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Revised Bar Exam Tips and Statistics
Revised Bar Exam Tips and Statistics
This is a collection of Bar Exam techniques, secrets, and strategies I wish I had known before I
took the Bar Examination in September 1997. The Bar Exam is the most-feared professional
exam in the country. When you take it, it is like putting your entire being, personality and dignity
at stake. People, who know you and whom you know, as well as your friends and enemies alike,
would be on the close watch, eagerly waiting to see you succeed or fail, earnestly waiting to join
you in your celebration or to laugh at you in your defeat. The release of the Bar Exam results is
the Judgment Day for every law student. It separates the sheep from the goats. It brings out
tears of joy to some and tears of frustration, sadness and grief to others. Taking the Bar Exam is
therefore a serious matter. Much is at stake.
(Disclaimer: The information found hereunder are based only sources that were made available to the
writer. Should you find any incorrect information, please call the writer's attention immediately.)
96.7 in the 1954 Bar Exams by Florenz Regalado of San Beda College
Manuel A. Roxas (University of the Philippines), 1913 Bar Exams with a grade of 92.
Diosdado P. Macapagal of the University of Sto. Tomas, 1936 with a grade of 89.85
Ferdinand E. Marcos of the University of the Philippines, 1939 with a grade of 92.35
Sergio S. Osmea (University of Santo Tomas), 2nd Place - 1903 Bar Exams
Manuel L. Quezon, (University of Santo Tomas), 4th Place - 1903 Bar Exams
Diokno earned his Bachelor's Degree in Commerce Summa Cum Laude in 1940 at De
La Salle College (now De La Salle University).
He took the CPA Board Exam in 1940 while he was on his second year in law school
and placed No. 1.
In 1944, he petitioned the Supreme Court to take the Bar Exams without a law degree.
The Supreme Court granted his petition and he took the Bar Exams in 1944 and tied
with the Class Valedictorian of U.P. for the 1st Place with a grade of 95.3.
Diokno is perhaps the only one who placed 1st in both the CPA board exams & the Bar
Exams.
Recto was born on February 8, 1890 at Tiaong, Tayabas (now Quezon Province).
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ateneo de Manila where his grades
were all perfect (1.0), except only for one 1.3. He was conferred by Ateneo with Maxima
Cum Laude honors (highest honors conferred by Ateneo).
He took the Bar Exams in 1913 while he was still in his senior year in law school at the
University of Santo Tomas - and FLUNKED.
He finished his law degree in 1913, Class Valedictorian, University of Santo Tomas.
The 1913 Bar Exams marked the first time that the test questions in Civil Procedure
were in English, a new language in which Recto could not express himself very well.
Justice Fischer, the examiner in Civil Procedure, also noted that Recto's handwriting was
very difficult to understand.
Recto took the Bar Exams again in 1914 and passed. However, I could not find any
official record whether he placed in the Bar Exams of 1914. But it appears that the No. 1
Bar Topnotcher in the 1914 Bar based on the official records of the Supreme Court was
Manuel Goyena.
When Recto studied in Ateneo and UST, the medium of instruction was Spanish. Manuel
Roxas, on the other hand, UP's Class Valedictorian who topped the 1913 Bar Exams
was a product of the US public school system and had spent a year in Hong Kong to
better equip himself with American English before taking the Bar.
In college, Marcos' principal interest was the .22-caliber college pistol team.
On September 20, 1935, Julio Nalundasan was at home celebrating that day's
Congressional election victory over Mariano Marcos when he was shot and killed with a .
22-caliber bullet fired by the 18-year-old Marcos.
On December 13, 1938, Marcos was arrested for Nalundasan's murder but he
successfully petitioned for release on bail, allowing him to complete his law degree from
the University of the Philippines.
In 1939, Marcos was found guilty and sentence to a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Jailed, Marcos spent six months writing his own 830-page appeal while reviewing for the
Bar Exams at the same time.
Marcos posted bail to take the 1939 Bar Exams and passed with scores so high he was
suspected of cheating.
Legends say that his unofficial Grade was 98.5 and so he was summoned to appear
before the Supreme Court en banc for an oral re-examination, after which his official
grade was released as 92.35.
Marcos is the only Bar candidate who was called by the Supreme Court for an oral re-
examinations.
In 1940, Marcos orally argued his own case in front of Supreme Court Justice Jose P.
Laurel and on October 22, 1940, he was acquitted of the charge of murder and forthwith
liberated from imprisonment.
The next day, he returned to the Supreme Court where he was administered his oath as
a lawyer.
Tecla San Andres-Ziga of the University of the Philippines placed No. 1 in the Bar
Exams of 1930 with a grade of 89.4. She served as Senator of the Republic of the
Philippines from 1963 to 1969.
Cecilia Munoz-Palma (University of the Philippines) became the 2nd woman to place
No. 1 in the Bar Exams in 1937 with a grade of 92.6. She later became the 1st woman
Supreme Court Justice in 1973 and the 1st female President of a constitutional
commission in 1986.
Francisco Noel R. Fernandez (University of the Philippines) failed in the 1993 Bar
Exams but placed No. 1 in the 1994 Bar Exams with a grade of 89.2.
86.185 in 1989 by Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. of the University of the Philippines (UP)
93.80 in 2001 by Rodolfo Ma. Ponferrada of the University of the Philippines (UP)
First Sunday:
A.M.: Political Law & International Law - 15%
Total - 25%
Second Sunday:
Total - 25%
Third Sunday:
Total - 25%
Fourth Sunday:
Total - 25%
All morning subjects have higher weights compared to the afternoon subjects. Remedial
Law is the heaviest at twenty percent (20%) and so it contributes significantly to whether you
make it or not. Remedial Law can literally pull you up or down heavily. On the other hand, Legal
Ethics & Practical Exercises carries the lightest weight (5%). However, this does not mean that
you can take Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises for granted because even if your General
Weighted Average is enough to land you in the Top 10, but if you get a Grade of lower than 50 in
Legal Ethics, you still wont see you name in newspapers or in the Supreme Court website when
the results are released.
Type of Questions
Bar Exam questions come in different types and forms. Most of the questions are essay
problems and those that require theoretical discussions. However, notwithstanding the
supposed policy against asking questions that require pure memorization, we still see a lot of
objective-type questions, like definitions, distinctions, and enumerations. Objective-type
questions should therefore be taken as part of Bar Exam realities, i.e., things that we cannot
control and we just have to find a really good way of dealing with them, which, by the way, is
one of the purposes of this book.
Logic problems come out in terms of misappreciation of the facts and the issues, poor
analysis, faulty reasoning, unjustified conclusions, and the like. Language problems come in the
form of grammatical errors, poorly structured sentences, misspelled words, and poor written
communication skills. Law problems come in the form of ignorance of the law or legal principles
implicated by the questions, poor understanding of the law, obsolete legal knowledge, and not
knowing how to apply the law to the facts of the problem.
Other reasons are illegible handwriting, inadequate preparations, health problems, and
sometimes even emotional problems.
Preparation is the key to success to success in the Bar Exam. But this is not just any kind of
preparation. You must have a game plan and you should stick to it as if your entire life depends
on it. The following are proven preparation tactics:
Before you begin your intensive Bar Preparation and Review, you should know your
strong and weak subjects. Evaluate your performance on each of the eight Bar subjects.
Your transcript of law school records can give you a more or less objective evaluation of
your performance. Examine your transcript of records and compute your grade average
on each of the eight Bar subjects. This will give you an idea on what your strong and weak
subjects are as evaluated and perceived by your law school professors. Consider this
data when you allocate your review time on the Bar subjects.
Consider also the weight of each Bar subject as well as your own perceptions on
their levels of difficulty in allocating your review time. More review time should be
allocated to morning subjects, especially to Remedial Law, but make some adjustments
on subjects that you perceive to be more difficult than the others.
Check your armory.
Conduct an inventory of your books and materials. Be sure you have all subjects
and topics covered.
Bar Exam Preparation is not just about studying to know the law and jurisprudence. It is not only
about filling up your mind with legal knowledge. It is more about preparing your machine to use
and apply all these legal knowledge that you have acquired.
Bar review and preparation isnt really about studying hard and burning your machine too much.
Note that there are only around fifteen to twenty numbers or problems in each subject. Hence,
as a general rule, Bar Examiners will only choose topics which are important or relevant.
Questions that are out of this world should not really pose much of a problem. They are rare and
they are just icings on the cake.
Class A very important provisions that should be mastered and memorized. Place in
this category those provisions that have already been asked in the Bar at least five
times. You will know this by studying past Bar Exam questions. Controversial provisions
that have not yet been asked should also be placed in this category;
Class B important provisions that should be mastered. Provisions that have already
been asked repeatedly in Bar Exam should be included here;
Class C relevant provisions that are the usual subjects of legal controversies and
cases but which have not yet been the subject of a Bar question or which have not been
the subject of a Bar question in the last five or ten years. Just study and understand
these provisions;
Class D Not so important or relevant provisions. This includes provisions that are
not expected to be in the arsenal of new legal practitioners. They have not yet been the
subject of a Bar Exam in the last century. More likely, they will never be asked in the next
century or even in the next millennium of Bar Exams. However, you should still read
them as part of your preparation, but if you lack time, they may be sacrificed in favor of
those in Categories A, B and C. Dont worry, Im sure you have covered them in law
school.
The technique, therefore, is to acquire legal knowledge by listening to good review lectures and
by studying your materials and then spend time to practice applying that legal knowledge by
writing good essays.
Never take codal provisions for granted. Bar Materials should always be studied in this order:
(a) Codal Provisions; (b) Commentaries; and (c) Cases. These are the three Cs in the study of
law.
Codal provisions contain the text of the law per se. If you have only read the commentaries or
the cases, but not the codes, how can you then write the Law provides that with confidence?
You dont know the law or what it provides if you have not read the code. I am therefore
surprised to meet many Bar Examinees who got the courage to take the Bar Exam without
having read the text of the Constitution, the Labor Code, Civil Code, the Family Code, the
Revised Penal Code, and the relevant provisions of the Code of Commerce, the Tax Code, Tariff
and Customs Code, Court of Tax Appeals Act, and other key provisions. Well, you may fool
some Bar Examiners some of the time, but you cannot fool all Bar Examiners all the time.
Worse, you may just be simply fooling yourselves.
You should also keep away from all kinds of emotional problems. Most of these problems may
be avoided if only the persons close to you understand what you are going through in preparing
for and in taking the Bar Exams. One tactic here is to write love letters to your spouse, fiance,
fianc, parents, kids, relatives, friends, and your enemies (?) and explain to them what you will
be undergoing, its importance to you and to them, that you can no longer spend the same
number of hours with them as before, that they should spare you from text messaging, chain
emails, and errands that could be done by other persons. Ask for their understanding and
support, morally and financially if you need to or beg for it if you have to.
If your mind starts to wander and you begin to lose focus on your preparations because of
anxiety, worry, grief, and other personal and family problems that you could not have avoided
like losing a loved one or critical illness in the family, always try to reclaim your mind and
channel your energy to your preparations. God forbids, but if you lose a loved one during this
period, then let him or her serve as your inspiration. Take the Bar Exam for him or her. To see
you fail in the Bar Exam is the last thing your loved one wants to see if he or she were still alive.
Worse, you lost focus in your preparation and review because of him or her.
Countdown
Have you already counted how many days you still have before the first Sunday of the Bar
Exam? If not, then try to count the days remaining and keep a countdown in a conspicuous area
in the place where you will be staying during the review period. I suggest you use a chalk and
an eraser and keep a countdown on your bedroom door. Every time you get up in the morning,
deduct one day from this countdown and it will give you a sense of urgency in your preparation,
as well as a sense of guilt every time a day passes and you have not really studied anything.
Things to Bring
Notice of Admission
Identification Card
Sign Pens
Tissue Paper
Emergency Medicines
PRELIMINARIES
This should be the jumping board to psyche up for the momentous task ahead. Even this preliminary would need
careful planning. But more than the efficiency factor, its better to be effective, therefore, always plan your trip
around the pragmatic horizon.
1. Brief. - Bring only things you really truly honestly need for the pre-
week. Never overload. Prepare for a to-each-his-own scenario in the airport or
port. You should never assume that someone would be there to meet and help
you carry your luggage. Also, its good to trim down your materials to the
most basic ones. You wont have time to go over annotated books during the
bar month. Go for codals instead and maybe reviewers and answers to bar
questions. Also, outlines and notes will do. In this way, you will be constrained
to limit yourself to these materials and avoid spreading yourself out too thin.
2. Family Home. Be it airline or vessel reservations and lodging places, be sure to confirm your
billeting. Make sure the landlady or the manager of the condo or dorm personally confirms your
reservation. Dont be hesitant to ask about amenities and furnishings. The last thing you will need during
the entire bar month is an uncomfortable lodging place.
3. Grace Period. Schedule your departure for Manila around a practical and comfortable
time. Calculate the number of days you will need to process your permit and visit the Bar
Confidants Office among other things. Also, allow yourself reasonable time/days for
settling into your new place. You will need at least a week to allow the place to grow on
you so that you will not shock your system and risk having to adjust yourself within the
bar month. Pre-week reviews may help.
4. Bill of Particulars. Be sure everything is complete for the processing of your bar permits. Ask
around and confirm the completion of the requirements before leaving forManila. Inquire at the Bar
Confidants Office from time to time.
5. Adjust your body clock. Months before the Bar, make sure you train yourself to wake up at 5 am
and stay wide awake and alert till 5 pm. This will simulate the examination schedule. Also train yourself
to eat a fast but full lunch. This will require a very good technique. Lastly, as a very popular reviewer
would suggest, run the marathon. Practice answering Bar questions using the exact same sign pen you
will use during the bar within the exact bar examination time. That is 8am-12pm and 2pm-5pm. This will
train your hands to write continuously for 4 hours.
6. Support Pendente Lite. Take your vitamins, eat healthy, and drink lots of water. Never forget
physical activities, you need that to keep your brain running smoothly too. If you have to try some new
supplements, do so months before the bar so that you can monitor your bodys response.
Of course, you should have imbibed the 4Ls (law, logic, language, legible
handwriting) in your system by now.
2. If possible, visit DLSU and find your assigned building. Familiarize yourself
with the place and go through the anticipated routine. This will at least ease
your nerves at some level. Knowing thy enemy is winning half the battle
3. Limit your review to codals. Pace yourself and do not overdo it. You are
already expected to be finished with deep studying during the past 5 days or
so. This is the time to relax a bit.
4. Attend the Bar Ops mass. You will need Gods blessing as well as a break
from studying. Fresh air outside the four walls of your condo or dorm will do
you a lot of good. It will clear your head. Also, this is the time to break away
from the monotony of legal provisions and indulge your weary brain in some
good old tsismis of whats and whos.
5. Savor the fellowship and the moral support given to you by your well wishers.
They will be overflowing during the first Sunday but you will sorely miss the
action after they abruptly become invisible during the 2nd and 3rd weeks. So
get a load of them while they are still there.
7. TRY to get enough rest. (or sleep if youre one of those who can)
2. Pace yourself. Give enough time and provide for personal necessities. Re
check things to bring and make sure you dont forget your permit and
pens. Survival kit is essential. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. (its
advisable to make and keep a list according to your individual needs)
3. Damages. - Instead of tagip-TIPS, rely on your personal preparation. Yes,
you cynics! YOU CAN PASS THE BAR WITHOUT THOSE TIPS. Need
testimonials? You wont need to look very far.
6. Nuisance. - Dress for success and enjoy the La Salle cheering squad awaiting you alongTaft Ave. Dont
skip the parade. Your Bar experience would not be complete without it.
THE MOMENT
The make or break nature of this examination is not debatable but the good news is, we have the opportunity to
make it lean more on the make side. Of course, it is expected that you have done your share of studying and
preparation. This is the moment of truth.
2. Be conscious of the time but dont let it get the better of you.
3. Calculate the minutes you would want to spend on a question to make sure you finish on
time.
4. Remember the techniques in formulating your answer. The pyramid or the inverted
pyramid will be very helpful.
5. Call to mind that the MOST minutes an examiner would spend on your booklet is
10. MAKE SURE HE GETS WHAT YOU MEAN IN TEN MINUTES. IM TALKING
ABOUT ALL 20 QUESTIONS. TEN MINUTES.
6. PRAY.
GETTING PERSONAL
For those who will have roommates, getting through the bar month in good spirits is one mean feat. The pressure is
there and it can get into everyone at one point or another. Here are a few tips:
1. Respect each others space.
2. Always remember that you are all going through the same thing. You
are a motley crew stashed away in one bedlam.
3. Dont over react.
4. When you find yourself in tense situations, think happy thoughts.
10. Be considerate.
11. Have some bonding time with roommates. Anticipate differences in
opinions and attitudes. Upbringings and family backgrounds are
enlightening. Different strokes for different folks.
12. Dont take things too seriously.
15. Remember : The Bar will only be a month. You still have a lifetime of friendship to
share together.
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES
HE GREAT FORMULA
IN PASSING THE BAR EXAMINATIONS
Contributed by:
Atty. Glenn M. Mortel
(espogi4@yahoo.com)
"There is nothing that can help a bar examinee most than a constant and intensive study of the
provisions of the various codes and the interpretation and application thereof by the Supreme
Court in its decisions. By study is meant, that the provisions must be correctly understood and
the thought or words thereof put to memory. After a chapter, for example, has been studied, the
next one should be studied next, and after this, a review of all that has already been studied re-
reviewed, to keep the subject matter and the provisions fresh in mind." - Alejo Labrador
Actual preparation for the bar examination starts from the first day a law student
attended class during the first year in the law school.
The blooming secret in passing the bar examination is this: Present good answers that
will make the examiners take notice. Good answers anchored upon logical reasoning,
written in readable English and more importantly, justified by appropriate legal authority.
If the candidates are at a loss as to what specific legal provisions or case doctrines to
use in answering problems, the only alternative left for them is to use their own common
sense.
The key to passing the bar examinations is contained in one word: ARTICULATION.
Articulation is expressive of the following basic fundamentals: good language,
impressive presentation, logical reasoning and substantial background knowledge of law
and procedure.
The examinee who has a fairly good command of English, assuming that he is prepared
in all other matters, stands definitely with a much better chance of passing.
Get this straight right now. Passing the bar examination has been, still is, and will always
be a difficult proposition!
No one can really help you pass the bar examination but yourself.
The greatest blooming secret of passing the bar examination is and will always
be: PREPARATION! Not just any kind of preparation, but proper, sound and systematic
preparation.
Systematic review can only be done by the use of what we call scheduleswhich the
candidate must follow vigorously to the letter if he expects to attain the best results.
There will be times when you become sleepy while reviewing but never for one moment,
tell yourself: Man, this review can wait! Do not be stupid. Always remind yourself that
time is of the essence and is decidedly running too short for you.
Force yourself to read, understand and absorb what law you reviewed. Otherwise, all
your efforts will go to waste.
Love and review cannot mix in the business of preparing for the bar examination.
Early to bed, early to rise, that is the way to make a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Never stay up late to the wee hours of morning, cramming law into your head. This
would not do you any good. Remember, you have to conserve as much energy as you
possibly can.
By far the most important tool that the bar candidate could equip himself with which to
tackle the examination that is inherently personal to him iscommand of written
English.
You have to write simple, grammatically correct English if you want to hurdle the
examination.
Presentation of answers that are not only good but logical, full of substance and
supported by law and other authorities, are gems to the examiner, whether he has a
good or black heart.
Make your motto now: Stick to codal provisions! Compliment this with doctrines laid
down in recent decisions of the Supreme Court.
Impressive answers showing the candidates reasoning faculty is what the examiners
want to read in your examination notebooks.
Ability to retain your understanding of the substance of the law through efforts of study
is more desirable quality to possess than mere ability to memorize legal provisions.
Memorizing a particular provision of law word for word but without understanding it and
its various implications is a lot of wasted effort.
Never fail to read the newspapers when you are preparing for the bar examination.
Read newspapers from 20 to 30 minutes every day.
You can never expect to pass the bar examination without preparation.
Predicting probable questions based on important principles or provisions of law is the
safer method of speculating what the examiners are likely to ask in their examinations.
Never depend on tips for your passing. But never brush these tips aside as nothing but
trash. They may likely cause your downfall. Never, however, bank too much on them.
Cheating is one sure way to endanger your future career as a prospective member of
the legal profession. Never commit such atrocious act like cheating in the bar
examination. It never pays. Depend on your own capabilities. Fight
your battle royale on a high plane!
Fountain or sign pens are really the most important equipment in bar examination.
Never start for the examination without bringing along with youtwo or more fountain or
sign pens.
Like the weather, examiners are absolutely a bunch of unpredictable fellows, capable of
asking unpredictable questions.
Do not try to memorize 50 definitions or distinctions in any given time. Two or three will
do.
The real secret in remembering the matters contained in an enumeration is the use
of keywords. Make your keywords on enumerations you consider important.
Never leave a blank in an enumeration! However, if you use the letters a, b, c, etc. for
numbers in the enumeration, so much the better. Ten to one, the examiner may not
count his fingers. Make the first four in the enumeration definitely good.
Never be content to answer questions with a mere yes or no. You must, at all times, give
justification why your answer is a yes or no. Unless, of course, the examiner qualifies his
question with instruction enclosed in parenthesis like: (Answer with a yes or no only).
Always determine the real facts (examiners have the bad habit of including irrelevant
facts to confuse you) and the issue or issues in controversy. Which side you take,
always justify your side with reasons based on law, rule, equity and justice. Whatever
your answer may be, provided it is written in legible language, the examiner will never
deny you the corresponding credit you deserve.
Always remember, make efforts to frame your answers so that they areresponsive to
the questions. Never beat around the bush. Go right straight ahead with your answer.
Avoid citations if and when you are notabsolutely sure about them. The shorter the
answers are, the more direct, the better. Avoid display of flowery expressions which
are complicated by legal verbosity. All you need are sensible, direct and reasonable
answers that are responsive to the questions.
Legal knowledge is not enough to solve a particular legal issue. What is important
is ability to apply this knowledge to the solution of legal controversies.
The technique of writing down answers responsive to questions is a matter that the
candidate must learn as a matter of imperative necessity.
Brevity and directness when done properly could make an answer both effective and
impressive. However, when overdone to a point where the ideas sought to be conveyed
becomes vague and difficult to understand, they become a liability.
So, if you are a candidate just preparing for the bar examination, whose chances of
passing are quite problematical, just limit your ambition for the present to just working
hard to obtain a 75 percent in the great battle of your life.
Take comfort in this: That even those who become lawyers by "just luck", are making
good in the practice of law. Nothing can really put a determined man down.
In your preparation for the greatest battle of your life, call upon Him who is the source of
all knowledge, wisdom and understanding. In deep humility, bended knees and
tears, He will make all things beautiful in His time. Victory belongs to the most
persevering!
HARD WORK!
An Interview with Dean Jovito Salonga
HARD WORK! - This, in a nutshell, is Dean Jovito Salonga's formula of passing the bar
examination.
Dean Salonga stressed the need for the candidate to determine for himself
a definite goal - an objective, to which he must train his guns from his first year
in college up to the time he finally tackles the bar examination, if he expects to
achieve success.
The youngest of law deans ever to assume such distinctive office in this country,
said that passing the bar is a hard job and, therefore, it requiresthorough
preparation.
He discussed at length the various factors which, in his experience, had helped
him tremendously in preparing for the bar examinations.
The first factor: DETERMINATION.
The bar candidate, he explained, must have the spirit and the will to emerge
triumphant in the great task of attaining his definite objective.
The young educator recalled that when he took up the study of the law from his
freshman year at the state university, he had always nurtured in himself
the secret ambition of topping the bar examination if and when he takes it. Of
course, he admitted, he never deviated from his objective.
At the same time he confided that while he had this great ambition within himself,
he never breathed it to any soul, much less to the girl of his dreams at the time.
A smile crept over his face, a smile that outshone his youthful countenance. You
see, he explained, there were possibilities of failure. No one can really tell
whether he can pass the examination, much less be certain that he will top it.
Imagine the embarrassment to which I might have exposed myself if I really told
the whole world then of my great ambition and never made it? he said.
Remember, the possibilities are equally great for success as well as failure.
Nevertheless, it is always good to dream of great ambitions. And particularly
so when you realize any of them eventually.
The second factor: Hard work of preparation.
The main bulk of Dean Salonga's preparations centered on the writing of review
notes on all bar subjects since he was a freshman law student.
This great task, he recalled, contributed very greatly to his attaining an
impressive foundation of knowledge in all bar subjects. Preparation such as this
one provides the student self-confidence to face the examination without fear.
The third factor: Extensive reading of every and all conceivable printed matter,
be they cultural, philosophical or otherwise.
The idea here, the dean explained, is to attain not only a broad cultural
background knowledge but also a better facility and ability for self-
expression. Another advantage of extensive reading is discipline. Discipline, he
said, such as enables one to absorb what one reads.
The fourth factor: Fifteen minutes of daily morning meditation. Withprayers, if
you will.
Dean Salonga always had this morning meditation. This enabled him to go over
mentally the various points covered in the review he made the previous day.
More than this, it gave him an opportunity to make the brain rest after a long and
tedious dreary reading.
The last factor: Group discussion.
Dean Salonga said group discussions, particularly over matters under review,
gives the candidate an idea exactly where his weak point lies. In this case, he
will have an opportunity to take remedial measures to save the situation.
Moreover, he added, group discussion will afford the candidate a better
understanding of the law which he may have before then, merely but passing
knowledge.
Dean Salonga does not believe in requiring students to memorize the law word
for word as is being required by majority of professors in the different colleges.
We must do everything to liberate ourselves from the shackles of memory work,
and more definite emphasis on the understanding of the law from its
philosophical and economic standpoints, and above all, knowledge and ability
to apply them in our lives.
And what does he think about the so-called textbooks sold profitably in the
market and used intensively in the law colleges?
Dean Salonga shook his head. Many of them in his opinions are no textbooks at
all by any given standards, never fit to be used in the law colleges.
The dean maintains the view that many of these so-called "textbooks" are written
by what he calls properly as scissors and clipping authors who do nothing but
copy and quote materials after materials here and there from numerous works
written by authors no better than they.
They piece all these clippings together and publish them later to pass the same
as "textbooks". Any high school graduate with ability for research, capacity to cut
clippings can do just as well in the preparation of similar "textbooks".
As a parting word to the bar candidate, Dean Salonga has this to say:
"Never forget that preparation is the thing that he must have to fight his battle,
the bar examination."
NEVER QUIT!
An Interview with Dean Vicente Abad Santos
No matter how disappointed you may be with your answers to questions on the first day
of the bar examination, you should never make the unpardonable mistake ofquitting.
This valuable piece of advice from former Dean Vicente Abad Santos of the College of
Law, University of the Philippines, is addressed to all bar candidates, present or future.
The UP law dean, the youngest to occupy this distinguished position in the state
university, cited the cases of some UP law graduates who quit after the first day of the
examination because they thought their answers were no good.
Only the examiners can determine this, he pointed out.
Preparations should not begin after graduation but on the first day the candidate enters
his freshman year in the law school.
What did he do after graduation day?
Dean Abad Santos immediately went on a two-week vacation from his codes and
textbooks. The idea here, he explained, is to relax both mind and body in preparation for
the review during the months prior to the actual examination day. This, according to him,
will enable the candidate to conserve as much energy for the grind that is to follow so
that on the first day of the examination, he will not be exhausted and confused.
He recommends no hard and fast rules on schedules with respect to the review of the
eight subjects given in the bar examination.
First, the UP law dean suggests, the candidate should go on leave from work if he
belongs to the working gentry.
The review should be made easy the first three months after graduation, one subject
after another, he said. This review will be intensified only during the month prior to the
examination.
Dean Abad Santos has no objection if the candidate should go to a movie the afternoon
prior to the actual examination day. He also suggests that the candidate should sleep
early so that when he wakes up the following day, he feels fresh and ready for the battle.
After any given examination, the candidate should never worry about his answers any
longer, the UP law dean said. After all, there is nothing he could do about changing
them. Rather, he should worry about the next examination.
Another advice Dean Abad Santos wants to pass on to bar candidates is that they
should never leave any question unanswered.
If they are at a loss as to what specific legal provisions or doctrine to use in answering
problems, the only alternative left for them is to use their own common sense.
CONFIDENCE!
An Interview with Dean Ricardo Lacson
With the best of spirits, the bar candidate should enter the examination room
confident that he will not only pass it, but pass it he would with flying colors.
Thus declared former Dean Ricardo Lacson of the Philippine Law School.
As a matter of fact, the candidate should have had this confidence from the first moment
Dean Lacson passed the bar the following year Manuel Roxas topped the examination in
1913.
He discussed the different factors that, in his opinion based on his experience, have
Dean Lacson stressed the importance of beginning bar preparation from the
law school. Many of them only begin to study law for the first time during pre-bar review
Cognizant of the very little time he has in his hands, the candidate now adopts measures
that will enable him to stay late in the nights during the four or five months of
preparation.
What happens?
The candidate has to resort to the taking of all conceivable medicine to make him stay
awake practically all nights, Dean Lacson said. Added to this, he also takes plenty
of coffee. Little does he realize the fact that these measures are very injurious to his
health.
And they think by staying awake all nights they can cover grounds which, even in
classroom work, they can never expect to cover, Dean Lacson pointed out. The result is
that next morning when they wake up, their minds are all tired, less able to absorb what
Another factor that the candidate should consider as an important equipment to enable
In my time, Dean Lacson said, my reading of the law, the decisions of the court, has
Relative to the manner of answering bar questions, the PLS dean has this to say:
The candidate must read the questions very carefully before attempting to write down
his answers. He has to make sure he understands what the questions really call for.
The next step is to find out how many questions are asked. Having determined this, he
must apportion the time available in his hands proportionately to the number of
questions.
The dean turned his attention to the biggest mistake that the candidates always commit
in answering questions.
The examinees spend too much time on those questions they know so well and the net
result is that they finally realize they have very little time left for the other problems.
Faulty method of instructions. Dean Lacson explained that most professors teach only
as a sideline and therefore find little time to prepare. They ought to spend as much time
or even more, in improving their teaching methods that the students could benefit much
from them.
Sometimes, Dean Lacson complained, the professors don't even know how to conduct
their respective classes. Consequently, this contributes to the sad state of affairs relative
to the training of students. Some of these professors do not even show their students
In this way, he said, the students never learn anymore than what their professors know
We expect to get good professors, of course, the dean said, those who really have
the ability to impart legal knowledge. We are always willing to receive suggestions
REVIEW MATERIALS
An Interview with Dean Teodorico Martin
Judicious selection of materials for review purposes is a matter of extreme necessity to
the bar candidate, according to former Dean Teodorico C. Martin of the College of Law,
San Sebastian College.
In justification of this statement, Dean Martin cited his review efforts for the 1936 bar
examination where he copped the 7th spot among the first 10 top places that year.
I am citing my own efforts as a warning to the future bar candidates so that they will not
commit the same mistakes I made in my time, he said.
Immediately after graduation, Dean Martin recalled not without regretful remembrance,
he secured all the available notes and books used during his undergraduate days and
started his review preparation in earnest.
After three months of intensive reading and study trying vainly to grasp all those matters
contained in his piles of notes and books, he came upon the realization that
he never completed reviewing a single subject.
Imagine my consternation when I realized that I had only one month more to review and
there were eight bar subjects to tackle! he recalled with vivid clarity.
He took a stock of the situation and immediately prepared a schedule that would enable
him to complete his preparations for one month!
So he had to force himself to review two subjects in the short span of four days, a
procedure that consequently reduced his mental efficiency.
The bar candidate, Dean Martin said, should use only standard textbooks for review
and avoid reading notes all full of unnecessary details and useless explanations that can
only produce mental confusion in his already confused mind.
Despite his defective review efforts, what enabled Dean Martin to obtain very high
rating?
Other suggestions for the bar candidates that Dean Martin recommends include efforts
directed toward having a balance diet, proper apportioning of time available when
actually answering bar questions, boarding with three or four candidates in a
dormitory or a secluded house and providing themselves withreview notebooks.
Having a balance diet during this rigorous period of preparation is a matter which
candidates always overlook, he said. This time they should have nourishing food, to
enable them to to build up body energies that are fast getting worn out from terrific use.
Proper apportionment of time when answering questions will enable the candidate to
tackle all by not making the mistake of using too much time on a few at the expense of
others.
Living in a house with three or four other candidates has undeniable advantages,
according to Dean Martin. Here, they are afforded with the maximum quiet that augers
well for concentrated study and review.
It is impossible to review at home, particularly when there are children, he pointed out.
The demands of family living, family chores and problems unduly disrupt concentration.
Moreover, living with other companions, the bar candidate will be able
to discussand exchange notes with them on matters that need clarification, he said.
Dean Martin's last recommendation is the need for the candidate to provide himself
with review notebooks for all bar subjects where he could jot down important provisions
of law under each and leading decisions of the Supreme Court interpreting these legal
provisions.