No fancy car but ‘gift of education’ for 4 University of San Carlos bar topnotchers

CEBU CITY—Unlike another prominent law school in Cebu, the University of San Carlos (USC) won’t be giving brand-new cars to four of its alumni who topped the 2016 bar examinations.

Instead, the school run by missionaries of the Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) or Society of the Divine Word will grant a lifetime “Gift of Education” scholarship to its four successful examinees led by topnotcher Karen Mae Calam.

Lawyer Joan Largo, dean of the USC College of Law, said recipients of the lifetime scholarship grants can nominate a scholar who in turn may choose any course he or she wishes to enroll in the university.

When the scholar finishes the program, the top bar passer can nominate another scholar.

“They can actually nominate one scholar at a time for the rest of his/her life,” said Largo in an interview on Thursday.

She said SVD priests preferred to offer scholarship grants instead of tangible considerations to highlight the importance of education and its philosophy of teaching people how to catch fish instead of feeding them for just a day.

“And with due respect to our students, they really aim to make it to the bar exams for the reason of making it there. I don’t see any other reason behind it,” she said.

The three other USC examinees who topped the bar were: Fiona Cristy Lao, who placed third; Anne Margaret Momongan, seventh, and Jefferson Gomez, eighth.

All of its 70 Bar examinees in 2016 also passed what has been considered the toughest licensure examinations in the country.

Largo said the unique feat had taken place in the same year USC College of Law celebrates its 80th founding anniversary.

Since 1937, the school has produced close to 30 bar topnotchers.

Although Calam’s rating of 89.05 percent gave her the top spot in the bar exams, former Cebu Gov. and Rep. Pablo Garcia’s rating of 91.5 percent in 1951 remains the number to beat in the history of USC.

Largo said a simple meal preceded by a Eucharistic celebration was held on Friday to bring together the four top bar passers as well as the 70 other successful Carolinian examinees.

“Of course, we have to celebrate but any celebration should be grounded on simplicity. We always have our first Friday Mass, but what makes it more special is the fact that it will be offered in thanksgiving for the successful bar exams,” she said.

“I have seen from my experience in molding our students that the key to passing the bar exams is to prepare from the first day in the law school. We keep on innovating, and somehow we found the formula of training our students,” she said.

Largo also echoed the plea of law school deans and students in the Visayas and Mindanao region to decentralize the bar exams.

“That will really improve further the performance of the students and examinees from outside Manila because to take the bar in Manila is really expensive and it will really have a psychological and emotional impact on you being uprooted from your comfort zone,” she said.