Ondoy's Wrath Flooded The City

The city was flooded, blame it on Ondoy. I personally experienced the wrath of the typhoon when early Saturday morning I decided to take a walk to unwind. No storm forecast then. The notes I 'm reading are confusing me so I said to myself I need a break. So I went. I never expected leisure would make me walk on flooded streets. No mode of transportation is available other than a pedicab. So I rode twice on a pedicab to go back to España. But when I arrived there, the scenario's worse. I have to walk. It was flooded. It was hard to walk but I have to. I see light vehicles float. I see trash scattered all over. But I have to walk through to return to the dorm. Wet and chilling, I regret going out on a stormy day. I don't even know if I have to rejoice because the Bar is postponed. I'm not supposed to be happy when another strong storm is expected.

Lost in the Bar

Just one word to describe the third Sunday. I was...

>>>Lost<<<

I was lost in mercantile law. The subject may be as broad as civil law. But it is in mercantile that I was led astray. I forgot my jacket in my room and I have no time to go back to the 29th floor to get it. By the time I got hold of it, the gates of La Salle would be closed. So that made me lost and chilling all throughout the exam in room 401.

Mercantile

Denicola Test. Never heard it before. Howey Test. Another alien term. Those were the problems that made me decide to transfer to part II with the hope that questions there would be a bit easier. Unfortunately, my eyes were glued to the the last page of the questionnaire which asks for a discussion of margin trading rule. Just how sadistic examiners could be. I could bear it no more.

Our professors in the review class told us that if we do good in the 3 fundamental subjects of mercantile - corporation law, insurance, and negotiable instruments law, we will surely pass the subject. The reason is that most questions are taken from those laws. That fact was based on previous bar exams. Too bad many questions were taken from Securities Regulation Code (SRC) and other special laws. Truth be told, I did not study much in SRC. In fact, I only zeroed in on transfer jurisdiction of SEC to regular courts. The good justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura could be making a new trend and I'm afraid it will be at our expense.

Crim

Compared to mercantile, criminal law (crim) is fair but just as long as the rest of the subjects. The chain of custody and the criminal liability of each party to the case are few of the questions that require lengthy answers. But I liked crim better.

A Taxing Bar

Second Sunday's over. But I am still here feeling down.

What went wrong?

>>>Sleepless<<<

I reviewed until midnight the night before the exam. But when my roommate woke up at 2 am, I did not know that lights would wake me as well. So I was basically sleepless on the day of the exam. With just 2 hours of sleep, I felt I was floating. And my head was terribly aching. But I have to take the exam no matter what I am feeling that day. So I proceeded to room 403.

Civil

Based on my self-assessment, I'm ready for the Civil Law exam. Of all the subjects in the Bar, I think Civil is where I am strongest. But when I read the problems, conflicting answers flashed in my mind. At that moment, I no longer know how to harmonize them. I was confused with the prevailing doctrines and all I could do is just make a stand. Whether it was a yes or a no, I have to make a stand and support it. Regret will come later. It was at this point when I felt all hope is gone. But I finished the exam at 11:45 am to reserve energy for my weakest subject - taxation.

Tax

In the afternoon, I felt the effect of my lack of sleep. In fact, I took a nap in the classroom before the exam. I also took a nap at the beginning of the exam. Good thing I did not wake up at 5 pm or else I will be offering a clean and empty booklet. It was maybe because of this that I got a 'well behave and good luck to you' remark on my permit. The watchers may be unaware of my slumber and they construed it as part of my contemplation. I did not know how I answered tax. All I know is the heavy feeling in my eyelids; they are drooping.

While in the hotel with my fellow barristers, I realized that tax was more tolerable than civil. Tax is hard for me. Matter of fact, it is first on the list of subjects that could give me a disqualification grade (DQ). But how come I fared horrible in civil more than tax? It was the opposite of what I expected.

Fifty percent of the battle is fought and I am losing positivism. My hope is turning to despair. My chance is going to the negative. I gave myself 50% in civil and 50% in tax - my worst performance. But I am still hoping I won't get a DQ. Last night after the exam, I called my parents to tell them how I fared. I told them I might not pass this Bar. So sad.

The Taste of the Bar

Mixed emotions.That's what I felt yesterday while taking the first 2 subjects of the Bar.

AQ barrister's headquarter was near La Salle. We were billeted at EGI Tower for convenience. I woke up at 5 am before the wake up call. I ate heavy breakfast, took warm shower, and fix myself to face one great challenge of my life...

At 6:30 am, the line along Taft Ave. was too long, a bit infuriating. However, we have to fall in line for some SOP to enter La Salle. When I arrived at room 404, Yuchengco Bldg., most of my roomates were already there busy scanning their notes. Once inside, I read my notes as well. At 7:45 am, all things were brought in front of the room. Only pens and light snacks were allowed to stay with the barristers.

>>>Anxious<<<

From 7:45 to 8 am, it felt eternity. All you hear is nothing but silence. The absence of sound got me anxious. And that's the only part where I felt that. I remembered my professor saying "Never entertain premature fears." So I closed my eyes to relax. Close and open my hand to prepare for a writing marathon. Then uttered a short prayer. Then the first bell...

Envelopes bearing our name, school, thumb mark, and signature were already sealed. Then the second bell...

Pages turning, brains spinning... Sure, the battle has started...

Poli

The first part of the Political Law (Poli) exam was tenable. It was pretty reasonable. Until I got to part II. Public International Law is supposed to get the least number of questions in Poli. But that was not the case in our Bar. I want to cuss. I want to stop writing. But I just can't. Sigh.

I studied hard for Poli. I know I did. But I did not concentrate much on the answers for part II of the exam. I thought the questions having them as subject won't be extensive. Unfortunately, they were. So many twists. So many traps. So confusing. So many questions. So cruel.

It was also in Poli when I have to erase a page in my booklet by making a vertical line at the center. I have answered the last number but I noticed that subquestions b and c of the penultimate number were left unanswered.

Poli exam was way too loooooooong. In fact, after finishing it I felt I took 2 bar exams for Poli. I do mock bar to prepare but I did not encounter a single exam as long as that. There were cases where I answered one or two sentences just to make a good pace. I did not follow the 3-paragraph rule nor the 'Koko Pimentel formula.' There was certainly no time for that. The bell rang. And I'm freakin' hungry. I have to eat chocolates on my way to the hotel to ease the burning sensation in my tummy. I was so down but I don't want to lose hope.

Labor

After taking my lunch. I get some rest then returned to my exam room. I scanned my reviewer. The dogeared page was about wage distortion. I started reading it. I opened my bag to return the reviewer and found my codal for Consti. It was not supposed to be there. The exam for Consti is through. But for the heck of it, I opened it to Sec. 3, Art. XIII about labor. To my surprise, wage distortion as well as the rights of employer and employee were asked in the labor exam. I call it Divine intervention.

One problem that I encountered in Labor involves mnemonics. In sexual harassment, my memory aid was i-h-o (intimidating, hostile and offensive). I forgot the i. When I scanned my booklet, only i was written there. I cannot recall the word so I thought of a negative word starting in i (I know it was not the word intimidating that I wrote). It was funny but I need my last resort. I hope the examiner won't see the disparity though.

Labor law was as long as Poli, more or less. But the latter was only answerable in 3 hrs. If Poli with 4 hrs. was too long. How would you react to the labor exam?

First Sunday's done, nonetheless. I'm pretty worried with my performance in Poli.

This Is It

It's my birthday. But it's just another ordinary day with the extraordinary pressure of the upcoming Bar. Who would be taking this year's bar exam? So easy to tell. Look at the papers. The names are all over the spreadsheet.

Early this morning after I attended the mass here at the dorm to give thanks for another year of life, I was not as anxious as I was after I read today's papers. Sure, if it's already my birthday, it means it would just be 2 days before the big day. So I think this is it. No turning back. Just breathe in. Breath out. Whew!

Before the filing of our petition, the Bar Confidant said approximately 7,000 barristers are expected to take the exam. And one problem that may arise is the venue. La Salle cannot accommodate 7,000 barristers. And the remedy would be to hold the exam at the Mall of Asia (MOA). Holy smoke! MOA???!!! No way!

Good thing there's a decline of barristers. Some say the reason for the decline is our Chairman Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura. They said he is very strict and meticulous. In our review class, every time we ask if the justice is nice, they would just say - He might have changed. He is old. He also belongs to the academe. This fact sends us creeps as regards the chosen examiners. They could also be from the academe. They could also be the cream of the crop. And that means disaster.

We are 6,080. A bit lesser than last year's number. And only 1/3 of it or perhaps lesser is expected to pass. I will just keep my fingers crossed.