She had pneumonia when she was reviewing for the Bar, but landed in the Top 10

BACOLOD CITY –– She was not so healthy when she took the Bar Examinations last year.

But Bebelan Madera still made it to the top 10 of what has been considered as the toughest licensure examination in the country.

Madera, also a certified public accountant, landed 10th in the 2019 Bar Exams, a feat she did not expect considering what she went through during the review days as well as the exam days.

She said she was on antibiotics for pneumonia while reviewing for the exams and had carpal tunnel syndrome during the exams itself.

“There were a lot of worries but I did not doubt that the Lord would get me through,” she said.

The 32-year-old valedictorian of the University of Saint La Salle (USLS) College of Law Class of 2019 in Bacolod City hoped to work for the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) to gain experience and perhaps become a corporate lawyer.

Madera said she did not want to browse through online news portals on Wednesday, but her parents urged her to find out whether or not she made it to the Bar.

Her father did not know how to use her iPad so she was going to teach him. It was then when she suddenly saw in the chat group that she made it to the top 10.

Upon seeing her name, she sobbed.

“I was not able to tell my parents right away what I saw. I was just overwhelmed,” she said.

Madera said she really did not have any plans of taking up law but did so out of boredom. She said her parents also wanted to have a lawyer in the family.

Madera is a part-time accountancy teacher at USLS and the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos in Bacolod City.

She has no definite plans yet but wants to try her luck at PAO so she can gain experience as a trial lawyer. or join corporate law because of her background as a CPA.

Her parents, Rolando and Maxima, are the owners of Babyland Cococraft in Bacolod City.