NEW LAWYERS | Bicol-based state auditor tops Bar examination

April 29, 2020 , 01:18 PM

April 29,2020 – A certified public accountant who works at the Commission of Audit (COA) in the Bicol region topped this year’s bar examinations for lawyers, the first time the law school from the region to bag the top spot.

The Supreme Court released on Wednesday the results of the grueling examinations last November, posting online the results showing 2,103 or 27.36 percent of 7,685 aspiring lawyers passed the series of tests.

Mae Diane Azores, who took up her law degree at the University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi in Albay (formerly Aquinas University) topped the examination, with a grade of 91.05%.

Watch News-5’s interview with 2019 Bar exam topnotcher Mae Diane Azores:

http://www.facebook.com/News5Everywhere/videos/249541289499114/

“I did not expect I would be the top 1 in the examinations,” Azores said, adding she was only praying to be number 8 in the bar. She thanked her family, friends and school for achieving a rare feat, the first time for the law school. “I wanted to be a litigator and pursue labor law because I wanted to help our workers who were abused by employers,” she said in a separate radio interview.

She was followed by Princess Fatima Parahiman of the University of the East, who got 89.52%.

Another student from University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi, Myra Baranda, came in at third place, having earned a grade of 88.83% .

Dawne Fya Bandiola from San Beda College-Alabang placed fourth on her second attempt to pass the bar. A taxation law worker from Sycip, Gorres and Velayo at Makati City, she couldn’t believe at first she passed when she received a congratulatory message at her phone. She obtained a grade of 88.33 percent.

The other top passers are Palawan State University’s Jocelyn Fabello (88.26%), Kenneth Glen Manuel from University of Santo Tomas (88.17%), Rhowee Buergo from the Jose Rizal University (87.87%), Anton Luis Avila from Saint Louis University (87.58%), Jun Dexter Rojas from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (87.58%), and University of St. La Salle’s Bebelan Madera (87.38%).

Women dominated the top bar passers this year and there were no top finishers from the country’s top law schools from Manila – University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University.

The Supreme Court has lowered this year’s passing rate by single percentage point to 74 percent, citing the need for “more younger and technologically-adept lawyers to help different fronts of society as we meet he peculiar challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and transition to the ‘new normal’,” said 2019 Bar Chairperson and Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Quarantine measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country also affected the usual conduct of releasing the list of the country’s new lawyers. Instead of the usual fanfare-filled announcement of passers at the High Court’s grounds in Padre Faura Street, the full list of passers has been uploaded to the Supreme Court’s official website.

“In light of the government’s call for social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, everyone is advised to stay in their respective homes and check the results online,” an earlier advisory from the Office of the Bar Confidant read.

In her message, which was also uploaded online instead of delivered in a public address, Perlas-Bernabe congratulated the new Bar exam passers, and instructed them to wait for further announcements regarding the clearance procedure, oath-taking ceremony, and roll-signing.

“To all the Bar passers, I extend to you my warmest congratulations. Passing the Bar is truly an extraordinary of which, you should all be proud of,” said the Justice. “After you take your oath and sign the roll of attorneys, you will become full-fledged members of this noble profession. Always be reminded that with the distinction you gain as lawyers, comes the concomitant responsibility to further the ideals of justice and the rule of law. Our society, especially during these most trying times, beckons you to not only become learned experts, but more so to fight for the cause of the oppressed, to advance the pleas of the helpless, and to inspire others as a living example of integrity above all,” she added. (Rosabell Toledo/MM)

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