Senate Trade and Commerce Committee Chair Koko Pimentel III on Friday congratulated the 1,800 who passed the 2018 Bar Exams and urged the new lawyers to be “champions of the Rule of Law, conscientious officers of the court, and honorable members of the legal profession.”
Pimentel, who topped the 1990 Bar exam, reminded the fresh batch of lawyers that they have an obligation to uphold their oaths as lawyers, and that “under no circumstances should you be willing to compromise your principles.”
“Under no circumstances should you be willing to compromise your principles.”
“The Lawyer’s Oath is very clear. It says: ‘I will support the Constitution and obey the laws as well as the legal orders of the duly constituted authorities therein; I will do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in court; and wittingly or willingly promote or sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit, or give aid nor consent to the same.’ Unfortunately, there are lawyers in our country who forget this,” lamented Pimentel, who obtained his law degree from the University of the Philippines.
“Your good name is your greatest asset, and you should never sacrifice this for either financial gain or personal advancement,” said Pimentel, who followed in the footsteps of his father, former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., who is also a lawyer.
According to the reelectionist legislator from Mindanao, “my father bowed out from public service untainted by charges of corruption.”
“Your good name is your greatest asset, and you should never sacrifice this for either financial gain or personal advancement.”
“This was one of his legacies—one that my family holds dear and one that I have worked to uphold during my time in the Senate.”
Of the 8,155 examinees who took the Bar exam at the University of Santo Tomas during all four Sundays of November last year, 1800 passed.
Topping the Bar this year was Sean Borja from Ateneo De Manila University, who obtained a score of 89.3% in the exam that covered various areas of the law, such as Political Law, Labor Law, Civil Law, Taxation, Mercantile Law, Criminal Law, Remedial Law, and Legal and Judicial Ethics.
