Young Blood

All firstborns

By Valerie Ann P. Lambo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

11:55 pm | Saturday, May 11th, 2013

When I’m asked how many siblings I have, I normally respond like this: “I have two—my sister and my brother. We’re all firstborns.”

That last part catches people off-guard, and I brace for follow-up questions such as, awkwardly: You all have different fathers? I understand that this comes from the impression that women like my mother are either unfortunate or “hostesses,” thanks (but no thanks) to films like “Tanging Ina.”

There are many times when I want to tell my friends the truth about my bizarre family story. But something holds me back, being in a country that hangs on to strong family ties and values.

I believe I have the most courageous and dignified mother of all. She is 51 and a single parent. I am her only child with my father; my sister and brother are her only children with their fathers.

I consider her the greatest actress of all time because she can play different roles at the same time.

She is our father who works hard day and night to support us financially. Like a protective dad, she fights like a lion and defends us whenever she feels we are being belittled or oppressed. She is our  ate  (elder sister) with whom we can chat and exchange silly jokes. Sometimes we can’t tell her everything under the sun, but she tries to be a good listener when we need one.

She is our kuya  (elder brother) who guards us from danger. She taught me to be street-smart—a great help when I have to go home late. She is our  yaya  (nanny) who always does things for us, including doing our laundry and folding our clothes neatly in the cabinet.

Finally, she is our mother who gave birth to us and continues to provide us shelter and love.

The people behind the success of PUP College of Law

I've been receiving messages from different people asking who the faculty members are in the PUP College of Law. Some of them are going to be part of the PUP-COL Family this coming school year. So to guide each and everyone of you, I copied the list of the faculty members listed in the PUP website.

The following are the current members of the faculty of the PUP College of Law headed by 
Dean Gemy Lito L. Festin.





Justice Efren De La Cruz

Master of Laws, University of Santo Tomas, Manila
Bachelor of Laws, University of the East, Manila
Admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1981
Chairperson, First Division, Sandiganbayan
Associate Justice, Sandiganbayan

Judy Lardizabal, LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws, San Sebastian College Recoletos (Valedictorian)
First Placer, 2008 Bar Examinations

LAW STUDENT STEREOTYPES

WRITTEN BY NICHOLAS

As law students we’re learning skills that will serve us well not just in a legal career, but also in many business fields and (possibly) life in general. However, there are some completely ridiculous expectations that people have of law students that no matter how hard we study, we just cannot live up to. 

Here are some of the expectations people, generally friends and family, have of me when I talk to them about my studies….

GETTING OUT OF TRAFFIC FINES

People always assume that I know how to get out of parking or speeding fines, like it’s a subject that’s offered in first year. Sure, in some circumstances there may be some mitigating factors but unfortunately, as we all know, they’re generally strict liability and if you’ve got a ticket, you’re stuffed. The only problem is how do you explain it to a tipsy uncle at a family BBQ?

DECIPHERING JUDGE JUDY

She’s a ‘judge’ and we’re law students, but that’s where the commonality ends. Sure we have comparative law subjects and we understand some of the similarities and differences between judicial systems, but none of those skills or knowledge will help you to make sense of what goes on in Judge Judy’s courtroom. The best explanation to give someone is to expect the complete opposite if they are ever going to court, or to suggest they try watching Rake instead.

AWESOME GOOGLING SKILLS

Sure, I have great researching skills – I know how to look up all Mabo decisions and the Tasmanian Dams Case – but that doesn’t mean I’m any better at Googling something. 

Probably like most of you, any searches I do on Google are just pot luck. Insert random words and hope for the best or failing that at least a funny meme. My real skill is searching through videos on YouTube. It’s amazing what you can find when you’re trying to avoid jurisprudence study.

BEING ARGUMENTATIVE

Now being argumentative is not such a bad attribute to have in law, and the ability to read between the lines to infer a certain take on something can be pretty helpful too. After all, that’s what statutory interpretation is all about.

Sometimes people always take it too far, thinking just because you express an opinion and are able to back it up, that you’re argumentative. Not to mention implying that you just love to twist words and butter people up so you can extract what you want from them. 

Personally, I take that as a compliment. It’s good to know my nearest and dearest think I will be killer at cross-examination, but it does get tiresome when people don’t realise that you can switch off your lawyer brain and that we are normal, friendly people that don’t have to have the last word.

COMPLETING A MARATHON

Finally, everyone seems to expect that just because I’ve almost survived the long haul of a law degree, I can survive the long haul of running 42.2km.

Strange how friends and family miss the stark contrast between being locked in a room surrounded by books and suffering a massive lack of vitamin D, and being outside and running for hours. Nothing I have had learned in law school has helped me with running, save that I know how to get away from an exam centre damn quick. 

These are just some of the unrealistic expectations of law students that I’ve encountered. Share you stereotype experiences in the comments section below! 

One does not simply pass the Bar !

Cheers to the set of new lawyers who passed the 2012 Bar Exam !

Click here to see the complete list of the 2012 Bar passers .

For those who didn't make it now, NEVER GIVE UP!

Remember, in life, we only have 3 choices ...

GIVE UP which I think is really not a good choice!

GIVE IN to the things you know worth trying and worth having.

and GIVE IT ALL YOU'VE GOT!

Failing the Bar Exam or other things in life doesn't mean you're a loser, it only means you tried and willing to try and try! You don't wanna waste all your sacrifices while you were still in law school, do you?