The Olympics of Stenography

As the world geared up in July to watch the Paris Olympics, international stenographers participated in the equivalent event in another part of Europe. The Intersteno 2024, held July 14 to July 18 in Poland, was a significant platform for stenographers to showcase their skills, learn from one another and contribute to the profession’s advancement.

The International Federation for Information and Communication Processing, also known as the Intersteno Federation, is a nonprofit organization founded in London in 1887.

Intersteno invites member-countries to participate in congresses and competitions every two years. For the first time in Intersteno’s 137-year history, the Philippines became a country-member in 2023 and qualified to participate in the 2024 international competitions. This event is a significant achievement for the Philippines and a testament to the growing influence of Filipino stenographers on the global stage.

Stenographers and keyboardists compete on speed and accuracy in various age categories, such as pupil, junior and senior. Each category will compete on any of the following: text production, text correction, word processing software, audio transcription, speech capturing, real-time speech capturing and note-taking and reporting using the preferred method of the contestant.

These competitions test the participants’ ability to transcribe speech accurately and quickly in various scenarios, reflecting the real-world challenges they face in their profession.

Making history for the Philippines, our first-ever Intersteno contestant is Christian Dabeh Clerigo, who hails from San Pablo City, Laguna. Clerigo is currently a stenographer at the Court of Appeals.

Clerigo is from a family of stenographers. His mother, Divina Clerigo, has also been a court stenographer since 1996. Clerigo’s younger sister, Abigail Clerigo, is studying to be a real-time stenographer and will soon seek a court to join.

In 2017, Clerigo graduated from San Pablo Colleges. When he was in college, he was able to learn Gregg shorthand using pen and paper. After graduation, he joined the Regional Trial Court, Branch 4, Manila, as a stenographer.

Intensive training

In 2020, Clerigo decided to level up and joined the US National Court Reporting Association’s A to Z Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand course hosted by the PhilSteno Program of Pacific Office Solutions (Pacific Office) in Greenhills, San Juan City.

With so much promise and dedication to improving his craft, Pacific Office gave Clerigo and others a scholarship to an intensive course on machine shorthand with transcription software via an online platform proctored by the PhilSteno team of Pacific Office.

After months of intensive lessons, Clerigo scored the highest among his batch. He successfully used his new skills at the court, thus allowing his colleagues and superiors to be amazed by his transcriptions’ fast turnaround time and ability to read back what was said instantly.

Under the leadership of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, the Supreme Court of the Philippines is working hard to modernize the judiciary in all aspects of its operations. The Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), as per the Supreme Court’s website, “is the High Court’s plan of action to address institutional challenges using four guiding principles: the Judiciary’s delivery of justice will be (1) timely and fair, (2) transparent and accountable, (3) equal and inclusive and (4) technology adaptive.

Steered by these guiding principles, the Court targets three major outcomes: Efficiency, Innovation and Access.” At SPIJ’s formal launch in October 2022, the Chief Justice concluded, “I have no doubt that [the SPJI] is our only bridge to a tomorrow that will usher in the advent of responsive and timely justice for the Filipino people,.”

In line with SPJI’s initiatives to modernize the transcription process and learn best practices from other countries, the judiciary supports the Court Stenographers Association of the Philippines (Costraphil) by participating in Intersteno 2024. It will send two representatives—the national president of Costraphil and a contestant (Clerigo).

Onward to 2026

On July 13, at the opening ceremonies of the Intersteno, the national president of Costraphil, Cesar Saloma of Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, was the flag bearer and gave a Filipino greeting to the international participants.

This year’s participants and contestants came from 28 countries—Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and now the Philippines!

Representation from Costraphil at this international event will not only enhance the reputation and professional standing of Philippine stenographers but also provide a unique opportunity for Costraphil to enhance professional development and contribute to the global discourse on stenography.

Clerigo used the Stenograph Luminex II shorthand machine writer and Case Catalyst transcription software in the contests, vying for speed and accuracy. He participated in three competitions—speech capturing, note taking and text production—among 89 contestants.

Hopefully, in 2026, the Philippines can join the junior category. Under the PhilSteno program, Pacific Office has been holding Fastest Fingers contests among the Philippine colleges and universities to find the junior category representative for the Philippines who will fly abroad with their coach representing their school and the country.

No matter our Philippine team’s position, we have reached the international stage. We already carry the gold medal in our hearts. Intersteno 2024 inspires the next generation of stenographers entering our Philippine courts to develop their skills and make the country proud. INQ

Follow the PhilSteno adventure on Instagram @philsteno or Facebook @stenophil.

The author is co-vice chair of the NextGen Committee of the Management Association of the Philippine (MAP); NextGen vice chair of the MAP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; and president of Pacific Office Solutions Inc.