CITIZEN OUTSHINES YOUNG EXAMINEES
MANILA,
MARCH 1, 2012 (INQUIRER) By
Jerome Aning, Tarra Quismundo - That one moment at home watching television
Wednesday afternoon was unlike any other for 27-year-old Raoul Angelo Atadero.
He heard his name read out as this year's top bar passer.
"It gave me goose bumps. I wasn't exactly expecting to top the bar," said
Atadero, valedictorian of Ateneo Law Class of 2011. "I really didn't think I
would do that well."
He said he even expected to fail in commercial and mercantile law. "When I
heard my name, I was in shock," said Atadero, who learned about the results
while at home in Quezon City. "My Mom was beside me and she was the one crying."
Atadero got a grade of 85.536 percent followed by Luz Danielle Bolong, also
of Ateneo, with 84.556 percent.
Others in the Top 10 were Cherry Liez Rafal-Roble of Arellano University,
84.455; Rosemil Bañaga of Notre Dame University (NDU) in Cotabato City, 84.122;
Christian Louie Gonzales of the University of Santo Tomas, 84.094 percent; Ivan
Bandal of Silliman University, 84.091 percent; Eireene Xina Acosta of San Beda
College, 84.066; Irene Marie Qua, also of Ateneo, 84.057 percent, Elaine Marie
Laceda, of the Far Eastern University-De La Salle University Juris Doctor-MBA
program, 84.040; and Rodolfo Aquino, also of San Beda, 83.728.
They were among the 1,913 (31.95 percent of the 5,990 examinees) who passed
the 2011 bar exams. It was the second highest passing rate in 12 years.
The list of successful examiners may be viewed at the Supreme Court's website
(www.sc.judiciary.gov.ph).
First time
Impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona addressed a crowd of about 200
examiners and their friends gathered on the Supreme Court grounds to view the
list of passers on three monitors. It was the first time the head of the
judiciary led the announcement ceremony; usually it is just the chairman of the
bar committee who does so.
"Maybe you want to volunteer, to be additional members of the defense panel,"
Corona jestingly told the crowd, which erupted in cheers. The Supreme Court
grounds were bedecked by streamers supporting Corona and the independence of the
judiciary.
He later mingled with the crowd for a few minutes and shook hands with some
of them.
"To the successful and those who were lucky to pass, my heartfelt
congratulations. To those who failed, there's always a next time. Don't lose
hope," Corona said.
Hard work, prayer, luck
In a phone patch interview, Atadero said he waited for the results of the
exams to come out via the Internet.
He said the television was on and he was surprised when he heard his name
mentioned by the bar committee chairman, Justice Roberto Abad.
Asked what his "secret" was in topping the bar, he replied: "Hard work,
prayer and luck. Most important is hard work. You really need to work hard
because no amount of prayer or luck will make you pass the bar."
Like most other bar exam takers, Atadero had spent much of last year
preparing for the grueling November tests conducted at the University of Santo
Tomas in Manila.
He was glued to law books for up to 14 hours daily between April and November
last year.
"I started studying mid-April all the way up to November. I get up at 7 a.m.,
start studying at 8 a.m. and continue until 9 p.m., including breaks for meals.
It's really pretty standard for bar takers," Atadero said.
Brilliance with integrity
In his valedictory speech, he underscored the importance of integrity among
lawyers, a trait that separates the real gems from the fancy puwit ng baso
(literally, the bottom of a drinking glass).
"[T]wo lawyers can be equally bright, skilled and virtually
indistinguishable. Like true gems, therefore, it is not our brilliance alone
that will set us apart but that indestructible core that we're made of—what the
Ateneo has impressed upon us down to our very molecules—brilliance with
integrity," he told his fellow graduates last year.
"Brilliance without integrity makes us puwit ng baso, breakable and fleeting.
Integrity allows us to withstand and constantly scatter light, enduring with
brilliance," he said.
Family's first lawyer
The second among four siblings, Atadero is the first lawyer in the family.
The family, which hails from Meycauayan, Bulacan province, runs a jewelry and
pawnshop business.
His interest in law started while he was doing legislative work for the
Ateneo Student Council in college.
Atadero, who started working at Puno & Puno Law Offices (PPLO) on
February 20, said he was inclined to specialize in corporate law.
Atadero's superiors at the firm's corporate department described him as quiet
and unassuming, but very intelligent and insightful.
Bolong, the second placer, also belongs to the PPLO. She has been assisting
the PPLO in an important family mediation case since joining the firm in
mid-February. This consistent dean's lister at law school has been described as
spirited, expressive and possessing a keen eye for details.
Bolong, 24, a native of San Fernando City, La Union, and currently living in
Manila, said she prayed for success in the exams at the shrines of the Our Lady
of Perpetual Help in Baclaran, Parañaque City, Padre Pio Church in Libis, Quezon
City and Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan province.
Sister passed, too
Bolong and her sister Maria Diane, an Arellano graduate, both took the bar
last year. She also passed the examination.
Asked how she felt after learning that she passed, the topnotcher replied,
"Happy. When I first heard that I passed, my sister and I were attending Mass in
Baclaran. My sister told me to turn off the phone so when the Mass ended and I
turned on the phone, I was flooded with messages saying that I passed the bar
and placed second."
"We were both in shock. I could not explain [how I felt]. I wasn't expecting
[to be second-placer]. I mean, you work hard so that you will pass the bar, but
it's an extra blessing to learn that you place second. Maybe we will celebrate
with my family."
Difficult
Bolong said she found the exams difficult. "The multiple choice part is
objective, so that part was easy. The essay-making portion, I was kind of
worried because the examiners might not appreciate my answers."
She said she found the political and commercial law subjects difficult. Her
favorite subjects were remedial and criminal law.
Mother of 3
Bañaga, 42, knew in her heart that she would become a lawyer, but the mother
of three did not expect she would make it to the Top 10.
Bañaga was busy working as an accountant at Alandea Lending Corp. in Cotabato
City when the dean of the Notre Dame University College of Law phoned her that
she landed in the Top 4.
"I was overwhelmed. My colleagues said I was about to break out in tears,"
Bañaga told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
"It's a blessing from God. I have this feeling that I really had a calling to
become a lawyer to help those in need. And God is making a way to make it
happen," she said.
"I have this joy that I can't explain. I have no plans of going anywhere. I
will stay in Cotabato, with the company that helped me from the start," she
said.
She said that from Day 1 of her law school, she concentrated on reading law
books and studying topics ahead of her classes.
Novena
Bañaga said that during the bar exams, her husband, Macario, an engineer,
would recite the novena.
"He was in church near the exam's venue reciting the novena, every time I
went to the bar exam," Bañaga said.
Her boss, Delia Sumail, a Christian married to a Muslim and owner of the
lending firm, also prayed the novena while she was taking the exams.
"That helped a lot and that complemented my efforts in my studies," said
Bañaga, also a certified public accountant who passed the CPA board exams in
1993.
She also earned her master's degree in business administration at Notre Dame
University in 2004.
First time for Notre Dame
Fr. Eduardo Tanudtanud, president of the Notre Dame University, where Bañaga
graduated last year, said it was the first time a graduate of NDU College of Law
was included in the Top 5.
"Her making it to fourth place is another feather in the cap for NDU. We are
very proud of her," Tanudtanud said. With reports from Edwin
O. Fernandez and Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao
FROM MANILA BULLETIN
Senior Citizen Outshines Younger Examinees By
LEONARD D. POSTRADO February 29, 2012, 10:50pm
MANILA, Philippines — At age 64, Rodolfo Aquino, who placed 10th in
the 2011 Bar examinations, admitted that his memory was not as sharp as before.
He had a hard time recalling what he learned in his four years at the San
Beda College of Law in Alabang.
"I was struggling with the part on remedial law because it is very procedural
and of course it is very technical. You really need a sharp mind to get through
that subject," Aquino told the Manila Bulletin.
Aquino holds the distinction of being the oldest examinee that made it to the
2011 Bar's Top 10.
When his classmates informed him that he was one of the topnotchers, Aquino
said he could not believe it at first.
"I was watching DVD at our house in Ayala, Alabang, when my classmates texted
and called me that I was one of the top 10 in the Bar examinations. Of course I
was really happy," he said.
"My wife was really worried [if I passed or not] than me. I just decided to
watch the DVD and did not think about what the outcome of the exams will be. I
said, if it happens then it happens," he said.
Aquino took his law studies at San Beda while teaching at the University of
the Philippines College of Business Administration. At least 43 of the 48
students of San Beda College of Law - Alabang passed the examinations.
Aquino, who is about to retire from teaching in UP next school year, said he
will probably apply in one of the law firms of his fraternity brothers "to gain
experience."
He might continue teaching, this time at San Beda, as he was invited by their
dean to be a lecturer.
Aquino, a member of the Sigma Rho Fraternity, believes that his being a
senior citizen will not be a hindrance to his being a practicing lawyer.
"Even if I'm already old I think I can still help my country," Aquino said,
noting that his expertise include commercial law and economic law.
Raoul Angelo D. Atadero, a law graduate from Ateneo de Manila University, was
first place in the exams with a rating of 85.5363.
Atadero said he was home watching television when he heard Supreme Court
Justice Roberto Abad read his name as Bar topnotcher.
He said he was surprised because he was expecting to fail in the Commercial
and Mercantile Law subjects.
"My mom was beside me, she was the one crying. It gave me goosebumps,"
Atadero said.
He said he has been working with the Puno and Puno Law Office for the past
two weeks as a legal assistant but he expects to move up as junior associate
after passing the Bar.
"My goal is private practice. I will pursue a specialization on corporate
law," Atadero said.
Like Atadero, second placer Luz Daneille Bolong has also been working with
the law firm as a legal assistant.
Bolong, who is also from Ateneo, said she had just come from Mass at the
Redemptorist Church in Baclaran with her sister when she learned the good news.
Her sister, Marie Diane,who took up her law at the Arellano University, also
passed.
"We were both in shock. It's hard to explain, I wasn't expecting (that I
would place second). I mean, you work hard so that you will pass the bar, but
its an extra blessing to learn that you placed second," Bolong said.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
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