ILOILO City – Two leading universities in Iloilo have emerged among the country’s top-performing institutions in the October 2026 chemistry and chemical technician licensure examinations, with West Visayas State University (WVSU) recording a perfect passing rate and the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) producing a national topnotcher.
Based on results released by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), WVSU ranked first among schools with 25 to 49 examinees after all 25 of its first-time takers passed the licensure examination, giving the university a 100 percent passing rate.
UPV, meanwhile, secured third place in the same institutional category, posting a 92.86 percent passing rate after 39 of its 42 examinees successfully hurdled the examination.
Adding to Iloilo’s impressive performance, UPV alumnus James Philgrey Tee Lim emerged as the country’s top scorer in the October 2026 Chemical Technicians Licensure Examination, earning a rating of 95 percent.
The results reinforced the standing of Iloilo’s higher education institutions as competitive training grounds for aspiring chemistry professionals, with both universities earning national recognition for their performance.
UPV congratulated Lim for his achievement, highlighting not only his success in the board examination but also his outstanding academic record.
“The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) proudly congratulates James Philgrey T. Lim, one of the six top passers of the October 2026 Chemical Technicians Licensure Examination with a rating of 95%,” UPV stated.
Lim was the top graduate of the UPV College of Arts and Sciences and the university’s Class of 2026.
“Lim…earn(ed) the highest weighted average grade (WAG) of 1.263. He graduated magna cum laude during the University’s 47th Commencement Exercises on July 10, 2026 in Miag-ao, Iloilo,” it added.
His achievement placed another Iloilo-trained graduate among the country’s highest-performing examinees, underscoring the quality of science education offered by institutions in Western Visayas.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Western Visayas also commended the universities for their strong showing in the national examinations.
The examinations were conducted in several testing centers nationwide, including Iloilo, Metro Manila, Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Koronadal, Legazpi, Lucena, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga.
They were administered under the supervision of the Professional Regulatory Board of Chemistry, chaired by Adoracion P. Resurreccion, with members Soledad S. Castañeda and Ma. Theresa C. Cayton./PN
