John Destacamento, former The Freeman editor, now a lawyer

CEBU, Philippines — John Mayugba Destacamento, former editor of The Freeman, has joined the distinguished list of Cebuano media personalities who are now lawyers

The fisherman's son from Medellin town in northern Cebu is among the 3,812 takers who passed the 2023 Bar examinations given last September.

"Nothing but gratitude in my heart," Destacamento, a graduate of the University of San Carlos (USC) School of Law and Governance, wrote on his Facebook page moments after the results were officially announced by Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, chairman of the 2023 Bar Exam, on Tuesday, December 5.

"Thank you to my God, and my family, relatives, in-laws, friends, colleagues, professors, and just random individuals who said a prayer and supported me in this journey. I share this feat with all of you. Salamat, salamat, salamat," added Destacamento, a management accounting graduate before taking up law.

Destacamento, 34, is the fourth journalist from the country's oldest community-based newspaper to hurdle the tough bar exams in the past two years after Michael Vencynth Braga, Grace Melanie Lacamiento, and John Rey Saavedra.

Rising from the ranks, Destacamento first entered the world of journalism as opinion columnist of The Freeman back in 2012. That became his launchpad in his rapid ascent to the paper's editorial echelon. With hard work and unbridled passion for his craft, Destacamento went on to become a business reporter, assistant business editor, metro editor, assignments editor, and eventually assistant news editor.

Indeed, journalism runs through his veins. Apart from his editing job at The Freeman's news desk, Destacamento wears a another hat as a sought-after campus journalism speaker from the local up to the national level, a field that holds a special place in his heart being a national champion sportswriter himself during his colorful days as an aspiring student-writer of Medellin National Science and Technology School (MNSTS) two decades ago.

Just last May, he resigned from The Freeman in pursuit of a higher calling. And he did it just as he desired. Passing the bar exams is a culmination of all his sacrifices. A dream come true for the soon-to-be Attorney Destacamento. — (FREEMAN)