Two Bicolanos top 2022 CPA Licensure Exam

By Paolo Gabriel Jamer

Two Bicolanos from Masbate and Albay, both graduates of the Bicol University, joined the top 10 examinees of the recently concluded Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) held last May 22-24.

Emmanuel Jerrusalem, the 6th placer, is from Mobo, Masbate while Bethany Jane Carizo, the 7th placer, is from Legazpi City.

Jerrusalem’s father is a street vendor while his mother is a plain housewife. He finished his studies through scholarship and other grants. He also worked as a text-based tutor to pursue his studies. He is a consistent honor student from elementary to high school and he graduated as cum laude.

Meanwhile, Bethany Jane Carizo’s father is a construction worker. She is also a consistent honor student from elementary to high school and she graduated magna cum laude.

"Certified Public Accountants are valuable in our society as we communicate to the public the financial performance of entities. As CPAs, we also study taxes and laws relating to business transactions. We can help revise the changes in these laws for the betterment of the country and the people. We can also provide our services to the people so that they can plan their transactions and estimate their taxes ahead," Carizo said as she addressed the recent proposal of the incoming Marcos administration to increase tax payments and remove VAT exemptions.

Carizo reminded all accounting students and those who will be pursuing the course to always do their best, even if that “best” does not look the same every day. "The journey is long and difficult but all of your sacrifices and hard work will be worth it in the end. Pray. God hears all of our prayers and He provides," Carizo added.

Only 990 examinees out of 4,442 passed the CPALE last May 22-24 and the national passing rate is 22%.