After passing the bar, new lawyer finally cuts his hair

JED Carlo Lazaga will sport shorter hair when he takes his oath as a lawyer on March 21.

Lazaga went to a barbershop yesterday to cut his almost shoulder length hair that had been left alone for almost a year.

After graduation last year, said Lazaga said, he vowed not to cut his hair until he would pass the bar exams.

“So nagpagupit na ko karon kay mipasar man ko (So I’m having my hair cut today because I passed,” said Lazaga, a graduate of the University of San Jose-Recoletos Law School.

Lazaga said he planned to join the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) so he could help victims of injustice after he was falsely accused in the 2010 bar exam bombing in De La Salle University.

The wife of a Court of Appeals justice, another new lawyer, also plans to join the PAO to gain experience in handling cases.

“For us new lawyers, we have to uphold legal ethics,” said Ma. Alice Lim, wife of Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles and a law graduate of the University of San Carlos.

Another bar passer, dyHP radio broadcaster Allan Piloton, said it was his child dream to be a lawyer.

“I’m very happy. My hard work paid off. Apart from the prestige that goes with the profession, I have the capacity to help those who are in need,” said Piloton.

PAO Cebu Chief Maria G-Ree Calinawan said Lazaga and other new lawyers are welcome at the PAO.

“We always welcome everyone who expresses interests to work in our office,” she said.

Cebu RTC Judge Meinrado Paredes said Lazaga had the right intention and plan.

Paredes said he would always advise law students to join PAO if they could, which would open opportunities for other offices like the prosecutor’s and the judiciary.

“In the PAO, you would encounter different cases and gain experience there,” he said.

But PAO applicants still undergo a selection process and have to wait for a vacant slot in the government office.

For now, Lazaga said he would just enjoy the moment. He plans to offer a thanksgiving Mass when his parents arrive from Camotes Island on Saturday.

Lawyer Earl Bonachita, president of IBP Cebu City president, said Lazaga and other new lawyers could also volunteer in the IBP Cebu City chapter as a legal aid lawyer.

Volunteers earn a small honorarium.

“For the new lawyers, just don’t forget that we are instrument in the administration of justice and for the respect of the rule of law”, Bonachita said.

Associate Justice Ingles, for his part, reminded new lawyers to “Be faithful. You need to be living witnesses of the profession and be real advocates of truth.”

Ingles advised those who failed in the bar exams not to give up and to pursue their dreams.

“It’s not the end of the world. Life should go on. It’s not important whether you pass on the first or second try. What is important is that you’ll become a good lawyer,” he said.

Lawyer Jonathan Capanas, dean of the University of San Jose-Recoletos College of Law, said ne lawyers “should commit themseves to life-long learning.”

“ They should serve those who are in need as much as they can,” Capanas said.

A total 1,913 or 31.94 percent of the 6,200 examinees from over a hundred law schools nationwide pased the exams held last November 2011 at the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila.

The national passing percentage this year was higher than last year’s 20.26 percent or 982 out of 4,847 and the second highest for the decade following the 32.89 percent in 2001.

No graduate from a Cebu law school made it to the top 10 this year.

Capanas said bar examinees are still adjusting to the multiple choice questions (MCQ) introduced by the Supreme Court in the bar exams last year.

“The bar exams are not sufficient to test the graduates’ capability. There are more areas that should be taken into consideration other than mental aspect,” Capanas said.

Associate Justice Ingles said the MCQ may be a factor in the increase of the passing rate this year.

He said MCQ is a difficult mode of exam but is effective to gauge the examinees’ knowledge of law.

“It is all or nothing. No middle ground. There is no bar exam that is easy,” he said.

Lawyer Alex Monteclar, dean of the University of San Carlos College of Law, said they have to make the necessary adjustments after no one from a Cebu law school made it to the top ten.

“We just have to do our best. Being among the top ten in the bar exams is not a guarantee. It’s really just a bonus,” Monteclar said.

For the first time, the SC introduced in the 2011 Bar Exams the new format of MCQ which made up 60 percent of the total score.

Essay-type items, which used to be the sole format, made up 40 percent./Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan, Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol and Correspondent Patricia Andrea Patena