He only prayed to pass; Apayao scholar, Jashen Repuyo Dela Cruz, ends up Top 5 in 2026 Fisheries Board Exam

FEATURE

LUNA, Apayao — He entered college carrying a heavy heart, convinced that his dream of becoming an engineer had been put aside.

Four years later, Jashen Repuyo Dela Cruz found himself among the country’s top new fisheries professionals.

The 22-year-old from Poblacion, Luna, Apayao placed Top 5 in the October 2026 Fisheries Professional Licensure Examination, scoring 88.50 percent in the examination results released Tuesday, October 6.

But his achievement is made more remarkable by the fact that Fisheries was never his first choice.

Dela Cruz had dreamed of taking computer engineering. Instead, he enrolled in Fisheries at Cagayan State University after becoming a recipient of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources–Cordillera Administrative Region (BFAR-CAR) Fisheries Scholarship Program.

The scholarship eased much of the financial burden on his family, but accepting the course was another matter.

“It was a difficult decision, one that came with hesitation, doubt, and even a sense of loss. I had never imagined myself taking a completely different path, so entering Fisheries was not something I immediately embraced. I started this journey with a heavy heart, unsure if I would ever truly accept where life was leading me,” Dela Cruz told GURU Press Cordillera.

What began as a course he reluctantly accepted eventually became a field he learned to embrace.

Dela Cruz graduated from the university with Merit on May 29, 2026, and went on to take the licensure examination.

Looking back, he now sees the path differently.

“What I once accepted with hesitation, I now celebrate with a grateful heart. Maybe I did not choose this path in the beginning, but God knew exactly where it would lead me,” he said.

He only prayed to pass

Despite graduating with Merit, Dela Cruz never imagined that he would finish among the country’s top performers.

In fact, during the first day of the board examination, he was already doubting whether he would pass.

There were questions he could not answer, leaving him convinced that he might not make it.

His prayer was not for a high ranking.

It was simply to pass.

“My simple prayer was, ‘Lord, kahit pasado lang,’” he recalled.

Dela Cruz said he had already prepared himself for disappointment when the results were released.

He did not even check the rankings immediately.

“When the results came out, I didn't even look at the rankings first. I just searched for the list of passers because I only wanted to know if I had passed,” he said.

Seeing his name among the passers was already enough to make him happy and relieved.

Then the messages from his professors started coming in.

“Congratulations! Top 5 ka!”

That was when he realized that he had not merely passed the examination.

He had finished among the country’s five highest scorers.

From a course he did not choose to a career he embraced

Dela Cruz’s journey is a reminder that an unexpected path does not necessarily mean a wrong one.

The course he initially entered with hesitation eventually became the discipline in which he excelled—and the scholarship he accepted helped open that path.

Now, as a newly licensed fisheries professional and national topnotcher, Dela Cruz hopes his experience can encourage other aspiring professionals who may also find themselves on a path different from the one they originally imagined.

For those preparing for their own board examinations, he acknowledges that the journey can be exhausting and overwhelming.

There will be moments when they question themselves and wonder whether they are capable of making it.

His advice is to keep going.

“Prepare well, stay consistent, and trust God throughout the process,” he said.

He also reminded future board takers not to measure their progress against others.

“Huwag ninyong i-compare ang progress ninyo sa ibang tao. Everyone has their own pace and their own struggles,” he said.

Above all, he urged them to pray, do their part and give their best while leaving the things beyond their control to God.

For Dela Cruz, the journey from an unchosen course to a Top 5 national ranking has become more than a professional achievement.

It has become proof that sometimes, the path we hesitate to take can lead us exactly where we are meant to be.