BY PRINCE GOLEZ and ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – The news of him topping the 2017 Bar Exam came as a shock, according to University of St. La Salle-Bacolod alumnus Mark John Simondo.
The Supreme Court announced the results of the exam yesterday. Simondo got a rating of 91.05 percent.
It was really his dream to top the Bar Exam, said the 31-year-old Simondo, although “there were points during the exam that I made me think I wouldn’t top it at all.”
Thus to just pass the exam, considered to be the toughest licensure examination in the country, would already be okay, he said yesterday.
So how did he top the exam?
“I’m fortunate to have the support of my parents, my special someone and our school,” said Simondo.
He recalled his dean at the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod’s College of Law telling him he could top the exam.
“I did not believe that myself but thankfully he was right,” said Simondo.
His preparation for the Bar Exam started on his first day in law school, he revealed.
“I saw to it that I read around eight to nine hours a day. I also read law books during school breaks,” he said.
Simondo, a resident of Barangay 33 in Bacolod City, entered law school in 2012 and graduated in 2017.
His undergraduate course was nursing, which he took in the same school.
This was the first time in 16 years that the Bar Exam topnotcher exceeded the 90 percent rating. The last time was in 2002 – by Arlene Maneja of the University of Santo Tomas (92.9 percent).
‘REMAIN TRUE TO OATH’
Of the 6,748 law graduates who managed to complete the Bar Exam in November 2017 at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, only 1,724 examinees passed, or 25.5 percent.
The examinees were tested on eight subjects for four consecutive Sundays – Political Law and Labor Law, Civil Law and Taxation, Mercantile Law and Criminal Law, Remedial Law and Legal Ethics, and Practical Exercises.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) issued a congratulatory message to the country’s new batch of lawyers.
“The IBP extends its warm congratulations to the newest crop of Bar Examination passers. We look forward to welcoming you as new members of the IBP,” read part of its message.
Successful bar examinees should remain true to their oath and “maintain strict fealty to the Constitution and the rule of law,” added the country’s national organization of lawyers led by National President Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo.
“You will certainly fill a gaping void as the country awaits new talent in the legal community,” added the IBP.
The other topnotchers in the 2017 Bar Exam were:
* Christianne Mae Balili of University of San Carlos-Cebu (90.8 percent)
* Camille Remoroza of Ateneo de Davao University (90.7 percent)
* Ivanne DLaureil Hisoler of the University of San Carlos (89.55 percent)
* Monica Anne Yap of San Beda College Manila (89.45 percent)
* Lorenzo Luigi Gayya of the University of Sto. Tomas (89.1 percent)
* Rheland Servacio of the University of San Carlos (89 percent)
* Krizza Fe Alcantara-Bagni of St. Mary’s University (88.9 percent)
* Algie Kwillon Mariacos of San Beda College Manila (88.9 percent)
* Klinton Torralba of the University of Sto. Tomas (88.65 percent)
* Emma Ruby Aguilar of the University of Sto. Tomas (88.4 percent). (With Mae Singuay/PN)
