MANILA – A man who worked as a janitor while studying law at the Universidad de Manila was among the 3,747 examinees who passed the 2016 Bar Examinations, the results of which were released at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Ramil Comendador, 35, was teary-eyed as he recalled how difficult it was to study law by night, while having a full-time job at the Commission on Elections, where he was a janitor for four years. He is now an election assistant.
A father of two, he told News5 in an interview how he had been forced to spend time away from his children to focus on his studies.
“Sasabihin mong ”Nak, ‘wag muna kasi may exam ako.’ Napasakit po noon (For you to say, ‘Not now, child, I have an exam.’ That was very painful for me),” Comendador said.
He also experienced financial problems.
Asked how he was able to juggle all his responsibilities, he replied, “Siguro po ang nagbigay lang talaga ng lakas sa akin, pamilya ko. Kasi gusto ko po talagang maputol ‘yung cycle ng kahirapan. Kasi alam ko po, edukasyon lang po talaga ang susi sa pagputol ng cycle ng kahirapan (I can probably say that it was really my family that gave me strength. I wanted to end the cycle of poverty. Education is the only key to ending the cycle of poverty).”
Comendador has no plans to leave the Comelec now that he is a lawyer, adding that he wanted to help the poll body.
“Gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa mga taong tumulong sa akin, kung maaari ko pong isa-isahin, pasasalamatan ko po sila. Lalung-lalo na po sa Panginoon. Talagang lahat po ng dinasal ko, hindi po niya ako binigo (I want to thank all the people who helped me, if I could thank them one by one, I would thank them. Especially the Lord. No matter what I prayed for, he would not let me down),” he said.
WATCH: Emotional Ramil Comendador says “edukasyon lang ang susi sa pagputol sa kahirapan.” pic.twitter.com/gwMdgdB4h0
— JV Lim Arcena (@jv_arcena) May 3, 2017
But it was not all drama at the Supreme Court.
Loud pop music was playing to get the crowd going. Meanwhile, a woman was also spotted holding up a placard saying, “Abugado na ang boyfriend ko (My boyfriend is now a lawyer)!”.
WATCH NEWS5’s VIDEO REPORT:
