(UPDATE) CEBU CITY — On a normal day, Jeowy Loyloy Ompad would pull large nets from the sea with fellow fishermen in Bantayan Island in northern Cebu.
On Wednesday, he pulled off a different kind of feat and caught the biggest fish of his life when he learned that he ranked sixth in the 2025 Philippine Bar Examinations with a 91.25 percent score.
Ompad is the only Cebuano and the sole graduate from a Visayas-based law school in the top 20.
A graduate of University of San Jose–Recoletos (USJ-R) and a certified public accountant, he said his upbringing in a family of fisherfolk taught him perseverance and shaped his commitment to serve others.
“Most of the fisherfolk are not well represented and I think with me, gikan gyud, mangingisda gyud ko, nga I can be the one, I can understand their struggle (Most of the fisherfolk are not well represented, and I think that, coming from them, I truly am a fisherman who can be the one to understand their struggles),” he said. Asked if he is proud to call himself a fisherman, he replied, “Yes, I am, I do not hide.”
His father encouraged him to pursue opportunities beyond the island and eventually return to serve his community. Ompad said he took this advice to heart, noting that achieving one’s dreams requires hard work and dedication.
He added that excelling in law school demands consistent effort and that studying diligently would ultimately pay off during the Bar examinations. The Supreme Court released the top examinees list along with Ompad’s achievement, where Jhenroniel Rhey Timola Sanchez of the University of the Philippines led with 92.70 percent. Ompad shared sixth place with Enrico Gabriel Reyes of Ateneo de Manila University. Ompad is among 5,594 passers out of 11,424 examinees who took the three-day examinations conducted in 14 testing centers nationwide on Sept. 7, 10, and 14, 2025.
USJ-R stood out as the only Cebu-based school to place in the top 20 and ranked fifth among law schools with 51 to 100 first-time takers, underlining the institution’s growing reputation. The university, meanwhile, plans to recognize Ompad’s accomplishment with cash incentives and a laptop.
The oathtaking for new lawyers is scheduled on Feb. 6, 2026 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, where Ompad will formally join the ranks of Philippine lawyers.
Source: From fisherman to top 6 in 2025 Philippine Bar: The story of Jeowy Ompad (87)
