Cebu graduate tops mining exam; 10th spot also secured

CEBU, Philippines- Two graduates of the Cebu Institute of Technology University (CIT-U) topped this year’s Mining Engineer Licensure Examination.

 Reginald Ratilla topped the list of passers, garnering 89.60 percent, while Khent Chito Marte landed on the tenth spot with 86.70 percent.

UP-Diliman’s Mark Joseph Abing, Wendy Talento, Grecco Ante, Russell Roy Palmejar and Ross Clark Prado of the University of the Philippines-Diliman got the second to sixth spot, respectively.

Taking the seventh and eight spots were Earl Jay Paras with a rating of 87.35 percent and Dave Mc Cleo Raganas with 87.05 percent—both are graduates of University of Southeastern Philippines-Davao City.

 Edwin Batal got a rating of 87 percent from Caraga State University-Butuan City, securing the ninth spot.

 Ratilla is the 73rd first placer produced by the CIT-U since 1946, the year when the school was founded.

 According to Dr. Evangeline Evangelista, Dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture of CIT-U, Ratilla graduated Cum Laude and the “best” of his batch. Ratilla, a consistent dean’s list, was also a scholar of a mining firm in Cebu.

 “Ratilla is a very kind, studious and trust-worthy scholar. Aside from that, he is also a student-leader. Sinaligan gyod na siya sa iyang department,” she said.

 Unlike Ratilla, Marte did not graduate on top of his class. But, he was a diligent student, Evangelista said.

 Evangelista told The FREEMAN that the new achievers are an addition to the consistent tradition of excellence that their school has offered.

 According to Evangelista, Ratilla and Marte will receive cash incentives from the university’s president, Gregorio L. Escario.  The Department of Mining Engineering, Evangelista said, is the smallest department of CIT-U’s engineering department.

 Evangelista shared that one of the factors why they’ve been producing topnotchers is their extensive review.

 She said they incorporated in their engineering curriculum a comprehensive evaluation review, a pre-requisite for graduation, to gear up students during licensure exams.

 “Dako gyod ni nga advantage in producing topnotchers. Also, we have a mock board before we graduate, a simulation of the actual board exam so that our takers will get used to it,” she added.

 The Professional Regulation Commission announced that 173 out of 214 passed the licensure examination given by the Board of Mining Engineering in Manila this August 2015. 

Of the 173 passers, 29 were from CIT-U, comprising 26 first timers and three repeaters. A total of 37 CIT-U graduates took the exam and most of them were scholars of 12 mining companies in the province.

 Adamson University emerged as the best performing school with an overall rating of 100 percent, while CIT-U landed fourth with 78.38 percent. The second and third best performing schools during the board exam was Bicol University-Legazpi and Caraga State University-Butuan City, respectively.  (FREEMAN)