A certified public accountant (CPA) in Cebu is among 62 examinees from the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) who passed the 2025 Bar Examinations.

Jeowy Loyloy Ompad, from Bantayan Island, ranked Number 6 in the Bar exams with the score of 91.25 percent. He shared the spot with a Bar taker from Ateneo de Manila University in Manila. 

The 38-year-old Bar topnotcher is one of five new lawyers from regional schools who made it to the roster of Top 20 examinees. The other four are from Lipa, Batangas (4th); Santiago City, Isabela (9th); Malaybalay, Bukidnon (14th); and Legazpi City, Albay (16th). 

Ompad is among 5,594 Bar passers in the three-day examinations conducted in 14 testing centers nationwide. The examinations were set on September 7, 10, and 14, 2025.

USJ-R is among the Top 5 performing law schools in the Philippines under the 51-100 first-takers category.

The said number of Bar passers posted 48.98 percent of the 11,424 Bar examinees.

The oathtaking ceremony of new lawyers will be at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on February 6, 2026.

In a press conference in USJ-R on Wednesday, January 7, Ompad said he "really worked hard" to become a lawyer. 

"If you have a dream, so you have to work for it, especially if you want to excel in Law School, on the day of school you have to work for it, study hard, and everything will pay off during the Bar," Ompad said. 

(with GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak Desk)