MANILA, Philippines – Impressive are the triplets in Zamboanga Sibugay because they were born truly harmonious, always together, entered the same school, pursued the same degree program, and above all, all graduated Magna Cum Laude.
They are Lorie May, Eva May, and Xennia May Dangaton who, according to an interview with The Summit Express, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Jose Rizal Memorial State University – Tampilisan Campus.
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| Photo courtesy: Eva May Rabaya Dangaton / Facebook |
Their degree program was Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Financial Management.
“Hometown namin at tubong Zamboanga Sibugay po kami. Pero nag-aral at naka-graduate kami sa Zamboanga del Norte. Ang address ng school is Znac, Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte po and not Sibugay,” Lorie May said during the interview.
All three of them are 22 years old.
Lorie is the second among the siblings, Eva is the eldest, and Xennia is the youngest.
According to Lorie May in the interview, one of the advantages of being triplets is that they immediately have support buddies—built-in ultimate best friends. However, one of the disadvantages is that they sometimes lose their privacy because whatever one of them keeps as a secret, the other two eventually find out.
Many were moved by Lorie May's speech during their commencement exercises, as it was revealed that they are the first degree holders in their family—on top of the fact that they graduated with flying colors.
Their closeness with one another greatly helped, as they studied together, reviewed together, and shared notes with each other.
It also helped that one’s weakness was another’s strength, which is why they truly supported and helped one another as a team.
On the other hand, they have different learning styles. Eva prefers to sleep early so she can wake up early, as she finds it easier to review in the morning.
Lorie, on the other hand, is the type who writes down everything she reviews so it sticks better in her mind.
Xennia, meanwhile, prefers to review on her own.
Lorie May also shared the plan that the triplets have now that they’ve finished their studies.
“We have our short term and long term plan.”
“The short term is to obtain our Civil Service Eligibility and process all the papers for employment.”
“The long term plan we have set for ourselves after graduation is to build our individual careers, work and have a job, and sooner we are thinking of pursuing further studies. In God's will,” Lorie May said.
𝙒𝙃𝙊 𝙒𝙊𝙐𝙇𝘿'𝙑𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙂𝙃𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙒𝙀'𝘿 𝙂𝙍𝘼𝘿𝙐𝘼𝙏𝙀 𝘼𝙎 𝙈𝘼𝙂𝙉𝘼 𝘾𝙐𝙈 𝙇𝘼𝙐𝘿𝙀? We planned to keep a low profile since we're introverts. But it all changed during our first year with two subjects: 𝘙𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘭'𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 and 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. We were challenged by the unique teaching methods and became genuinely interested. Oral recitations pushed us to study hard, and we began to love learning. When our grades were released, we didn't react. We didn't know what "𝘶𝘯𝘰" meant. We thought, "𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦." Later, our instructor called our names in the group chat and asked us to go to the DSAS' Office. We didn't really understand what was happening. We brought the letter home and told our mom we were "𝘈𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳". She didn't react either. We just thought we passed. However, it was more than that. And now, I'm here, sharing not just my story but ours. We never expected this spotlight. Saying "𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺" is an understatement—it doesn't fully capture the journey we've taken, the countless sacrifices, and the moments we thought of giving up but chose to keep going. Instead, we were 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 is the best fit. I realized God had a far better plan than ours—one that unfolded slowly, quietly, and perfectly in His time, filled with unexpected milestones, silent victories, and answered prayers we never saw coming. To be honest, all we wanted was to finish college. We didn't think of honors, believing they were too hard to achieve. BUT THE BIGGEST TWIST? WE DIDN'T JUST FINISH, WE EXCELLED. 𝘼𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙥 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝, 𝙖 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡-𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮. Eva May Rabaya Dangaton Xennia May Dangaton Video: Courtesy of JRMSU-TC Live & Radyo Bisdak
Posted by Lorie May Dangaton on Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Congratulations, Dangaton sisters!
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express