Notes on the BAR EXAM
Dennis Gorecho
UP Law Batch 1998
Manila, Philippines — It w as 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.April 6, 1999. My friend Shiela sent a message via my beeper what could have been, so far., the best news in my life. It read: “Dennis, Congrats You are now officially Atty. Gorecho.” I just arrived from Boracay Monday (April 5) morning, and days before that I went hiking at Mt.Guiting Guiting in Sibuyan Island as part of my Holy Week vacation. I did not have any idea that the results will already be coming out. I only learned of it at around 5:30 pm. Monday from another friend. This same news would definitely be one for the record as I am among the 1, 465 lucky examinees of the 1998 Bar exams who passed. The Supreme Court said last year’s passing rate for new lawyers, who comprise some 39 % of the total examinees, is the highest for the past thirty years. The bar exams is considered one of the toughest and most difficult among the professional board exams, having one of the highest mortality rate. Passing is obviously not that easy, it would entail a series of factors.
I jokingly tell some of my friends that the kidnapping incident that I got involved with last August 23,1997, along with three other UP Law students has its price, that is, we survived that night because there is a reason: we have to pass the bar exam.
I am lucky that I was able to pass the exam during my first attempt. And I proved something to myself that I could do something that is really hard to accomplish. I finished law at UP College of Law in Diliman as a working student. I write for TODAY as one of their regular reporter covering a wide range of topics such as environment, human rights, politics, peace process, agriculture, agrarian reform and many more. Take note: my daily schedule is writing in the morning and the afternoon before going to UP to attend my classes in the evening. Then I go home where I read the assignments for the following day during the almost two hours trip of the bus going to Las Pinas. In between my work and classes, I still go hiking with my friends called the Squakings.
Taking the bar exams is an experience that will help a person grow but one that I do not want to undergo again. The discipline in terms of time management and patience is crucial during the review period. The barrister should be able to devise his own schedule to suit his study habits. There are those who prefer to study during the day but there are also some who find it better to study at night until the wee hours of the morning. It depends in one’s preference.
I might be wrong but what could be noticeable among many barristers is the fact that many are becoming religious. Although there are those who are really religious by nature, in my case, the bar exams definitely is one spiritual experience. It was only during the six months review period and the months that followed, which is the waiting period, that I learned how to pray the Novena to Our Lady of Manaog, and pray the rosary everyday on my way to UP. I travelled to Dagupan City to attend mass at Our Lady of Manaog church three times: one in April, one in February and one in March. Spending money and time just to attend a one hour mass is worth it. Don’t’ take devotion to Our Lady of Manaog for granted, it works! Hopefully the religiousity will not be coterminous with the bar exam period only!
Aside from my devotion to Our Lady of Manaoag, I am vocal about my belief in the power of one of the holy mountains in the Philippines, that is, Mount Banahaw. Before I begun my review, I went there along my friends from Squakings to ask divine guidance. When I took the exam, I made sure that the ballpens that I will use were brought there. Even the jacket that I wore during the exam period was the very same jacket that I had when I hiked upto the peak last year.Then I went back last January, when it was a blue moon, to again ask for divine intervention. Hiking for almost three days is not an easy matter, but the fatigue and stress does not matter when you are asking a favor. Some would say that I am too superstitious but I always tell them that we have a different perspective about things: I really consider Banahaw as a powerful mountain, whose energy I need to strengthen my faith in passing the bar. Prayers before taking the exam will work in easing the tension inside the room while waiting for the bell to ring to signal the beginning of the exam. In my case, , I broke the tip of my Pilot ballpen because of too much tension during my Political law exam. It good that I have extra five more Pilot ballpens with me.
Crucial during the review period and the exam proper is one’s support group. This could take in the form of the buddy systems institutionalized by the Centralized Bar Operations. Or it could be by groupings of friends. In my case, there are the Squakings, my outdoor group, and my former classmates who took the bar exams ahead of me and are now full pledged lawyers. The student council and Bar-Ops volunteers are of great help especially to those who do not belong to any fraternity or sorority.
There is what we call as “karma” that prompts each law student to participate in the annual Bar-ops. He must at least help in one way or another in the bar-ops so that when it is his turn to take the bar, he will expect that there will be somebody, particularly those in the lower years, who will also help him. Karma points could be earned by assisting the barrister in his needs such as digests, reviewers, permits from the Supreme Court and other technicalities that would consume some of his precious time. During the exam proper,it would be staying overnight for the night operations where the “hot tips” are being prepared. In the morning, the main entrance to De La Salle University are filled with support groups and friends waiting to say good luck to the barristers. That could really boost the morale of the examinees. Some will bring our lunch during the 12-2 break. Some will bring us to the hotel, while others to La Salle while others will fetch us after the exam. This is the one thing that is unique in bar exams that is not present in other professional exams: the “fiesta atmosphere” especially during the morning of the first Sunday and the afternoon of the last Sunday.
One important and definitely a significant element in passing the exam is the master of the English language. Even if you know the answer but you have the difficulty in expressing yourself, it will not do you any good. You must know how to effectively communicate it to the examiner. They said that the best answers are written in a concise, brief but direct manner. That caused me to fear that I will flunk because I realized that my flare for writing came out since I answered not in very brief sentences, some of my answers , I presumed, are more of literary pieces rather than legal arguments. Nevertheless, the fear turned out to be more of fiction since I passed the bar. Add to that the penmanship. Yes, better improve that penmanship as early as possible because that will affect the mood of the examiner in checking.
With regards to reading materials, it is very important that the reviewee should stick as much as possible to one book only per subject What you have used during the first reading should also the same material you will use during your second reading. This is necessary to familiarize oneself with the markings and ideas covered by those markings and to avoid confusions due to conflicting annotations by different authors. Just believe in one source and this will help you gain confidence in your answer. Even if a new book is released at the middle of the review period, it is still better to go back to your first book. Those lines and markings and their location in the book will somewhat flash back when you are inside the examination room answering the questions.
One of the biggest problem that the examinee will encounter while studying is the feeling of sleepiness, dizziness or headaches. A simple therapy is to have small casette tape recorder at your side and listen to your favorite music such as the “Classical Music for People who Hate Classical Music “ a compilation of works by Vivaldi, Mozart and others. To wake you up, try hard rock or new wave. Or always have Kopiko, Coke, Chocolates, Biscuits and all sorts of junkfoods near you. Another method is to talk to your seatmates and tell stories about anything under the sun, I bet he also needs that same break!
As I said, time management is very essential. During the six months of review, my average reading hours is between eight to ten hours per day. I seldom watched TV or movies. For the record , this is my daily schedule:
6:15 a.m. Wake up
6:15-7:00 am. Prayers/writing exercises
7-8:30 a.m. morning rituals (breakfast, bath)
8:30-9 a.m. travel to UP
9-11:30 am READ!!!!
11:30-12:30 p.m. lunch
12:30-1:30 pm. Siesta
1:30-8:00 pm READ!!!
8-9:00 pm - dinner/travel back to boarding house
9-11:00 pm READ!!!
11:00 pm Sleep
On the other hand this is my weekly schedule:
Mon a.m. -travel to UP
Mon pm to Sat pm Study UP Law
Saturday night - Travel home to Las Pinas
Sunday am -light reading
12-1:30 pm. Lunch/TV
1:30-4 pm -siesta
5-7 pm gym
7-8 pm mass
8-10 pm dinner, TV, telebabad!!
It was only during the airing of Xfiles the series that I drop all my books to watch TV during Sundays at Channel 33 10:00 pm and Mondays 9:00 pm Channel 9. When it was shown in the big screen, I watched it during the first day. That is one of the three movies that I was able to see during the six month review period.
The bar exams are taken during the four Sundays of September. The exams are grouped into eight areas: political law, labor law, criminal law, commercial law, taxation, civil law, remedial law and legal ethics and forms.One has to gain an average of seventy five percent with no subject falling below fifty percent otherwise he will be disqualified.
There are many other anecdotes related to reviewing and taking the exam proper that will be definitely exciting to tell. And to the next batch of barristers, Good Luck and have fun!
