University of Baguio graduate is Philippines first visually impaired Bar passer

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The University of Baguio School of Law has produced a first in the history of the Philippine Bar examinations – considered one of the hardest in the country – after a visually impaired alumnus emerged from the challenge with flying colors.

Anthony Mark Dulawan Emocling, of Benguet Ibaloi and Iluko descent, admitted that he hurdled law school and eventually the Bar exams with difficulty because of his impairment.

Totally blind since he was 10 years old because of a retinal detachment when he was younger, Emocling said he had to double the effort of a regular law student to catch up using a screen reading software in the computer reading law books for him.

He added that making his life as a law student even more difficult was the lack of materials suitable for visually impaired law students, since there are no available books for the blind, not to mention the stereotype against blind people.

But he never lost hope, with his family as his inspiration.

“They never gave up on me. They believed in my abilities, that I can do it. I also have good friends that supported my dreams, and they are the ones who also helped me in my reviews,” Emocling said.

He added that he originally dreamt of becoming a cop, but when his vision failed him at his young age, he became fascinated with how lawyers explain things.

He was lent a radio by his grandfather and listened every day to radio talk shows, where interviews of eloquent lawyers fascinated him.

It was also in listening to those radio interviews that Emocling first encountered former University of Baguio School of Law dean and now Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Mayor Pablito Sanidad Sr., who later became his dean in law school.

Now on his way to becoming one of the country’s most inspirational lawyers, Emocling said he dreams of advocating for human rights, “especially for persons with disabilities” who he thinks “are the most in need of assistance from lawyers like him.”

Best performing schools

While University of the Philippines dominated the top 30 of the 2022 Bar exams, Ateneo de Manila University and San Beda University are the best performing law schools in terms of the number of passers, according to the Supreme Court (SC).

Among the law schools with more than 100 candidates, Ateneo got 96.74 percent of passers, followed by San Beda with 96.67 percent and UP with 94.27 percent.

University of San Carlos (USC) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) landed fourth and fifth in the rankings with 91.43 percent and 78.09 percent of passers, respectively.

If only accounting for first-time takers, however, San Beda was the best performing school with 97.58 percent of passers, followed by Ateneo (97.24 percent), UP (95.02 percent), USC (93.47 percent) and UST (79.87 percent).

Among law schools with 51 to 100 candidates, Ateneo de Davao University was the best performing school with 92.06 percent of passers, followed by Saint Louis University (78.46 percent), University of Cebu (76.47 percent), Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (73.91 percent) and Jose Maria College (69.64 percent).

Of the top 30, UP got the most number of topnotchers at 11, sweeping the top five.

In a Zoom interview with justice reporters last Friday, Bar second placer Erickson Mariñas said that while UP taught him well and prepared him for the exams, passing the Bar is not about the school.

Shrieks of joy rang throughout the SC compound last Friday when the results were released, projected on a screen for those who came all the way to the SC building in Manila despite the rain, eager to read their names on site.

Eden Wakay-Valdez, who works as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice (DOJ) just next door to the SC, broke down upon seeing the names of her daughter Jessamine and son Evan from Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas, respectively.

Kerstien del Rosario, who also works at the DOJ under the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, said she would like to pursue policy development and help craft laws against “modern slavery” as a newly minted lawyer.

“I learned a lot at the DOJ about the country’s human trafficking crisis. We need better laws,” Del Rosario added.

Electrical engineer Jayson Francisco said he chose to pursue law so he could focus on the legal aspect of the energy sector as his niche.

“While there is a leap of discipline, the good thing about law is that you can pursue your interest before taking up law. There are inherent legal aspects,” Francisco said.

Registered nurse Kristen Balan added that while nursing and law are different professions, she wants to find the intersection of the two fields in her work as an insurance broker.

At least 43.47 percent or 3,992 of the 9,183 takers passed the 2022 Bar, compared with 72.28 percent (8,241 of 11,402 takers) in the 2020-2021 Bar; 27.36 percent (2,103 of 7,685) in the 2019 Bar; 22.07 percent (1,800 of 8,158) in the 2018 Bar; 25.5 percent (1,724 of 6,748) in the 2017 Bar and 59.06 percent (3,747 of 6,344) in the 2016 Bar. –  Marc Jayson Cayabyab