The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) posted a 100 percent passing rate in the October 2022 Licensure Examination for Fisheries Professionals, with 10 alumni in the Top 10.

UPV secured eight of the 10 highest places in the said examination.

John Rey Fortuso Rasgo, a BS Fisheries graduate of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS), topped the board exam with a rating of 86.25 percent.

Rasgo who graduated in July 2022, Cum Laude, shared the same spot with Jean Margaret G. Badong of Iloilo State College of Fisheries-main.

All 39 aspirants from UPV-CFOS hurdled the exam held last October 6-7, 2022.

Nine more topnotchers led the newly registered fisheries professionals from CFOS.

They are Angelica Marie S. Dominguez, third place (85.75%); Leslie T. Sampollo, fifth place (85.25%); Cedric Jay A. Nantong and Cherry Dale C. Templonuevo, sixth place (84.75%); Robert Christian F. Patani, seventh place (84.50); Joseph Keith Paulo T. Nava, eighth place (84.25%); Reymark C. Busalla and Marianne Joyce S. Herrada, ninth place (84.00%); and Yessamin T. Lebaquin, tenth place (83.70%).

CFOS Dean Encarnacion Emilia S. Yap lauded the performance of the 39 new fisheries professionals produced by the University for they weathered the storm taking into account the challenges that they have been through.

They were among the first batch of K-12 graduates and the first batch of students under the revised BS Fisheries program.

They were on remote learning mode from March 2020 to February 2022 and went back to the University to attend laboratory classes for their undergraduate thesis last March.

They took the board exam prepared by new members of the Board of Fisheries of the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) and yet, they were able to pull through, Yap stated.

“Warmest congratulations to our new batch of fisheries professionals for holding on. We are very proud of you. Thank you. May we all continue to serve the fisheries industry and the Filipino people,” the dean said.

PRC released the list of 716 successful examinees out of 1,966 takers with a national passing percentage of 36.42% on October 12.

UPV-CFOS has been dominating the licensure exam as the top performing school in the previous examinations.

Last year, UPV registered a passing rate of 95.83%; 96.33% in 2019; 97.30% in 2018; and 98.97% in 2017.Lenilyn B. Gallos, CFOS