The Plight of a Probinsyano Bar Examinee

Walking on a single file toward the gates of La Salle on Taft Avenue along with the other examinees was probably the longest and excruciating walk I ever had – emotionally that is. The air was haughtily filled with such triumphant mood for the imminent battle ahead – what with the discordant jumble of noise from various school bands, the garish streamers proclaiming certain victory, and the loudspeakers proudly hailing one by one their very own warriors.

I did not breathe that same air though. I felt remotely like a warrior either.  The atmosphere, to my mind then, was nowhere near to being triumphant.  It instead proved to be a very unsettling scene to my probinsyano eyes, and intimidating no less.   (Though living in an urbanized city like Cebu hardly makes one a probinsyano anymore – still to the Manilans, we still are.) The guy ahead of me waved at the cheering crowd and, reading the streamer, I could immediately tell he was from UP. After a few meters, the girl behind me nearly jumped with excitement when her name was prominently announced. Apparently, she was from San Beda. I, on the other hand – silently imagined my mother at church praying.

That was the first Sunday morning – seven years ago, of the four-Sunday bar examinations. To many, the bar exams are arguably the most difficult and definitely the most publicized.

At that time, I represented a school from Cebu City, which had no “bar operations” to speak of. We were practically left to our own devices. During noon breaks, while the other examinees calmly took their lunch packs from their support groups, or gamely joined their peers in the buffet especially prepared for them – the rest of us had to scurry for the available food joints some blocks away.

A couple of weeks earlier, our already perturbed minds, exhausted from the weeks of torturous studying, felt all the more anxious as we ruminate on that mysterious envelope that allegedly contain “useful” notes being passed around exclusively to these Manila students. We heard other rumors of notes circulated coming from certain fraternities sourced from a brother of a brother of, who cares-who. True or not, such stories were enough to cause some of us probinsyanos to hunt for these “useful” tips, even up to the last night before the bar examination. Alas, we never got to see a page of it.

This coming Sunday would again be a test of resolve – especially for our bar examinees from Cebu City schools – who might also feel being placed at a disadvantage. I suppose the situation is quite different now with the local bar operations so effectively organized. But the thought of this perceived edge enjoyed by examinees from Manila schools might persist. If it is any comfort, it bears noting that we read the same cases and the same books they read – of course its authors teach at their schools though; but still – the same books, right?

Seven years ago, we hurdled the bar examinations nonetheless – minus the comfort and conveniences and other things, imagined or not, that would suppose to provide you the upperhand. At the end of the day however, we realized that beyond all the cheering and motivating, what mattered most were sheer determination, intense faith, hard work, and of course – the heart to at least try. Take it from me – these proved to be the great equalizer.