How does the Philippines choose its IBO team?

According to the IBO's country page, eliminations in schools lead to a semifinal for the top 55, a final for the top 20, and four students who get IBO slots and about two more weeks of training. The sources we could read do not describe how the four are chosen from the 20 finalists.

Who organises the Philippine Biology Olympiad?

The IBO lists the Department of Biology of Ateneo de Manila University, with the Ateneo Biological Organization, as organiser, and the Department of Science and Technology Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) as the appointing body.

The IBO's page says all junior high school students (grades 7 to 10) and senior high school students (grades 11 and 12) can enter.

Is this guide written by a Filipino participant?

No. It is an outline of the official picture from published sources, with tips from BiOGuide. We are looking for a Filipino olympiad participant or coach to write a firsthand guide and replace this one.

Philippine Biology Olympiad (PBO): Official Outline of the Path to IBO

The Philippines selects students for the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) through the Philippine Biology Olympiad (PBO), which the IBO says was established in 2017.² The country also hosted the 36th IBO in Quezon City (20 to 27 July 2025).⁴ This page outlines the path to the Philippine team according to the sources we could read. It is a map of the structure, not an insider’s account of what the exams feel like, and the official site would not open for us, so more than usual rests on the IBO’s page.

Programme: Philippine Biology Olympiad (PBO)^1,2
Organiser: Department of Biology, Ateneo de Manila University, with the Ateneo Biological Organization; appointed by DOST-SEI²
Who can enter: Junior (grades 7 to 10) and senior (grades 11 and 12) high school students²
Stages: Eliminations, semifinal, final, IBO training for four
Official website: pbolympiad.org, as listed by the IBO; we could not open it
Language: English

The path at a glance

Stage	What happens	How sure we are
Eliminations	A theory test of true or false questions and a practical, held in schools around December	Medium: IBO page, which may be out of date
Semifinal	The top 55 join a month-long programme of lectures and workshops in January, ending in exams	Medium: IBO page, which may be out of date
Final	The top 20 compete at Ateneo de Manila University	Medium: IBO page, which may be out of date
IBO training and team	Four students get IBO slots and about two more weeks of training	Medium: IBO page; the choice of the four is not explained

Stage 1: eliminations

The IBO’s page says eliminations have been held online in schools in December since 2021, with a true or false theory test and an online practical.² Reported entries on that page range from 266 students from 74 schools in 2018 to 346 from 94 in 2022, with a dip to 221 from 60 in 2021.² All junior and senior high school students are eligible, and no official syllabus is listed; the page names Campbell Biology, past IBO tests and IBO-style mock tests as study materials.² The format after 2022 is covered in the box below.

Stage 2: the semifinal

The top 55 go to the semifinal, which the IBO’s page describes as a month-long programme in January of lectures, skills workshops and group dynamics, ending in semifinal exams, with the practicals held in laboratories.² A school news article about the 2022 cycle gives a first round on 15 January with 55 semifinalists and a second round on 26 and 27 February with 20 finalists.³

Stage 3: the final

The top 20 compete in a final at Ateneo de Manila University, with practicals in laboratories.² The same school article puts the 2022 final on 12 and 13 March.³ Sources we could read give no further detail about the final.

Stage 4: the IBO team

Four students get IBO slots and receive about two more weeks of training at Ateneo. The IBO’s page says the four delegates receive medals, certificates and a cash prize, and that IBO medallists receive a merit scholarship at Ateneo.² The school article confirms a team of four for the 2022 IBO.³

Points for an Author

If you went through this programme yourself, these are the points we most need you to settle. They are grouped here so that nothing uncertain is buried in the text above.

Where the sources disagree

Whether the first round is online. The IBO’s page says eliminations have been online since 2021.² Search summaries of two Department of Education advisories (for the 2025 and 2026 seasons), which we could not open, describe onsite testing in school centres and the semifinal and final at Ateneo. The format may have changed after 2022, and we have not confirmed it.
The official website. The IBO lists pbolympiad.org,² but it failed to open for us with a certificate error, so we cannot say whether it is current.
Dates. The only dated cycle we could read is 2022, from a school article rather than an official source.³ The IBO’s page gives only months and says the school year runs from June to March.

Gaps a firsthand author could fill

The current rules, dates and registration steps for the PBO, and whether the first round is online or onsite.
How the four IBO students are chosen from the 20 finalists.
Philippine team results at the IBO. We found no source we could rely on for medals in recent years.
An official syllabus, if one exists.
What the eliminations, semifinal and final are actually like, and what students wish they had known.

A firsthand author can settle every one of these points. If that could be you, email us or read how it works.

BiOGuide tips for students aiming at this path

These are general tips from BiOGuide, not advice from a Filipino participant, and they apply to any student aiming at an IBO team.

Train for the international format early. The IBO papers test reasoning on data and experiments, not only recall. The IBO preparation guide explains the format, and past IBO papers are in our practice papers.
Cover the whole IBO syllabus. With no official PBO syllabus listed, the IBO syllabus is the safest guide; our notes run from cell and molecular biology to evolution.
Practise the practical side. The semifinal and final include laboratory practicals, so learn lab techniques as well as theory. Our practical notes are a start.
Use mock tests. The IBO’s page names IBO-style mock tests and past IBO tests as preparation, and our practice papers hold past IBO papers.
Use the official channels for anything dated. Registration, formats and dates change every year. The organiser and your school decide, not us.

Official links and sources

International Biology Olympiad, list of countries and regions (undated). ibo-info.org
International Biology Olympiad, country page for the Philippine Biology Olympiad (undated, English; figures run to 2022). ibo-info.org
St. Jude Catholic School, news article, 25 May 2022, on its student representing the Philippines at the IBO (a school website, not an official source). sjcs.edu.ph
Ministry of Education Singapore, press release, 27 August 2025, which gives the 36th IBO as held in Quezon City, Philippines, 20 to 27 July 2025. moe.gov.sg

Two more notes on sources. We could not open the official site or the Department of Education advisories (the advisories returned an access error), so nothing here comes from them. Everything in this guide was read in English, so nothing depends on a translation.

This outline was last checked on 8 October 2026 and will age. Spotted an error or out-of-date detail? Email r6394175@gmail.com.