University of the Philippines produced a Fab Five of new lawyers on Friday when a quintet of its students topped the 2022 Bar Examinations as announced by the Supreme Court.
In an interview with CNN Philippines last night, topnotcher Czar Matthew Dayday said he was crying, screaming, and shouting incoherently with his family after the results came out.
Asked why he wanted to be a lawyer, Dayday said: “I wanted to help people and I thought like I was good at solving problems, so I thought being a lawyer is a way to go.”
In another interview for a local news website, Dayday credited his study partners who became his fast friends as they reviewed for the Bar together.
“Mostly, what I think really worked for me is studying with my friends. I have these group of three friends that I really study with every night,” he added.
“What we would do is maybe around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. we would go on Zoom together and we would just study as a group so that at least it feels like we have a group of people who would keep us accountable.”
In a separate interview with ANC, the topnotcher said that he was in denial at first when he heard the news. Even joking that “there must be another Dayday who took the test.”
As far as Dayday is concerned, he just wanted to pass since future employers and clients will never ask about their rankings.
“Once you pass the Bar, you’re all equal as lawyers,” he added. “I just wanted to pass, honestly.”
Top 2 Erickson Mariñas, meanwhile, felt disbelief and a big sigh of relief after he saw his name in the Bar exam results.
“I was led to believe that it suits my personality and skills,” Mariñas said of his decision to pursue law.
Third-ranked Christianne Cregencia, upon hearing the result, said: “I locked myself in my room and when I heard my name, of course I was very surprised… then my mom suddenly barged in my room already crying.”
Like most who aspire to be lawyers, Cregencia said she also wanted to help other people.
Top 4 Andrea Yu also waited for the results with her family.
“When Justice Caguioa mentioned my surname, my family just started shouting to the point that I didn’t even hear the rest of my name. At that moment I just cried out of relief, gratitude, and joy. It was just so overwhelming,” she told CNN Philippines.
Yu said she wanted to be a lawyer because of her passion and purpose.
Fifth-placer Kim Gatapia, meanwhile, said she started “whining” after she knew that she passed the Bar.
“I really felt a complete disbelief, hindi talaga ako makapaniwala hanggang ngayon,” said Gatapia, who admitted taking the Bar mainly because of career advancement.
“I’m a working student in law school, and I thought being a lawyer is a way for me to advance in my career.
Like others, Dayday dreamt about being a lawyer in high school, admitting that lawyers were often portrayed as cool problem-solvers in movies and television. But as the years went by, he learned that things were not exactly how they were portrayed in the media.
Asked about what advice he could give to aspiring lawyers, Dayday said that they should continue working hard, be open to experiences, have curiousity and eagerness to know and always ask questions.
“I think for me the primary point of advice that I would like to give to aspiring lawyers who will be taking the Bar exam is really to trust the process. Because really, to me, I am really a firm believer that we are essentially what we repeatedly do,” he said.
“All of the small things that you do every day gradually accumulate. And the results are simply what happens because of the things that we do every day. I think the best advice I could give is to always be open to learning and growing as a person. Because that’s really how you become the best person that there is,” he added.