PASSING THE BAR
I Trust…
I Prayed…
I Studied…
I Passed it!!!
Passing the bar examination for
me is a tough battle. You cannot take the Bar examination unless you finished
the Four (4) year course of Bachelor of Laws or the Juris Doctor.
In my case, I am a graduate of
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education (BSAgEd) major in Teaching
Agriculture in Elementary Schools at Leyte State University now known as the
Visayas State University at Visca, Baybay, Leyte.
I did not have a very wide background
in the Laws of the Republic of the Philippines. I remember that I only studied
the Philippine Constitution for two months because I have this one subject in
College with a Descriptive Title “Philippine Institution” of which the said
subject is composed of two topics; Philippine History and the Philippine
Constitution. Our teacher focused his lessons more on the Philippine History.
I passed the Licensure
Examination for Teachers but I did not decide right away whether I have to
pursue Bachelor of Laws. After my graduation in College, I enjoyed teaching
children at Visca Foundation Elementary School at Baybay, Leyte and at the
Department of Education in Ormoc City particularly Lake Danao Elementary School
in Lake Danao, Ormoc City, Ormoc City Central School and Ormoc City SpEd Center
in Ormoc City.
After six (6) years of teaching,
my Uncle told me if I am interested to study Bachelor of Laws. At first, I was
undecided but when he told me that he will be the one to shoulder the expenses for
my study, I agreed.
I was not yet married at that
time. In short, I did not have that big obligation to save money for my own
family. It is true that I was already independent with my salary as a teacher
but I was not able to save that huge amount of money for building a new family.
After my Uncle told me that he
will spend everything in law school, I decided to take that course but I was
not motivated to become a lawyer at first. The motivation of becoming a lawyer
was very low. If I want to grade it from 1 to 10, I will give 2. But I still
pursued Bachelor of Laws despite that hanging interest. I was enticed but I was
not really that motivated. I just want to learn law and to study in an
industrialized city.
In law school, I had the difficulty of reading
100 pages a day from day one. I also had the difficulty of understanding the
terms used in the decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the
Philippines. I was also baffled by the teachers in law school whose techniques
in teaching were very different from what I learned. Their strategies were
outside from what I had studied to becoming a professional teacher. The strategies were
beyond my expectation. Because of that, I failed some subjects for failure to
surmount the attacked of my teachers. I cried. I became drunk. I was depressed. I thought I
could excel in law school but I was not right. Luckily, I was able to control
the depression.
I continued my studies in law
despite the failures. However, I never stopped reaching my goal of finishing my
studies. I noticed during my second year, the number of my classmates decreased
until I graduated with my other forty-four (44) students. We were 240 students
from First Year and only 44 graduated that year.
The expenses was really huge. I
spent more than 1 Million including the tuition fees, books, fare, food, boarding
house, and other miscellaneous. I still have the list of expenses until now.
My Uncle spent this big amount of money and he was the one who attended my graduation. My graduation was indeed one of the happiest moment in my life but it was also a stressful start to prepare for the bar examination. I was hesitant to take the Bar Examination right after the graduation because I felt that I was not ready. When I read the book, I did not reach the 100 pages per day goal. But I have to conquer this fear. I have to be braved despite these limited knowledge.
In the year 2013, I took my
first Bar Examination in Manila. With my close friends and classmates at that
time. I did not know why I have to continue to take the bar and to spend a big amount
of money when I’m still not ready.
Before the examination, I had
six (6) months preparation and I did not consume that time religiously for
studying. From law school, I did not take the habit of reading at least 100
pages a day. I brought that attitude until the Bar Examination in 2013. I did
not read my books but I preferred to read my own notes and the given “outlines”
from the Review Center.
Yes, I was focused in studying!
But, I was only focused on my notes and whatever appeared on my notes were the
only topics that I mastered. Honestly, the topics of the 2013 Bar Examination
was too broad and I was not able to read all the coverage for the 2013 Bar. I
only limit myself on my notes without considering the other topics. I hurdled
the four Sundays of the month of November and I was very proud that I finished
answering the eight (8) subjects.
After the examination, I waited
for six (6) months for the result. While waiting for the result, I felt the
pressure from my relatives, friends, and all others who knew me taking the 2013
bar exam.
In fact, other people called me
“Attorney”. So, I decided to move away from these people. From my hometown, I
went back to Cebu and transferred to another boarding house. To keep away from
depression, I became an English as Second Language Teacher or ESL Teacher for
the Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese students in the Philippines. I enjoyed the
job but I only receive Ten Thousand Pesos a month. It was a good salary for me
but I had to economize to pay for the boarding house, water, electricity, cell
phone load, and others. I embraced such salary and live within the bounds of it.
After six months of waiting, I
received the result. It was bad because I failed. I did not cry but I
questioned God for that. However, after pondering, it was me who has
the problem; the effort I made and the time I consumed while studying.
I could feel the presence of
God at that time. While I was so sad, I passed the area where a blaze of fire
hit near my boarding house. I saw the people who were scared and helpless! They only brought with them their clothes while crying and shouting for help. A lot of people
suffered. Their faces were filled with grief. Although, I felt the gloom but my
own sadness was just a bit.
Then, another tragic experience
happened. Did you still remember Typhoon Yolanda. It hit Ormoc City and my
family was also affected. Although, our roof was just blown away by the strong
winds but if you could still remember, a lot of people suffered not just from
Ormoc City but the entire Region VIII and other nearby places. It was an amazing
tragedy. Then, I said to myself “I have
to become a lawyer! I have to stand up and learned the previous mistakes”.
Some of my friends and
classmates who also failed the 2013 Bar Exam stood up and started
anew. I had another six (6) month Bar Review Preparation. I reviewed in the
same Review Center and attended the class review on its scheduled time. I
prayed a lot. I also studied a lot. But the lyrics of the song goes, “I did my Best. But the best I made was not
good enough!” I failed for the second time. Depressed?
No! Another lesson learned. I
had to overcome these mistakes and be strong despite the two (2) failures. I
became stronger. I had to work again and accepted the salary of eight thousand pesos
a month. I had no choice but to accept the said salary.
Then, decided to take a rest. I did
not take the 2015 bar examination. My Uncle died and I had no one who could help
me spend another big amount of money for the examination. I was so sad and
asked myself, “Why I did not make it? Why I did not pass the Bar while the
person who helped me to become a lawyer already died? My mind grasped with
exhaustion, How could I reach the amount of money to spend for the 2016 bar examination?
As an ESL teacher, my income per month was only Eight Thousand Pesos (Php
8,000.00). So, I resigned and find another job.
With God’s grace, in May 2015 I
was hired as a Paralegal in a Law Firm. I thanked God because HE gave a job
that could help me raised One Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 150,000.00) for
the 2016 Bar Exam expenses. After raising that amount, I bought eleven (11) new
books and started to read from the start. I erased all my knowledge on what I
had learned in law school and I guess that was a brilliant strategy!
Then, I passed the 2016 Bar Examination.
It was a very challenging yet the best experience in my life. Before the
examination, I followed my goal to read the book and to finish 100 pages a day.
Every day, I prayed that I could understand what I read. It was a big challenge
but I really prayed that I could not forget what I read. This time, I learned
from my 2013 and 2014 bar exam experiences.
I said to myself that I have to
become a lawyer. I studied 16 hours a day in my boarding house because
I did not have a budget to study out. This time, I was not with my friends. I
wanted to be independent. I studied alone in a non-air-condition room. In fact,
I bought new books for the eight subjects and I was proud that I read these
book three times before the 2016 Bar Examination started. When I study, I wrote
the paragraph that would likely be asked in the bar examination. I asked the
HOLY SPIRIT to guide me in doing such writing exercise. I also did not forget
to pray even after the Bar Examination.
Reading the books every day
made my sleep weird. Every time I slept, I could picture the pages of the book
and the paragraph that I need to retain. This experience was very different
experience in my previous bar examinations. As if I had power, a photographic
memory. I made this a weapon in the 2016 bar examination.
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