The biggest way the Philippine Daily Inquirer touched my life was through the 22nd National Super Quiz Bee (2001, televised on IBC 13). PDI was a sponsor of that contest until the show’s end in 2013.

Part of my preparation was to read PDI, assuming that some of the questions were about current events, given that the college level was about “General Information and International Affairs.”

Luckily for me, I had dormmates in UP Diliman who regularly read PDI. I simply borrowed the papers and updated my reviewer using Microsoft Notepad on another dormmate’s computer.

At the contest, I represented UP Diliman, Quezon City, and NCR.

During the Quezon City finals, I remember contesting the official answer to the question “What is the common name of Republic Act No. 9160?” I reasoned that aside from the fact that having “Anti” before “Money Laundering Act” informs the reader that the law seeks to fight money laundering, “Anti-Money Laundering Act” is the term mentioned in PDI when referring to said law. “I read the Inquirer,” is what I said. They accepted my answer.

During the national grand finals in Tagaytay, the quizmaster asked, “What is the name of the Secretary General of Nato?” My note-taking paid off: I wouldn’t know George Robertson if I hadn’t paid attention to the news through PDI.

The contest went to a tiebreaker round. The candidate from Columban College in Region III was good. I heard they dominated the competition during their respective division and regional rounds. Then came the last tiebreaker question: “What is the common-name botanic classification of the banana plant, characterized by a nonwoody stem?”

Botany wasn’t my strong suit. But somehow I recall the answer being “herb”; the banana plant is shaped like a tree but does not have a woody stem. And that answer eventually decided the outcome.

So after winning “Battle of the Brains” on RPN 9 in 1999 (high school) and 2000 (college), I won the college level of the 2001 National Super Quiz Bee on IBC 13, making it three consecutive TV quiz national championships.