ATTY.

KENNETH MANUEL
“K”
Top 6, 2019 Bar Exam

1. Please describe your learning style (e.g., visual/auditory).

I think I am a visual learner. I tend to get irritated by the slightest layouting errors (margins,
alignment, etc.) Gusto ko kapag yung material is generous sa margins. It pleases me when my
notes are with highlights and markings, and there are rare occasions when I get to remember
where a particular provision is placed in my notes. Like yung mga moments na “binilugan ko
‘to ah”, “nasa bandang baba to ng page”

2. Please share your study techniques or best review practices which you think helped
you topped the 2019 Bar examinations.

a. Memorization techniques
Diagrams. When memorizing, I tend to make diagrams – grammatically chunking each word
and phrase. I think the process is technically called “grammatical parsing” although I am really
unsure of this. It highlights enumerations, conjunctions, and modifiers. It makes lengthy
provisions in legalese less confusing. I sometimes further dissect words to morphemes
(prefixes, suffixes, root words) to help me understand a term.

Mnemonics. I did a lot of mnemonics as well. I make my mnemonics with background stories
to make it more memorable. The more ridiculous a mnemonic is, the more it will stick to my
mind.

Repetitive reading. The best method is repetitive reading. Even without consciously
memorizing a particular line of the Supreme Court or a particular provision, if in the process
of finishing one’s reading, it gets repeated so many times, there’s a great chance that it will stick
to one’s mind.

b. Bar materials (i.e., codals, 1 reference book, chair's cases, memory aid, personal notes.)

First, on codals, curiously, I did not have any codals. I thought they are too expensive for such
a small book, and I find it inconvenient that there is little space for my notes. I did not use any
(although I own a Tax and Rem codal because my profs forced me to buy). I use LawJuan’s app
which contains all the laws. Cheaper than the physical one.

Second, on reference books. Here are what I used:

Political Law - UP BOC; Consti and OEC codal, Atty. Sandoval’s and Atty. Gorospe’s handouts
Labor Law - Prof. Chan’s last minute tips (sobrang unprepared diba? Lowest ko Labor sa Bar)
Civil Law - Atty. Rabuya (PFR, Prop); Dean Paguirigan (Wills); UP BOC (the rest)
Taxation - Wala. Hindi na nagkasya sa oras, but since I teach Tax sa CPA review, I thought I
can rely on my stock knowledge.
Mercantile Law - Dean Sundiang, UST GN for new rules
Criminal Law - Transcribed notes of Prosec. Garcia’s lectures. Highly recommended. As in my
sole authority for Criminal Law
Remedial Law - Dean Riano series for Civpro, Crimpro, and Evidence; Dean Festin and Justice
De Leon for Specpro, UST GN for new rules
Legal Ethics – Stick to the canons! Then memorize the Lawyer’s Oath

I did not read a lot of the Chair’s cases thinking that it will not be included in the Bar (or baka
tamad din kasi ako magbasa ng kaso, feeling ko wala nang time), with the lucky exception of
Political Law. I mostly relied on lectures. If the lecturer will tell something about Chair’s cases,
then I will be able to take note of it. If he/she misses it, then I might never know that that case
exists. I also thought that I should prioritize concepts rather than the Chair’s cases since
knowing me the concepts will help me answer questions whether they are based on the Chair’s
cases or not.

c. Hours of reading

Since I worked during my Bar review, I was not really able to read a lot. On weekdays, I read
for 0-2 hours, (Work sched is 7am-5pm, and sched in review center is 5pm-9pm, so forgive me,
dacion en pagod na ako by nighttime), but I stretch myself on weekends and read for 10-14
hours. Ganon. Palaban. During the Bar month, I wake up at 7am to study and go home at
around 10pm or 11pm.

d. Review Center/Coaching

I enrolled at Villasis Law Center because it is the nearest to both my work and my home.
Conveniently, everything was within a walking distance during my Bar review. I guess that
saved me a lot of time and energy.

Well, Dean Villasis was likewise my professor in Remedial Law Review, and knowing him, I
know I’d be able to hurdle Remedial Law with him (which is, of course, a major consideration).
I also looked at the roster of reviewers, and thought that a lot are prominent names and some
were also my professors in law school, so I took the shot. I did not avail of the Bar coaching in
VLC, but there are coaching sessions in UST which I attended.

e. Mock bar

I took mock bars at VLC and UST, but I only took half of them. May pa-mock bar din si Dean
Divina, which I really appreciated kasi may comments bumalik yung mock bar. I no longer
attended mock bars of September and October as I am already cramming to cover everything.
(Mamaliin ko rin naman yung mock bar, I told myself haha) Mock bars are a great way to get a
feel of how it feels like to write for four hours. Endurance test kasi talaga sa kamay ang Bar. I
used mock bars to strategize how I will write my margins and to feel the final pen I will use for
the Bar.

f. Law school training

As a working student (scapegoat na ba ‘to?), I was not really studious. I really strategized by
studying my professors – knowing their favorite topics, scouring for samplex, looking for
provisions emphasized during discussion, listen attentively to how the professor said it and use
it as the keywords in exams. This is studying smartly, but it’s only to survive law school, and
it’s not for Bar preparedness. I would really suggest against this, especially if one has the luxury
of time to study

g. Scheduling

I followed the order of VLC. They started with second week subjects, followed by the third
week, then fourth, and ending with the first week subjects. May pa-calendar pa ako and hour-
allotment per topic, but I was not able to pace myself simultaneously with the topic being
discussed (VLC was already discussing Poli, I am still reading Merc).

h. Anything you wish to focus on or strongly want to share to law students and reviewees (E.g.
Text-to-speech app so you can listen to review materials even while eating or before sleeping)

3. Please share your tips on how to answer Bar exam questions.

a. FORM--- how you write, whether print or cursive, pen used, blocking, margins, and

I write in print. I think cursive takes too long to write, and my cursive looks horrible. I used
Sarasa Clip 1.0 in blue because it has a nice grip and it writes smoothly. I expected the spacing
in the Bar booklet is huge that’s why I chose 1.0. Looking back, I think I should have opted for
0.7. I chose 1.0 also because it will force me to write with a larger font, one thing which I
struggled during law school. Downside of Sarasa Clip is that I consume an entire ink refill just
for one subject, and it is expensive and quite a pain to find. I tried to do left and right margins
on the actual Bar, but of course, my right margins were bound to fail.

b. CONTENT---- ex. 3 to 4 paragraph Rule, (Categorical Ans-Legal Basis-Application-

Conclusion)

I used CLEAR, something Atty. Loanzon taught us during my first year in law school. CLEAR
stands for Conclusion, Legal Basis, Exception, Analysis, and Repeat Conclusion. Repeating
conclusion is a must for me, especially since I tend to write lengthily. I did not follow a rule on
my number of paragraphs although I consciously tried to limit the length of my answers
depending on the number of points I can get out of the question. A 1% question normally merits
half a page (approximately 8-10 lines). A 2% question would occupy 2/3 or 3/4 of the page. A
3% question would definitely take me two pages to answer. I really tend to write a lot. I think I
averaged 40-50 pages for every Bar subject. Reviewers will tell that we should keep our answers
short and direct to the point; I differ especially when you know that what you are trying to
expound on is correct and is still addressing the question. The disadvantage is that it is torture
to your aching hand.

4. What was your lowest moment during the Bar season, if there is any? And how did
you overcome it?

Lowest moment during Bar season is yung feeling na sobrang pagod ka na sa work + bar review
tapos ang lapit na ng Bar pero ang layo pa ng tatapusin mo. There was this feeling of uncertainty
as to whether I will pass or fail the Bar because (this is not false humility!) I came in really
unprepared. I never finished my intended first readings. Primary references lang natapos ko,
and I was not able to go over my secondary references. I think I did the minimum, I just aimed
for completion of all the topics setting aside mastery. During the actual Bar, my lowest moment
is definitely Remedial Law. The pressure of taking that heavily weighted subject and its
surprising difficulty really dragged my confidence to the pit. I suddenly forgot the grounds for
petition for relief or the requisites for admissibility of an independently relevant statement,
which are supposed to be basic questions, but I think I missed on the actual Bar.

5. What words of encouragement can you share to the law students and bar reviewees,
or to the public in general, amidst our battle against Covid-19?

Purpose. It all boils down to purpose. We always remember our purpose: why we started
pursuing our dreams, why we even thought of it in the first place. It may be for our loved ones,
to make them proud or give them a comfortable life, or be it for our society, to fight against
injustices and inequality. When we think of giving up, we remember our purpose, and we make
that our fuel, our driving force, our mental strength to stand up and continue the pursuit of
our dreams. We remind ourselves of how far we have reached, and how it will make little sense
to give up when we are already at the end game. We remind ourselves of the troubles our
country is facing, and how our country needs us more than ever.

Please share an instance which you think is your embarassing moment during the Bar
month. (Anything "funny"/humiliating which will inform many that one need not be
"perfect" to top or pass the bar)

Uhm siguro nung Civil Law. Sa actual Bar kasi, five bells yung tutunog. Yung fourth bell
meaning five minutes left, tapos yung fifth bell, ang ibig sabihin is pass your booklets and stop
writing ganon. Medyo hindi pa ako tapos sa Civ tapos nagmamadali akong magsulat. Nag-
fourth bell bigla tapos sabi nung proctor na “stop writing” ng pasigaw. Edi napasigaw din ako
sa proctor, “FIVE MINUTES PA!!!” hahahaha sorry sa proctor pero sis the panic set in, huwag
mo ako idedeprive ng limang minutong pagsusulat hahaha. Medyo nagulat mga kasama ko sa
room nung ginawa ko yun. Hindi ko talaga sinasadya hahaha.

Thank you!