Written by Jared Kyle Tejada/THE RED CHRONICLES
Layout by Joanne Dy Bunteng/THE RED CHRONICLES
Dean Ulan’s vow as your “papa” to all bar examinees
MANILA, PH—Dean Ulpiano Sarmiento shared his thoughts about the collaborations of the SBCA with various law schools for the 2023 Bar Examinations. He said that the number one reason for such a collaboration is to help others. This has always been a virtue of being a Benedictine. “Kung ano ang mayroon tayo, we share it with others.” In doing so, according to Dean Ulan, Bedans set aside the notion of being indifferent which is a need to compete with other schools. “Dean Delson and I agreed that we wanted these [bar] operations to be open to all,” said Dean Ulan, remarking that San Beda University College of Law is likewise in on the opportunity to collaborate for the benefit of all bar takers
Dean Ulan likewise stated that wisdom and knowledge had always been wealth. According to the professor, the more you give out this knowledge to others, the more you gain. “I don’t see it as a competition whatsoever. As a matter of fact, if everybody could pass, wouldn’t that be a blessing?”
“Say, for example, we have 4,000 examinees. Our goal is for all 4,000 examinees to pass the bar exams,” Dean told The Red Chronicles.
The collaborating schools, according to the Dean of San Beda College Alabang, have absolutely no intention of leaving even a single student behind on an opportunity to pass the bar exams. Taking it will be of paramount importance to all bar examinees as it is to the institutions wherein they took their studies. The goal of the collaboration is to ensure that said opportunity is prepared for and protected by these schools who willingly exchanged, communicated and collaborated with other institutions to the benefit of their own barristers and those of all other bar takers.
“We have been making an impact on other schools that may not have the facilities and logistics to be able to come out with good bar operations, insofar as others are concerned and not only to our own students.” In truth, SBCA has been a model institution for sharing.
“Hindi naman ito basketball. We are likewise invested in the success of students from other law schools,” a true sports fan indeed, telling all of us that taking the bar examinations likewise requires a team effort.
Passing the bar is not just something one can tackle alone and can need an entire community of individuals rallying behind each of our barristers. The more individuals involved in this community of sharing and collaboration, the more we can effectively level the playing field wherein all will have the same opportunities, the same materials, and the same resources available to them.
Dean Rico Quicho of Universidad De Manila weighs in on the collab
Dean Quicho has always espoused diversity and inclusivity in legal education. To the Dean, the biggest challenge as school administrators is to ensure that all our students “regardless of their backgrounds, are given the best opportunity to excel given the limitations and distractions that we all face.” Since a majority of the students in the Universidad de Manila – College of Law (“UDM-COL”) are working students, the school tailor fits its approach to their time and resources.
As a professor, Dean Quicho in preparing his students for the bar examinations, reminds all law students that they need to have the right frame of mind and great focus on the tasks ahead. He encourages them “to look for solutions and to minimize excuses”. The hours that they must spend studying will help them face the challenging bar examinations.
The battle cry of UDM-COL’s law students during the last bar examinations is “Hiraya Manawari”, a phrase that means reaching your dreams. Dean Rico likewise presents thirteen (13) newly minted lawyers from the institution, stating that its success would likewise not have happened without the grueling and demanding preparations of the examinees and the centralized bar operations. As early as the first semester of the last academic year, the UDM-COL with the assistance of our Centralized Bar Operations (SBCA) reached out to the students, who took the 2022 Bar Examinations or the CaguiWow Bar and offered both academic and administrative assistance to bar takers and law students. A partnership with Rex Bookstore was even developed to conduct a Bar Lecture Series attended by notable speakers who are experts in various fields of law, the same as being available to all law students.
Dean Quicho told The Red Chronicles that the rigors of law school are undeniable. According to him, there is no doubt that law school is stressful with the many challenges of academics, pressure and more. As the Dean of UDM-COL, and with the collaborative effort of the bar operations of other schools, the best they can do is to be available to the bar takers. “We have to come up with new learning initiatives and out-of-the-box activities to maximize the learning potentials of our students,” as he comes up with possible ways to maximize the learning potentials of all students in their journey to take the bar exams.
At the heart of the operations
Overall Chairperson Kate Capulong of the Centralized Bar Operations (SBCA) recalls the previous bar examinations and how unique of a situation they were. Seeing the challenges that the previous bar exams had to face, as a head of the organization, Ms. Capulong had to be quick on her feet to accommodate every single bar taker. “There are limited resources and we need to join forces in collaboration with other schools,” explained the Overall Chairperson as she emphasized the necessity of this collaboration. According to Ms. Capulong, she wants to place the Centralized Bar Operations of San Beda College Alabang, School of Law not only on the receiving end of these intended collaborations but also on its giving end. “It’s time to give back to the legal community,” assures Ms. Capulong that the initiatives of the organization are not mere lip service.
Among other notable law schools, San Beda College Alabang is relatively younger. This is why the Centralized Bar Operations decided to push for this collaboration, not only to introduce the institution as a formidable school of law but likewise, to establish working relations and inspire team effort among other law schools as well.