Passing the Bar exams:  6 secrets

Today many lives shall be changed, and many tears shall be shed. Many are called to the Bar but only a few are chosen. The Supreme Court En Banc, composed of all 15 justices, is releasing the results of last year's exams this afternoon.

I have always told my students that passing the Bar is a hundred times more difficult than getting a wife or husband. In marriage only one other person needs to say "I do". In the Bar, at least 8 examiners, and the 15 justices should say "yes" to one's entry into the fraternity and sorority of lawyers. To be a lawyer isn’t just to be an attorney, it means to be an officer of the court, an instrument in dispensation of justice.

I was a working student when I was in Pre-Law in SWU and in the Law proper in UV. That means eight years of working and studying when there were no online law books yet, no Google, and no laptop. We needed to line up in the library where there was only one set of Supreme Court Reports, Annotated and one textbook each for every subject. I was a court interpreter in the City Court of Cebu, and so after dismissal at 5 p.m., I had to run from City Hall to the Gullas Law School where at exactly 5:20 p.m., our professors, Dean Matoy Seno, Atty. Teddy Almase, Judge Jesus Narvios, Judge Romulo Senining, Judge Lorenzo Paradiang, and Cebu City Councilor Pensoy Urot tormented us with difficult recitation questions, involving decisions in Spanish and many intricate questions of law. And we couldn’t invoke the right to remain silent.

When Bar review time came, all my classmates went to Manila. I couldn’t afford it so I self-reviewed in Dumanjug, but it was very difficult to run away from cousins who loved fun and merriment. It was only during the pre-week when I found enough funds to go to Manila. I focused on Justice Florenz Regalado, Justice Edgardo Paras, and the famous Jose Nolledo, who donated more than 10 books to me, taking pity on a poor provinciano who couldn’t afford a book. I had to read because when I took the Bar all the studies I had under the 1935 Constitution were obliterated by the 1973 Constitution under martial law. With the grace of God, I passed it with grades of 90 plus in some of my subjects.

This year's chairman, Justice Alfredo Caguioa, is releasing today the results of the 2022 Bar. It’s different from the 2021 Bar Results when 72.28% were made lawyers under the helm of Justice Marvic Leonen for the combined batches of 2020 and 2021. The percentages of passing over the years goes up and down. The following were the passing rates in the last 20 years: 2019, 27.36%; 2018, 22.08%, 2017, 25.55%; 2016, 50.06%; 2015, 26.21%; 2014, 18.82%; 2013, 22.18%; 2012, 17.71%; 2011, 31.95%; 2010, 20,26%; 2009, 24.58%; 2008, 20.58%; 2007, 22.91%; 2006, 30.60%; 2005, 37.22%; 2004, 31.61%; 2003, 20.71% and 2002, 19.68%. One of the lowest was in 1999 when only 16.59% made it or only 660 out of 3,878. That same year the Bar Exams chairman was ousted because he didn’t disclose his nephew was taking the exams.

An examinee needs six factors to pass the Bar. First, mastery of all laws and landmark jurisprudence. Second, excellent command of English, perfect grammar, spelling, syntax, and agreement between subject and predicate. Also quick and accurate reading comprehension and analysis. Third, logical thinking and logical problem-solving skills. Fourth. the ability to manage time, to focus on what matters most, to give more time and attention to high-value questions. Fifth is time management. There are too many questions and too little time. As much as possible never to leave any question unanswered. Law isn’t an exact science. A wrong answer argued effectively will still merit some points. Without these five factors, only a miracle can make one pass. The sixth is God’s will.

I have been teaching Law since 1977, when Mayor Mike Rama became my student. I never stopped being a Law professor until today. That means 46 years of teaching future lawyers out of the 50 years I have been a lawyer. Today, many of my students in four universities will make it. But some will be crying too. It will still be the six factors that will make the difference. Luck will never come to the unprepared. Good fortune only comes to those who work hard for it.

God’s help is the biggest factor. In my case, it might have been 90% God's will. I still wonder how I made it without a formal review. But with God's blessings and my hard work, nothing is impossible. I wish all my students the blessings of the Lord.