UPV grad from Cotabato lands on Top 10 of CPA board exam

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

A GRADUATE of the University of the Philippines-Visayas in Iloilo City is one of the topnotchers in the October 2019 Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensure examination.

Khristeen Eve Austria Debolgado, 21, of Cotabato City clinched the 10^th spot in the CPA board examinations with a rating of 87.33 percent.

Debolgado, who was among the only 2,075 passers of the CPA licensure examination, said she relied mostly on her stock knowledge as the exam was “extremely difficult” even with all the review preparations.

“Budlay ang exam kay kon isalig mo lang ang tanan sa reviewers mo, mabudlayan ka gid. Ako nagsalig lang ko sang mga concepts sang undergrad ko kay it’s more on application gid. Dapat effort gid magbasa libro, intindihon gid ang solutions kag ano ang mga questions,” she said in a phone interview.

The topnotcher shared she did not expect to land on the top 10 because she could barely sleep due to anxiety and jitters days before the exam.

“Sa mga days before pa lang sang exam grabe ang kakulba, indi ko katulog, na-anxiety na ko, gapangamuyo na lang ko na  tani mapakalma ko sa exams and dapat may presence of mind nga indi ka mag-panic,” she said.

Debolgado, a cum laude accountancy graduate of UP-Visayas, dedicated her success to her parents, friends, and professors in college.

“Ginadedicate ko sa parents, ginsugtan ko nila nga mageskwela maskin layo and mahal ang gasto. Sa friends ko nga gasalig sa akon, biskan ako wala ko salig sa self ko sila gid ga-encourage sa akon. And sa mga professors ko nga may passion sa pagtudlo kay sila nag-inspire sa akon mag-take sang exam nga mayo kay bal-an ko nag-effort gid sila para mag-impart sa amon knowledge,” she added.

Amid the controversies surrounding her campus, particularly the satirical cheer from the annual cheering competition in UPV, the CPA topnotcher said she owes her huge feat to UP which molded her through the years.

“Dako gid ang contribution sang UPV sa akon especially sa learning ko. Since high school, it has been my goal and dream nga sa UPV mag-eskwela maskin layo,” she said.

As someone who was able to join the cheering competition during her first year in college, Delgado sees no harm in the event as it allows students to voice out their concerns.

“Para sa akon deserve sang UPV nga i-voice out ila nga mga concerns in society and there is no harm in that. Ga-voice out lang man sila and dapat pamati-an man sang gobyerno ang mga concerns,” she furthered.

Delgado also urged her fellow Iskos and Iskas to ignore the online bashing and instead continue to voice out their opinions.

“Para sa akon indi dapat magpa-apekto ang UPV students kag dapat continue lang ang pag-voice out kay wala ta mahimo sang close-minded nga tawo,” she said.

The satirical cheering competition in UPV made noise on social media recently after students became the subject of online harassments from supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte.

On Sunday, the UPV administration denounced all forms of attacks and harassments against the students.

“In UP Visayas, we encourage our students to think critically and allow them to exercise their freedom of expression. We also assure them of protection while they are inside the campuses. We remind them to exercise prudence in their actions, thus we denounce all forms of threats and harassment hurled against them,” the statement said.

Apart from Debolgado, Lovel Alegre Dulay and Jhudge Perez Salaya of University of Sto. Tomas; and Victorina Leonila Mae Palo Santos of Holy Angel University also bagged the tenth spot.

Justine Louie Baustista Santiago of UST attained the highest mark in the licensure examination with a rating of 90.33%.

The Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) said 2,705 out of 14,492 or 14.32% passed the CPA licensure examination.