JEOWY Loyloy Ompad’s path to becoming a lawyer, culminating in a spot among the country’s top Bar examinations passers, started with hauling fishing nets off Moamboc Island, Bantayan in northern Cebu.
Raised in a family of fisherfolk, Ompad said hardship shaped his discipline and resolve to pursue law. He recalled how his father, Jose Ompad, urged him to leave the island, seek opportunities elsewhere and return someday to serve the community that raised him.
That advice carried him through law school and into the 2025 Bar examinations, where he emerged as the lone Cebuano to place in the top 20. Ompad ranked sixth nationwide with a rating of 91.25 percent.
The Supreme Court released the official list of top examinees on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. Jhenroniel Rhey Timola Sanchez of the University of the Philippines topped the list with a rating of 92.70 percent.
Ompad’s performance also put the University of San Jose–Recoletos in the spotlight, making it the only Cebu-based law school — and the only one in the Visayas — to place a graduate in the top 20.
A valedictorian of his batch, Ompad said he hopes to use his law degree to help poor communities and fisherfolk protect their rights.
USJ-R is set to grant him cash incentives and a laptop in recognition of his achievement. The university’s School of Law also ranked fifth among the country’s best-performing law schools in the category of institutions with 51 to 100 Bar candidates. / DPC