s pool and ranked 4 of 5 before entering the encounters. Then we almost bagged the championship by winning 3 out of our 4 encounters.
Nevertheless, entering the final round was something we were not really expecting especially after how we’ve been left behind by our other competitors. When we won against DBA in the last encounter, it was like we won the Finals. We almost forgot that we still need to play against CS to win the championship. We were greatly overwhelmed. I guess the rules in Pautakan are responsible for creating dramatic stories in every team and in every batch of competing schools.
The Pautakan shares with its participants not only the trophies and the awards, but also the chance to be a part of a prestigious competition and the chance to meet new friends from other schools. It does not only foster a competitive ambiance but rather an atmosphere of friendship that makes the competition even more exciting.
~Dondon Dy, HFA Pautakan Team 2001 and 2005
As participant, I never really exerted that much effort on studying for these kind of contests. (Syempre, excuses muna) Kung alam ko lang how BIG of a deal the Pautakan was then, malamang di na lang ako nagbasa ng Pugad Baboy! Haha!
Pero truth is: bitter ako. Dami regrets, kasi the PAUTAKAN is PAUTAKAN. Peka-prestigious ya atang acad contest ini keti Pampanga! Sana mig-exert ku pang effort para mekapag-prepare.
Ampo enjoy ya eh? Sweet torture! Questions were damn hard but at the same time, a-meet kula ding eventual friends ku ngening college. From high school rivals to college groupmates! Oha! Sa batch namin, ultimo loveteams, nabuo, o diba? Napaka-holistic ng Pautakan.
As a Pautakan project head, I loved the job. But never did I imagined na sobrang matrabaho pala ang preparations for Pautakan! Instant liposuction kapag head ka sa kawindangan at ngarag! Two months before the event, nagpeprepare na just to make sure that it will be successful. Ing pamag-STS, market, solicit, at ultimung pamang-gawa ng questions, asna pala kaobra! Nung balu kung makanini la magprepare deng AguMems sana anyang contestant ku, mig-prepare ku rin to give them a good show (haha! Yabang!).
With the help of the mems, me-accomplish ngan ing dapat gawan. Pero syempre, ene man meging smooth sailing keng pamag-prepare — dakal problema, pero at least mesolusyunan. I’ve learned to appreciate how Pautakan supplements the mental and social development of its contestants. It’s not just a mere quiz show. It’s a rendezvous for students from various schools to share insights/opinions and a medium where friendships are built.
For the mems, the Pautakan is a training ground. Dakal ka abalu at adevelop na agamit mu in the future — being responsible, punctual, cool-headed ampo pagiging alisto or bibo. Patse akit mu ing abie ning Pautakan, emu isipan na obra or burden yamu ini.
~Fergie Panganiban, HAU Pautakan Team 2004, Pautakan 2006 Project Head
“Pautakan Team” — that was what the academic team at my high school was called. Even if we joined other academic contests not named “Pautakan”, it was still named as such. Eight years after my last stint as a contestant, I would have to say I miss the pressure. I miss the pressure of being the only school to answer some of the Physics questions. I miss being bitter about a question regarding Mariah Carrey's Song. Simply put, Pautakan changes you after the wins and losses. And I also witnessed how non-contestants are affected everytime a question is answered. If Pautakan were a song it would be Atin Cu pung Singsing for me — you can't live a life as a Kapampangan, without hearing about it... That is THE PAUTAKAN!
~Argel Casupanan, ACHS-SSC Pautakan Team 1998 and 1999, Pautakan 2003 Project Head
Every year, the Pautakan raises the bar on how a good quality quiz show should be. It gathers the most brilliant students here in Pampanga. It maintains its standard for its difficult but witty questions. Being a Pautakan participant in my high school years, joining the contest was such an honor, to carry your school’s colors, in such a prestigious contest like this. The Pautakan is, and will always be, the biggest quiz show in Pampanga.
~Renz Caliguia, SVA Pautakan Team 2003
Joining the Pautakan is plainly and simply a prestige. It’s one of the most difficult wit-battles anyone could ever encounter since it does not just gauge plain knowledge but your tenacity to stay put in fighting as well.
~Celine Dagdag, UA Pautakan Team 2002
As a high school Pautakan contestant, I used to get intimidated by the eloquence of quiz master Kuya Hermie in oral encounters, especially when SSC answers, and he says, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry HFA, but SSC’s answer is correct!” Haha! Being one of the organizers, I had numerous opportunities to actually sit beside him and do my own share of intimidation. Haha, kidding!
I also had a notion before that being a quiz master was that easy, but no, it’s not. Much like being a contestant, being a quiz master entails presence of mind. You have to pay attention to every little detail all at once – contestants looking at the audience, audience coaching the contestants, contestants answering before being acknowledged, contestants answering after the five-second time was given, and a lot more. I would have to say that the way coaches and contestants perceive the competition was largely dependent on how the quizmasters (and judges, for that matter) take on their roles. One little mistake could lead to complaints that could take too long to resolve. If complaints from any school made me feel tense before when I was a contestant, they make me way tenser now that I am one of the organizers. It’s more worrisome when the integrity of the competition that’s been here long enough than the senior resident member has is at stake.
~Pie Pamintuan, HFA Pautakan Team 1999 and 2002, Pautakan 2005 Project Head
Being in the PAUTAKAN is more than just a privilege. It’s more than just the usual boring quiz show that any entity can establish. Losing hurts. Losing as many times as you could imagine hurts even more. If it does hurt, then it’s really worth the pain.
~Buduy Mallari , DBA Pautakan Team 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006
|