Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU) has earned a place among the country’s top-performing schools in fisheries education as the College of Fisheries (COF) ranked fourth nationwide in the October 2026 Fisheries Professionals Licensure Examination (FPLE), a first for the university.
The results, released by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), added 67 new Fisheries Professionals to CHMSU’s roster of graduates.
The university posted an overall passing rate of 85.90 percent, well above the national average of 69.05 percent. First-time takers did nearly as well, with a passing rate of 85.71 percent.
Josh Daniel Nombre, a BS Fisheries alumnus from Class 2026, placed tenth in the nation with a score of 87.25 percent. The College of Fisheries is based in CHMSU Binalbagan Campus.
“This is the first time for CHMSU to rank among the top performing schools nationwide,” said COF Dean Imee Perante. She added that the university has now produced a topnotcher in the licensure exam for the second time.
For Perante, the results are more than a ranking. She described the milestone as proof that the college is moving in the right direction as it continues to improve instruction and student life.
“I feel blessed, grateful, and overwhelmed of the result,” shared Topnotcher Nomber, a scholar of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and resident of Brgy. Banago in Bacolod City.
Nombre said he is proud to be among the passers who helped put CHMSU in the national rankings of top performing schools.
He also reminded his fellow passers to continue turning to faith in their new paths as fisheries professionals, well beyond their time reviewing and preparing for the board exam. He also thanked and attributed his success in the exam to his family, friends, teachers, the CHMSU community, and God.
The work is far from over, said Perante. Class 2026 has set the bar, she said, and it is now up to the next graduating class to raise it, while those who did not pass this time should rest, recover, and come back stronger in the next FPLE.
