AN ILOILO City graduate placed seventh in the October 2025 Physicians Licensure Examination (PLE), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced Thursday, October 17, 2025.
Judah Elijah Manticahon Cagas, a graduate of the West Visayas State University (WVSU) College of Medicine in La Paz District, Iloilo City, earned a rating of 89.08 percent, sharing the same rank and score with Johann Vincent Gan Lam of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health.
The PRC announced that 4,570 out of 5,900 examinees, or 77.46 percent, passed the October 2025 PLE.
The examination was conducted on October 4, 5, 11, and 12, 2025, in testing centers located in Metro Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, and Zamboanga.
This year’s topnotcher is Kharam Baricaua Molbog of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), who obtained a rating of 91.17 percent.
Molbog, who also topped the August 2022 medical technologists licensure exam with a 91.90 percent rating, leads 321 new Thomasian physicians who are now licensed to treat patients. UST recorded an overall passing rate of 98.17 percent.
He was followed by Eris Orlan Sto. Domingo Muñoz of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERMMMC) with 90.67 percent, and Charles Jerome Reyes Bartolo of the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila with 90.25 percent.
Other top examinees include Jorel Franco Antone Navotas Tangpuz of the Cebu Institute of Medicine (89.42 percent); Zairah de Leon Monjardin of Far Eastern University–Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation (FEU-NRMF) and Beatrice Hope Go Reyes of St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine–William H. Quasha Memorial, both with 89.25 percent; Nathan Ross Baoy Bantayan of UP Manila (89.17 percent); Abigail Christine Dayata Sim of Cebu Institute of Medicine (89.00 percent); Yousef Tahamid Naeem of Ateneo de Zamboanga University (88.92 percent); and Jarvin Vincent Chua Lumauig of UERMMMC (88.83 percent).
Among schools with 100 or more examinees, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) topped the list with a 99.05 percent passing rate. It was followed by UERMMMC (98.86 percent), Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (98.44 percent), UST (98.17 percent), and UP Manila (97.42 percent).
For schools with 50 to 99 examinees, the Cebu Institute of Medicine ranked first with a 100 percent passing rate, followed by St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine–William H. Quasha Memorial (98.95 percent), University of Cebu College of Medicine–Mandaue (98.39 percent), Saint Paul University–Tuguegarao (98.18 percent), and WVSU–La Paz (96.91 percent), which ranked fifth.
The Central Philippine University–College of Medicine (CPU–COM) also performed well, achieving a 90.74 percent passing rate among first-time takers. According to the PRC, 49 out of 54 examinees from CPU–COM’s Batch Aliis Vivere passed the board exam.
Meanwhile, the Iloilo Doctor’s College of Medicine (IDC–COM) recorded a 72.41 percent passing rate among first-time takers, with 42 passers out of 58 examinees.
The Board of Medicine is chaired by Dr. Efren C. Laxamana, with members Dr. Zenaida L. Antonio, Dr. Godofreda V. Dalmacion, Dr. Martha O. Nucum, Dr. Joanna V. Remo, and Dr. Prudencio Z. Sta. Lucia Jr. (Leo Solinap/SunStar Philippines)