📢 MAY 2026 CPALE RESULTS RELEASED: The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), through the Board of Accountancy (BOA), released the results of the May 2026 Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) on Tuesday, June 2, 2026 — just four working days after the final test day, continuing the PRC’s fastest-ever turnaround streak. A total of 3,004 out of 9,745 examinees passed, for an overall passing rate of 30.83%. James Al Alcayde Serondo of the University of the Philippines Diliman topped the batch with a general average of 91.17%, and his alma mater swept the top-performing school list with a remarkable 98.15% institutional passing rate.
The Headline Numbers
- Total examinees: 9,745
- Total passers: 3,004
- Overall passing rate: 30.83%
- Exam dates: May 24, 25, and 26, 2026
- Results released: June 2, 2026 (Tuesday)
- Turnaround: 4 working days post-exam — one of the fastest in CPALE history
- Testing centers: 16 nationwide
- Withheld: 8 examinees pending final determination under licensure rules
The 30.83% national passing rate sits within the typical recent-batch range of 25–35% and modestly above the long-run average. The PRC’s 4-working-day release is the headline operational story — a significant improvement over the 7–14 working days that defined CPALE result releases through most of the 2010s.
Top 10 Topnotchers
Due to ties, the official Top 10 list includes 16 examinees. Here are the confirmed top placers:
- 1st — James Al Alcayde Serondo — University of the Philippines Diliman — 91.17%
- 2nd — Miko Andre Villenas — Southern Luzon State University–Lucban — 91.00%
- 3rd — Jonathan Eurich Lo Go — De La Salle University Manila — 90.83%
- 4th — Blas Miguel Villacampa Escarro — University of San Jose–Recoletos — 90.67%
- 5th — Ace Benhur Macalipay Ligo — Mindanao State University–General Santos City — 90.17%
- 6th to 10th (with ties) — Ernest John Alburque Manalo (FEU Diliman), Andrea Santos Meneses, Roverson Dayunot Mortega, Jamela Mehetabel Colarina San Juan, Ivy Ramos Aldave, and Joan Alliah Mocoy Carilim, among others.
The geographic spread is notable — the top five alone come from Luzon (UP Diliman, SLSU Lucban), Visayas (USJR Cebu), and Mindanao (MSU GenSan). The classical “Big Four” dominance of CPALE topnotcher rankings is loosening as regional state universities and provincial private schools continue to invest in better CPA review programs and tighter pre-board screening.
Top-Performing School: UP Diliman
The PRC awards “Top-Performing School” status only to institutions that meet a strict twin threshold: at least 50 examinees taking the board, AND an institutional passing rate of at least 80%. This batch, only one school cleared both bars:
- University of the Philippines Diliman — 53 passers out of 54 examinees — 98.15% passing rate
UPD’s near-perfect institutional performance, combined with topnotcher James Al Serondo at the helm, makes the May 2026 batch arguably UP Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business’s strongest CPALE showing in recent memory. Other historically strong CPA programs (UST, DLSU, ADMU, USC, USJR, FEU Diliman) produced passers and topnotchers but did not clear the 80% institutional threshold required for the “Top-Performing School” designation under the twin-threshold rule.
First-Timers vs Repeaters
- First-time takers: 33.51% passed
- Repeaters: 25.94% passed
- Gap: 7.57 percentage points in favor of first-timers
The first-timer advantage is consistent with historical CPALE patterns and reflects two realities: first-time cohorts are typically more recently exposed to academic content and review momentum, and repeater pools tend to skew toward examinees who failed one or two subjects rather than the entire exam. At the school level, the gap can be far larger — top programs like UPD, USC, and DLSU produce first-time pass rates north of 85% while their repeater pass rates remain in the 40–60% range.
Where the Exam Was Conducted
The May 2026 CPALE was administered across 16 testing centers nationwide on May 24, 25, and 26: NCR (Manila), Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Koronadal, Legazpi, Lucena, Pagadian, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, and Zamboanga. The PRC’s continued geographic decentralization has materially lowered the cost and stress of taking the CPALE for provincial examinees.
What Happens Next for Passers
If your name is on the official list, here is your immediate roadmap:
- Verify your status on the official PRC website (prc.gov.ph) and download your Certificate of Passing.
- Schedule your registration appointment through the PRC LERIS online portal. The PRC has announced the registration schedule alongside the results.
- Attend the mass oath-taking ceremony announced by the Board of Accountancy.
- Pay the registration fee and receive your Professional Identification Card (PIC) and Certificate of Registration (CoR).
- Apply with PICPA (Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants) — the official Integrated Professional Organization of CPAs — for member benefits and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) tracking.
- Begin your career path: Big Four audit (SGV/EY, PwC Isla Lipana, KPMG R.G. Manabat, Deloitte Navarro Amper), mid-tier firms (Reyes Tacandong, P&A Grant Thornton, R.S. Bernaldo), industry (CFO track, controllership), government (COA, BIR, BSP, DOF, SEC), or specialized practice (taxation, transfer pricing, forensic accounting, IT audit).
With 3,004 new CPAs entering the labor market simultaneously, the Big Four and major mid-tier firms have already begun their post-CPALE hiring cycles. Apply quickly — the first wave of placements usually closes within 4–6 weeks of results release.
For Those Who Did Not Pass
Approximately 6,741 examinees did not pass this batch. The next CPALE is tentatively scheduled for October 2026, with applications opening in July. Use the time productively:
- Identify your weak subjects through the “Performance of Examinees” report sent by the PRC — this report tells you exactly which of the six CPALE subjects pulled you below 75%.
- Enroll in a focused refresher review program (CPAR, ReSA, ReDi, CRC-ACE, or PRTC are the long-standing reputable CPA review centers).
- If you failed by 5 points or less in one or two subjects, you are conditionally a strong candidate for the next batch — the marginal improvement needed is realistic.
- Read our prior posts: CPALE Final 24-Hour Cram Guide, the high-yield MAS, RFBT, Taxation, and Auditing Theory deep dives.
The Bigger Picture: Why This Batch Matters
The 3,004 new CPAs from May 2026 enter the profession at a strategically important moment for Philippine accountancy. The full rollout of the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act, the continuing implementation of CREATE MORE, the expansion of Philippine corporate sustainability and ESG reporting under SEC Memorandum Circulars, and the rapid digital transformation of the Big Four’s audit methodologies are all reshaping demand for CPAs. The accountancy profession is also one of the most active sources of Filipino global talent — CPAs are heavily recruited for placements in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Australia, and the US.
The PRC’s 4-working-day turnaround also signals a permanent shift in CPALE operations. Combined with the digitized application process via LERIS and the standardized 6-subject syllabus, the CPALE has become one of the most operationally efficient PRC board examinations.
Congratulations to All May 2026 CPALE Passers
To every new Certified Public Accountant who saw their name on the June 2 list — congratulations. You have earned one of the most demanding professional credentials in the Philippines, the product of years of accountancy coursework, two semesters of accounting practicums, an intense board review, and three days of grueling examination across Financial Accounting and Reporting, Advanced Financial Accounting and Reporting, Management Advisory Services, Auditing, Taxation, and Regulatory Framework for Business Transactions. The Philippine economy needs more well-prepared, ethical CPAs ready to serve businesses, investors, taxpayers, and the public interest. Welcome to the profession.
Complete Official List of May 2026 CPALE Passers (All 3,004 Names)
Below is the embedded official Roll of Successful Examinees in the May 2026 Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE), released by the Professional Regulation Commission Board of Accountancy on June 2, 2026. All 3,004 names are included in the official PRC document. Use the document viewer below to scroll through or download the complete list.
📥 Download the complete official PRC list (PDF)
How to Search for Your Name (or a Loved One’s)
The embedded PDF above is fully searchable. To find a specific name quickly:
- On desktop: Click inside the document viewer, then press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) and type the surname.
- On mobile: Tap the “Open in new tab” icon at the top of the viewer, then use your browser’s search-in-page feature.
- Alternative: Click here to open the official PRC PDF in a new tab and use the built-in PDF search.
Verify Your Rating Officially
The PRC’s official online verification of ratings will be available a few working days after release. Passers can verify their rating directly with the PRC at online.prc.gov.ph/verification. You will need:
- Examination name (Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination)
- Examination date (May 24, 2026)
- Application number
- First name and last name
- Birthdate
Note: 8 examinees had their results withheld pending final determination of their liabilities under the rules and regulations governing licensure examinations. These names do not appear in the official roll.
Quick Letter-Range Browse
If you prefer to browse the list as a text-readable web page (organized by surname letter range), the official PRC text release is mirrored across the following authoritative aggregators:
- Surnames A–C (867 passers): View list ↗
- Surnames D–F (392 passers): View list ↗
- Surnames G–I (227 passers): View list ↗
- Surnames J–L (229 passers): View list ↗
- Surnames M–O (424 passers): View list ↗
- Surnames P–R (351 passers): View list ↗
- Surnames S–U (354 passers): View list ↗
- Surnames V–Z (160 passers): View list ↗
Source: Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Board of Accountancy. Official May 2026 CPALE results released June 2, 2026.