He thought he would fail the 2023 online Bar examinations because the tests were difficult.
Contrary to his apprehension, Ephraim Porciuncula Bie – a graduate of the Faculty of Civil Law of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and a working student while taking up law – topped the examinations with a score of 89.2625 percent.
Bie’s achievement was doubly remarkable for UST. Law Dean Nilo T. Divina said that for the past 23 years, the year 2023 was the first time UST placed first in the Bar examinations although the university had its share in Bar topnotchers the past decade.
In an interview on GMA Integrated News, Bie said: "I was preparing na babagsak ako eh (that I would fail) because I found the exams really hard.”
The first lawyer in his family, Bie also said during the television interview that he planned to stay with the law firm he is currently employed. “I plan to gain as much experience and learn from the best lawyers," he said.
The UST Faculty of Civil Law feted Bie and other UST Faculty of Civil Law graduates who passed the examinations administered by the Supreme Court (SC) last September.
The oath taking and signing of the Roll of Attorneys of the 3,812 new lawyers will be held Dec. 22 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
In a separate interview on ANC, Bie said that being a lawyer was his childhood dream to “serve the people as much as I can.”
“[I want to] serve the people as much as I can, to give back to the community, to use the legal knowledge and expertise I gained from my alma mater, UST, for the rule of law, for justice,” Bie said.
When the results of the Bar examinations were announced, Bie said: “My mother actually jumped for joy and cried. I was very ecstatic. “We were praying for it, especially [my mother]. It’s a culmination of hard work and prayers.”
The 2023 examinations were the third time the SC administered the tests online in various local testing centers nationwide. The first online examinations were administered jointly for the 2020 and 2021 law graduates due to Covid-19 pandemic. Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen was the chairperson of the examinations committee.
The second online exams were in 2022 with Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa as chairperson. The 2023 Bar committee was headed by Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando.
Chairperson of the 2024 Bar examinations committee will be Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez. The examinations will also be online and also expected to be administered in September.