BY IANE MACASIEB

Before achieving the title ‘lawyer,’ it’s not a secret that law students have to endure hypercompetitive classrooms, a series of demanding course loads, and the adrenaline rush of solving cases and such.

On Dec. 5, the Supreme Court of the Philippines announced the bar takers who successfully passed the 2023 Bar examinations. A total of 3,812 out of 10,387 takers managed to make the cut.

Aside from their families, lawyers have different reasons as to why they pursue law. For 25-year-old Ianne Gamboa, a law school graduate from Jose Rizal University, the very thought of being the first openly transgender woman bar topnotcher drove her to be among the 3,812 who passed the examinations this year.

Wanting to help her family and become an inspiration to others, Gamboa set her mind on becoming the first lawyer in her family. 
“It was really my aim to be the first openly trans woman bar topnotcher. I want the trans community to look me in my face and see their reflections. I want them to be inspired that they can dream the impossible dream and achieve it,” beams Gamboa.

In 2018, during her undergraduate years, she made a mark as the first transgender woman who graduated as valedictorian at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, where she earned her pre-law degree in Bachelor of Arts in English. 

Gamboa took a trip down memory lane as she shared her journey throughout her law school life. Her father, a police chief master sergeant, gave her the idea to enter law school after she graduated in 2018 but she brushed off the idea for financial reasons. 

“When I graduated in 2018 with distinctions, it was my dream to work in the government. So I applied for my dream job in the government. Unfortunately, I always got rejected,” she recalls.

The rejections made her feel like the universe was telling her to not prioritize her career and enter law school instead.
After a while, she got a job at the Office of the Solicitor General so she was able to help with the family expenses and provide for her law school tuition. 
As a working student, who had to balance time between work and study, she had to set up a different kind of discipline.

“I was strictly diligent and disciplined. I studied 12 hours a day, but I also did not forget to take some breaks,” she says. She also often went to church during her law school journey.

On the day of the announcement of the results, Gamboa shares how her family cried out of joy when they saw her name on the list. Her father was on duty at the Supreme Court during that time while the family was waiting for the release at the Supreme Courtyard.

Her journey and success now serve as a voice for a lot of people in the LGBTQIA+ community. She wants to continue to be a voice and an inspiration to the people who experience being degraded on account of gender identity and sexual orientation.

“I would like to send a message to the public that, just like me, if trans women are supported by our family, we can be who we want to be,” muses Gamboa. “Lawyers are highly respected in our society. Transgender persons, on the other hand, are being mocked and discriminated against. I hope my achievement changes the stereotype against trans women. We are also worthy of respect just like every human being.”

Gamboa has been working at the Office of the Solicitor General as a legal secretary since 2021. She looks forward to working in the government as a lawyer soon.