MANILA, Philippines — The 2019 bar topnotcher, Mae Diane Azores, has a cheerleader in heaven — her grandmother, who died just last month.
2019 Bar Topnotcher Mae Diane Azores. Image courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office.
“Before siya pumanaw sabi nya sakin, ‘Inaantay ko na lang sana yang results mo bago ako umalis,’ kaso yun nga po hindi na kınaya kasi grabe na rin ‘yung sakit niya,” Azores said in an interview with radio station DZMM.
“I believe she’s watching from heaven cheering for me,” she added.
Azores said that she prayed that she would be included in the Top 10. However, she did not expect placing to be the topnotcher of the batch, after garnering a rating of 91.0490 percent.
“Nung bago pa lang magstart ‘yung review, may nagsasabi nang mga tao na, ‘Oh, kaya mo yan, magiging topnotcher ka!’ Yung pressure na ‘yun ginamit ko siya as motivation and thinking ko na rin na baka kaya naman,” Azores said in an interview over radio station DZMM.
“Ang prayer ko talaga is, ‘Lord, ipasa mo ko. Let this be according to your will, sana maging topnotch na rin ako, kahit top 8 lang.’ Nung nakita ko na top 1 hindi ko talaga in-expect,” she added.
Asked what she sees herself doing after passing the exams, Azores said she wants to become a trial lawyer and focus on labor law.
“I can see myself as a litigator. Gusto ko po talagang mag-try at mag-practice as a trial lawyer,” she said.
“Gusto ko siyang ma-experience and gusto ko rin mag-delve into the labor law practice considering the violations of writ of our employees right now. I think it’s a very risky area that lawyers should pay attention to,” she added.
Azores recalled waking up as early as 4 in the morning for her review that would usually last for 10 to 12 hours.
About 2,103 out of 7,685 bar examinees passed the exam for aspiring lawyers, yielding a 27.36-percent passing rate this year.