THE CITY government of Mandaluyong plans to put up a pilot memory program for its public school students following the success of two Filipinos, one of them a resident of the city, who won top honors in the international memory olympics held last week in the United Kingdom.
Johann Randall Abrina and Robert Racasa, in a visit to Mandaluyong City Mayor BenHur Abalos yesterday, expressed interest in paying it forward and teaching students and potential ?mental athletes? memorization techniques.

Abrina, a registered nurse from Mandaluyong and Racasa, a former ?kristo? (?bet-taker? in cockfighting lingo) and a Marikina City resident, earlier sought help from Abalos for their fare and accommodations in London. The two were the first representatives of the Philippines at the UK International Open Memory Championships.

Abrina won the silver medal for memorizing a deck of 52 cards within one minute and 20 seconds, beating the three-time UK memory champion.
Racasa, on the other hand, placed 11th by memorizing three decks of cards in perfect order, and 768 binary digits in 30 minutes.

Abalos told reporters he would meet with city school officials to tackle details of the program and the possibility of incorporating this in their curriculum.

?If our children are already good in math and science, who needs Grade 7?? Abalos said.

Abrina and Racasa also promised to convene the Philippine Memory Sports Council, a nongovernment organization, that will train potential ?mental athletes? and help public schools teachers and students enhance their memory.

?We want to reach out and share what we have. Right from the start, this has been our advocacy,? said Racasa, who owns a memory clinic in Marikina City.

Hoping to bag the world title, the two will compete again at the World Memory Championships in Guangzhou, China, on Dec. 1.