Twenty-six-year-old January Agbon Sanchez bested all other 1,659 passers and 5,249 examinees from 75 law schools when she topped the Bar examinations given by the Supreme Court last September at the De La Salle University along Taft Avenue in Manila.
A cum laude graduate of the University of the Philippines who was ranked fourth in her class, Sanchez leads four other UP graduates, and three other females in the Top 10. Eighth placer Joseph Joemer Perez was the valedictorian of Sanchez’s class in UP.
The other top examinees are: Ronald de Vera, 86.95, UP; Carlito Martin Mendoza, 86.76, San Beda College; Ma. Cristina Larrobis, 86.3, University of San Carlos; Efren Vincent Dizon, 86.1, San Beda; Michael Martin Geronimo, 86.05, Ateneo; Maria Melissa Tan, 85.55, San Beda; Joseph Joemer Perez, 85.45, UP; Neil Simon Silva, 85.4, UP; and Ma. Melissa Jamero, 85.3, UP.
Sanchez, from Casbu, Guindulman, Bohol, was deep in prayers on Friday at the St. Jude Church near Malacañang in Mendiola, Manila when she heard about the good news.
"I was crying because I was not expecting it at all. I was not even aiming for a place in the Top 10. I just wanted to pass. This is certainly the best gift I got this year," said Sanchez, who celebrated her 26th birthday a few weeks ago and was marking the fourth birth anniversary of son Jacob last Friday when the results were released by the Supreme Court. Husband Jay works at the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).
A member of the litigation team of the ACCRA Law Offices in Makati City, Sanchez attended night classes at the UP College of Law. She used to work for a non-government agency called "Kaibigan" and had a stint at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 227.
For five months, she did nothing but read to prepare herself for the exams.
"I read, read, and read. I would spend about six to eight hours a day reading. Add to that the hours I spent in the review classes," Sanchez recalled.
Such feat was not easy considering that Sanchez was also a mother to a precocious toddler. But a little help from her mother in rearing Jacob did a lot.
"My mother had really been helpful. And I am very thankful for my family who was very supportive all the way," Sanchez said.
This year’s passing percentage is 31.61, a marked improvement from 20.71 percent in 2003, and 19.68 in 2002.
Second placer Ronald de Vera, also from UP, took the bar with his 65-year-old father Rustico, a certified public accountant who finished law at Adamson University. The elder De Vera, however, did not make it. De Vera vowed to "work for peace in the country."
