CEBU, Philippines – Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) employee Paulo Batulan became Cebu’s lone 2023 Bar exams passer who secured a spot in the official list of top examinees on Tuesday, December 5.

Batulan finished the exam with a rating of 88.25%, putting him in the 8th spot out of 3,812 examinees who passed.

The Supreme Court said 10,387 people took the exams on September 17, 20, and 24. The results showed that 36.77% or nearly four out of 10 passed the most strenuous examinations in the country.

“I was not expecting to be part of the top 10. Being part of the top 20 would have been enough,” Batulan told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

The 27-year-old new lawyer, a graduate of the University of San Jose-Recoletos, dedicated his victory to his father, whom he described as a “frustrated lawyer.”

“He was a frustrated lawyer, in the sense, that he did not finish his studies. He was only up to his third year because he was assigned to other provinces as regional accountant of the Philippine Crop Insurance at the time,” Batulan said.

Batulan also dedicated his achievement to his girlfriend, a lawyer, who supported him through many challenges he faced before taking the exams. 

According to him, he needed to juggle working in the BIR as a revenue officer, studying in law school, and recuperating from a tonsil surgery in February.

Batulan said he considered the feat of passing the Bar exams as a “miracle.” 

Keep the faith

His record though showed that Batulan has been an academic achiever. He holds a degree in accountancy and graduated magna cum laude in 2016. He became a certified public accountant (CPA) in 2017.

Batulan also obtained a master’s degree in public administration in 2019. Early this year, he graduated from law school cum laude and received his Juris Doctor degree.

All these, Batulan said, were a result of hard work and divine guidance. “God watches over us when we work hard. We can’t do all of this without Him,” he said.

Before the release of the results, Batulan said he visited the Simala Shrine in Sibonga town, Cebu, and the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu in Cebu City to thank God.

“As a priest said in a homily, miracles start with faith,” Batulan said.

Only the beginning

For ranking 8th in the Bar exams, USJ-R officials said they would gift Batulan with a cash prize and a laptop.

“We still need to do more, and this is only the beginning,” said lawyer Jonathan Capanas, the dean of the USJ-R School of Law.

The last time the university had a law graduate on the list of top Bar exams passers was in 2017 when lawyer Stephanie Claros secured the 15th spot.

This year, USJ-R ranked 4th for top-performing law schools with 51 to 100 takers.

Capanas said the feat served as a reminder that they have to ensure that working students like Batulan get an environment that allows them to hone their skills and become good Christian lawyers.

“Batulan studied law as a working student, and this is actually proof for those who are aspiring to be lawyers that even if you are working, there is really a chance if only you will decide,” Capanas said.

Batulan said he would continue to work for two more years in the BIR. He said he plans to become part of the USJ-R School of Law faculty.
“I would love to share my knowledge with aspiring lawyers and topnotchers in USJ-R,” he said. – Rappler.com