From being childhood friends in the neighborhood of Bacoor, Cavite, to becoming law school buddies and eventually topping the 2024 Bar Examinations together, the journey is particularly special for topnotchers Andrew Gil Ambray, J.D. and Pierre Angelo Reque II, J.D.
Ambray ranked 12th with an average of 83.4450%, while Reque clinched the 20th spot with an average of 82.7950% out of the 3,962 new lawyers in the country, where the passing rate was 37.84%, as announced by the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday.
In an exclusive interview with Manila Standard, the new Thomasian lawyers shared their story of expectation and satisfaction after excelling in one of the hardest Bar exams in the world.
Both were classmates from their elementary days at Saint Vincent De Paul College and later reunited at the University of Santo Tomas-Faculty of Civil Law, marking a friendship that has lasted almost 20 years.
Ambray, the batch valedictorian, expressed his determination to top the Bar but acknowledged that he had limited time to review after their graduation in June.
“Mixed feelings… I feel like I passed, but I know there is still a chance I won’t pass. So the moment the top 20 was announced, I was really nervous because I wanted to know if I really passed,” he said.
He described civil law and commercial law as the “easiest but still not easy” subjects in this year’s examination and expressed a desire to explore corporate law and litigation.
Additionally, he mentioned his aspiration to assist underprivileged Filipinos, especially those lacking access to basic education.
Ambray, who also ranked 18th in the 2019 Certified Public Accountant Licensure Exam (CPALE), recognized that the analytical thinking he developed during his Accountancy studies at De La Salle University significantly aided his preparation.
On the other hand, Reque emphasized that although he initially aimed to be among the topnotchers, he “just wanted to know the results and move on no matter what.” During his personal evaluation on the last day of the examination, he felt he would not make it onto the top list.
“I found the exam really hard, and I even had a blank item in my civil law exam due to time constraints. I just prayed hoping that I could at least pass the Bar,” shared Reque, a Thomasian cum laude.
He noted that he found Criminal Law “fairly answerable” during the three-day examination because he prepared well for it, knowing that this year’s Bar chairperson, SC Associate Justice Mario Lopez, is an expert in that subject.
As a CPA, Reque stated that he was trained to solve questions in a high-pressure environment, which proved helpful in answering Bar exam questions, particularly in issue spotting. He wishes to experience different fields of legal practice before deciding which one suits him best.
Like his friend Ambray, Reque intends to join academia after gaining relevant experience in the legal profession.
UST Law Dean Nilo Divina expressed appreciation for the outstanding performance of Thomasians in the examinations. Both Ambray and Reque were Divina’s students in Commercial Law during their senior year.
UST, the country’s oldest law school and oldest lay faculty within a university, improved its passing rate from last year’s 85.20% to 88.72%, becoming the fourth best among law schools with over 100 lawyers produced.