Five JRMSU Law grads hurdle 2015 BAR exam
Thirty-three percent or five out of 15 law students of the Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU) successfully passed the stiff and ultra-hard BAR examination conducted in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on the four Sundays of November 2015 (November 8, 15, 22, and 29), surpassing the 26.12% national passing rate.
Among those five newly-named attorneys of JRMSU were Hansard G. Labisig, Nizza P. Lesterio, Ivo M. Mandantes, Dalton Dave M. Nalzaro, and Clemente L. Carollo, Jr., in which the first four aforementioned passers were also Certified Public Accountants (CPAs).
Three of the said passers namely Labisig, Mandantes, and Nalzaro took their review at San Beda College, while Lesterio and Carollo were at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, wherein they spent five months of intensive and thorough preparation and studying of eight law subjects.
Two CPA lawyers, Lesterio and Nalzaro, shared their individual experiences and reactions while having the review and after knowing the glorious result as well.
“Long, hard and tiring,” Atty. Lesterio gives her inclination on how she quenched the more intensive bar exam compared to the CPA board. Through hardwork, dedication and relying on her biggest asset, God, she successfully hurdled the exam.
She further stated her advice to law students, who were gearing up to take the bar, that the key to reach the peak of success is constant reading and self-esteem.
Moreover, Atty. Nalzaro, an accounting instructor of JRMSU, noted that being a CPA served as his advantage compared to other bar examiners, giving him the opportunity to surpass the said examination and eventually leading him towards his dream of becoming a lawyer.
“At first, I was shocked about the announcement of the result. I’m so thankful to God for this great blessing. In spite of all the sleepless nights and exhausting days that I experienced during the review, I was still driven to reach the thing I wanted,” Atty. Nalzaro said in an interview.
Meanwhile, beaming with pride as JRMSU Law School proves yet again its topnotch legal education training, Dean Roseller “Matoy” Barinaga would congratulate his former students, and now colleagues in the law profession,“The five of them are very good students. These five are accounting graduates. Although Clemente did not take the board exam for the CPA, he is still an accounting graduate. It is not a surprise for me that these five passed because they have the correct study habits, disciplined gyud na sila. And they were well-prepared, in fact, Clemente resigned from work during his fourth year to concentrate in law school. And I always noticed him very early in school at 1 in the afternoon to study either in the classroom or the faculty room,” Atty. Barinaga reflected on his graduates during their time in JRMSU Law School.
Barinaga is also very happy that the whole JRMSU Law community was very supportive with the whole 15-Bar takers contingent during their review in Manila and he narrated that he was always checking on all of the takers during their stay there.
“During their review, I know that Dalton, Ivo and Hansard reviewed in San Beda and they all stayed in the same room the entire time. They also followed a schedule, even to the minutest detail like cleaning their room. They are so organized that their classmates even call them ‘the three musketeers’,” Barinaga added. “As for Bambam (Lesterio) and Clemente, they took review classes in UP Diliman and lived in the same boarding house as well. I was informed that ‘bisan pag naay party, basta wala pa nahuman og read, dili na sila mo adto sa party’.”
-Aljay Ambos, Rolly Cainta and Rizza Mae Villegas
