Thisweek,anotherbatchoflawstudentswillhavewastedanextrayearoftheirlivestostudyfor

themonthlongbarexam.Thisisinadditiontofouryearsoflawschoolwhereeverymoment
wasdefinedbythebar.ItishightimethePhilippinesgotridofitsuniqueobsessionwithwhat
wassupposedtobeasimplelicensureexamthatmutatedintoariteofpassageandnational
spectacle.
WeFilipinosdonotrealizethatwearetheonlysocietythatbannersbartopnotchersonthefront
pagesofnewspapers.MyAmericanclassmatesinHarvardLawSchoolopenlysaidthatevery
pointtheyscoredabovepassingintheNewYorkbarrepresentedeightwastedhoursoftheir
lives.Ourbarreviewerstressedthattheexamdemandsalowerlevelofintelligence.
IsawconfusedlooksonmyclassmatesfacesinreactiontoaFilipinocitingbartopnotcheras
acredential.Later,Iwouldseethesameconfusedlookonaninternationallawfirmpartners
face,secondsbeforethrowingawayaFilipinoresum.NotethatBarackObamaiscitedasthe
firstAfricanAmericanpresidentoftheHarvardLawReviewtheUnitedStatessinglemost
prestigiouslegalcredentialnotasabartopnotcherandnotevenasaHarvardLawmagnacum
laudegraduate.
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IcanattestthatthePhilippinebarexamisthemostdifficultintheworldforallthewrong
reasons.TheNewYorkexamhasawelldefinedscopeandstructuredquestions.WhenItookthe
Philippineexam,IwasaskedaquestiononwhichIwroteathesisofover100pages.
ThelonglistofrequiredPhilippinebarsubjectshasnotchangedindecades.Theexamdemands
basicknowledgeofintercountryadoption,warcrimes,valueaddedtaxation,andliabilityincar
accidents,ademandthatwouldneverariseinactualpractice.
Ourlawschoolcurriculanaturallyfollowthetoolonglistofprescribedbarsubjects.Thishas
destroyedlegaleducationbecausethereissimplynoroomforanythingelse,especiallywiththe
entirefourthyearoflawschoolintendedforbarreviewsubjectsthatareacompressedrepeatof
thefirstthree.Incontrast,lawisathreeyearprogramintheUnitedStateswhereonetakesthe
most basic subjects in freshman year. The succeeding years are purely for electivesthey
presumeonedoesnotneedexposuretoeverysinglefieldandsomehaveproposedtwoyear
programsgiventhis.
PhilippinelawschoolsmustdevotethreeunitstotheNegotiableInstrumentsLaw.Thisisacruel
jokebecausethelawwasintendedforatimewhencommercialpapersweredeliveredbygalleon
orstagecoachandthatclasstypicallyendswithasummaryofthebriefrulesforbankchecks,the
instrumentwefarmorecommonlyusetoday.Incontrasttothismonumentalwasteoftime,
modern,complexlawssuchastheIntellectualPropertyandtheSecuritiesRegulationCodesare
notrequiredreading.
ThelineofUniversityofthePhilippinesprofessorsoncewasthatstudentsweretheretostudy
lawinthegrandmanner,notreviewforthebar.EvenUPbowedtopressurefromalumnifixated
onthebar.Equallyfixatedcollegeseniorswereattractedtoschoolswithhigherbarpassingrates

and topnotcher counts. UP did well in both in recent years, but at the staggering cost of
eliminating nearly all electives in favor of mandatory bar review classes and stricter grade
requirementstoremoveperceivedweakerstudentsbeforetheycouldaffecttheallimportantbar
statistics.
All this has reduced law school to soulless memory games. Our unconscious image of the
abogadodecampanillaisstillanidiotsavantwhocanrecitepagesofrulesverbatim,downtothe
commas.IrememberaprogressiveDeanRaulPangalanganholdingupaCDofcompiledcourt
decisions,thenworthaboutP30,000,tofreshmenandreiteratingthetrivialmarketvalueofthe
memorygames.
The obsession with memorization cripples education. Teaching constitutional law, the most
philosophicalofalllawsubjects,itisfrustratingtoseestudentssimplyskiptothebottomof
decisionstoseewhowon,thenmemorizeasummaryoftheresultingdoctrine,missingthe
essenceoftheveryhumanconflictsinvolved.
IspentyearsflyingaroundasaNewYorksecuritieslawyerandlessonNo.1wasthatsecurities
lawisfundamentallydifferentfromotherfieldsbecauseitinvolvespublicmarkets;thus,you
cannotjustcopyfinancialcontractsfromotherfields.Givenourroteeducation,Filipinolawyers
tendtoapproachitasalistofregistrationproceduresandexemptionsfromregistration,withless
emphasisincontractsonthecentralpointthatyoucanbejailedforallegedlyofferingsecurities
toretireeswithmisleadingmarketingmaterial.
AtmyHarvardgraduation,DeanElenaKagan(latersolicitorgeneralandnowjusticeoftheUS
SupremeCourt)didnotexhorta100percentpassingrate,pickabarbet,orevenreadout
academichonors.Instead,sheread outthe numberofhours myAmericanclassmates spent
offeringfreelegalaidandrecognizedthestudentwhoorganizedallthegatheringsandservedas
thegluethatkeptthelargeclasstogether.IfthisisgoodenoughforHarvardLawSchoolandone
ofthemosthighlyregardedAmericaneducatorsandjurists,itshouldbegoodenoughfora
Philippinelawschool.Frustratedyoungprofessorseagerlyawaitthedaywhenwedonotneeda
straitjacketofastandardizedexamtodoublecheckourstudentsquality,andlawcanbetaught
initsfullintellectualbeautyandmodernity.

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