‘Don’t quit, plod on,’ Caguioa urges bar examinees
MANILA, Philippines — “Do not quit, stay the course and plod on,” Bar Chair Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa said in a video addressing those taking the 2022 bar examinations.
The video was uploaded to the YouTube channel of the Supreme Court by its Public Information Office Monday night, a day after the second day of the bar examinations.
Caguioa congratulated the examinees for “having gotten this far through what is clearly the most grueling licensure exam in the country.”
He said that the examinees matched “the rigor” that marks the exam with “with a tenacity and spirit in far greater measure.”
“So if you’re thinking of quitting now, don’t. Stay the course, plod on. Let no one undermine the courage, fortitude, and strength that it took for you to arrive to today. When you feel like giving up, take a pause and then discard that feeling. Because after the last two bar days you have just hurdled you know in your bones you can go on,” Caguioa said.
According to him, the aspiring lawyers should continue to remind themselves what the exam entailed and of their loved ones, the people they would wish to help, the school they would wish to give back to, and the nation they would want to serve.
He also assured them that many people support the examinees, from the office of the bar chair, to the Supreme Court, and even the local personnel of testing centers.
“Whether sitting in the bleacher section or in the patron area, all of us are shouting a simple cheer. Finish this bar and may god continue to be with you all,” he said.
The video was uploaded after the absentee rate in the four-day bar exams increased by the second day.
The first day of the exams, Nov. 9, recorded a total of 799 absent examinees, while Sunday’s examinations jumped to 810 absentees.
The examinations are scheduled on Nov. 9, 13, 16, and 20.
