Real Gold Medals Awarded to Outstanding Students

COMPOSTELA VALLEY — In Mt. Diwata Elementary school, students who received first honors received not just an ordinary gold medal. Honors of the said school received a medal that is made of real gold and not just plated gold.

Robec June Calunia, 12, valedictorian of Mt. Diwata Elementary School in Mt. Diwalwal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley received another real gold medal. Calunia is one of the ten 1^st Honors of grade school pupils of the annex school of the Union National High School in Mt. Diwalwal. Calunia is a consistent honor student and this is the 5^th time that he received a real gold medal. He missed an honor once when he was in grade 2.

 Franco Tito, Bgy. Captain of Mt. Diwalwal said that they have been awarding real gold medals to outstanding students for 6 years.

“It is one way of encouraging students to study harder. The gold medals used to cost only Php 6,000 when we started the program in 2003 but it has now reached Php11, 000 each,” Tito said.

The gold medals are made of 70% gold and 30% silver and are sourced from a gold-rush site in Mt. Diwalwal. Gold Medals are actually donations coming from businessman in their area and ball mill operators.