45 years later, Drilon nephew surpasses senator’s bar exam ranking

Christian Drilon

Although scared and under pressure, bar examination second placer Christian Drilon was able to beat the dare of his uncle Senate President Franklin Drilon to “outrank” him in what is perceived as the country’s most difficult licensure examination.

“He [Senator Drilon] challenged me, sabi nya hindi mo kaya ‘yung number three,” Drilon told reporters over the phone.

His uncle ranked third in the 1969 Bar examination with a score of 86.85 percent.

“So, ngayon kaya ko nang sabihin, ‘anong nangyari,'” he joked.

READ: San Beda College graduate tops 2014 bar exam

But he said he knows that his uncle would surely rebut that his score is still higher than him. Christian Drilon, a graduate of Ateneo De Manila University got a score of 85.450 percent.

He said there was pressure because everyone expects him to do well being a class valedictorian.

“And the pressure was mostly [because] I also graduated valedictorian, lahat ng mga blockmates ko and officemates and everyone, sure na ‘yan tinatanong na lang kung anong place mo. Of course madali sa kanila sabihin but for me, hindi nila alam nahirapan ako,” he said.

During the examination, he said he found Criminal Law difficult and was not able to finish the Political Law exam.

READ: LOOK: Full list of the 1126 passers of 2014 bar exam

“I was really scared kung enough ba ‘yung nasagutan ko and I (thought about) my handwriting. I am not really confident that I could top so hanggang dasal na lang,” he said.

In preparation for the exam, he said he ate healthier, exercised and prioritized sleep over studying.

“I (ate healthier, exercised), slept early, prioritized sleep over studying, And I did that for the better part of 6 months before the bar. I woke up at 4 a.m. (with the) rest of the day devoted to studying. But I purposely devoted time to exercise,” he said.

“The last thing I wanted was to feel sleepy or tired during the exams, or to experience mental block, that was what I was avoiding. And studying was secondary in the sense that I prioritized everything else because I relied on what I studied and learned during law school. so review was just review,” said.

He said he already started working as paralegal at the Romulo Mabanta Law Office.

Christian’s cousin, Patrick, son of Senator Drilon also passed the bar. ID