FANTILLAN (Tara Yap)
ILOILO CITY – Royce Arjan Java Fantillan, the topnotcher in the April 2026 Pharmacists Licensure Examination, wanted to be an engineer.
“To be honest, I did not think of pursuing it, but I came to love it,” said Fantillan, the 22-year-old graduate of Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of San Agustin (USA) in Iloilo City who ranked No. 1 with a 94.65 percent rating.
“It my mother’s idea that I become a pharmacist. She’s building an infinity stone in the medical field,” he said.
His mother Analen encouraged him to pursue pharmacy and continue the path of his siblings in the medical field.
An older brother is a doctor while another older brother is a dentist. His younger sister is a nursing student.
Only the siblings are in the medical profession. His father Royce is a retired seaman.
Fantillan credited the support of the USA College of Pharmacy and Medical Technology for his achievement.
He said he is not a stereotypical topnotcher who sacrificed his social life. Fantillan said he had a support structure from fellow classmates as they studied together outside instead of him studying alone.
“It’s not about the length and intensity of studying. It’s about consistency and developing a technique so that you can better understand the subject matter,” he added.
Fantillan credited his education to neighboring Oton town. He graduated from Oton National High School and the now defunct South Coast International School.
USA is the top performing school in the licensure exam nationwide with an 82.43 percent passing rate.