ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews /12 July 2026) — A young Basileño won the gold medal in Productive Skills, silver medal in the Receptive Skills and First Place in the Debate Showcase at the TeenEagle English Global Finals in London.

Jamil Oumar Hataman, 16, a Basileño studying at the Fountain International School in San Juan City bagged the awards during the finals on June 21 and 28.

The TeenEagle English Global Finals is an international English language Olympiad for students aged 7 to 18. The global finals are a week-long event held in major international destinations featuring competitions in spelling, writing, knowledge quizzes, and persuasive speaking, combined with cultural exploration and networking

The website states that in the Receptive Skills category, student-contestants were required to process, understand, and interpret information. The Knowledge Quiz then tests their reading and listening comprehension, while the Spelling Bee evaluates their listening accuracy, phonetic recognition, and vocabulary memory.

The Productive Skills category requires students to actively generate language to communicate ideas. In these categories, student-contestants produce their own words. The Writing Challenge measures their ability to organize thoughts, build arguments, and apply proper grammar in an essay. The Persuasive Speaking category tests their verbal fluency, pronunciation, body language, and confidence during debates.

Oumar, the school’s first honor awardee during its first term, is the son of Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman and Isabela City Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman. 

Mayor Hataman posted on her social media account that she took a leave from work to accompany her son to London. “Hindi lang po karangalan sa aming pamilya ang idinulot nito kundi maging karangalan sa Basilan at sa bansa, Mashaa Allah (It is not just honor to the family but a greater honor to Basilan and the country. God be praised).”  (Frencie L. Carreon / MindaNews)