The steady trove of topnotchers in the storied history of the University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu continues.
Although it didn’t clinch the number 1 spot as it did last year, three Carolinians got into the top ten of the 2017 Bar Examinations.
Christianne Mae Balili placed second with a rating of 90.80, just a few points behind the highest score of 91.05 percent garnered by Mark John Simondo of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City.
Ivanne D’laureil Hisoler placed fourth with a grade of 89.55 percent, while Rheland Servacio landed seventh with 89 percent.
Lawyer Joan Largo, dean of the USC College of Law, was overjoyed when she learned that three of their graduates landed in the top ten.
“I’m extremely elated of the Bar exam results. Proudly Tatak USC,” she told Cebu Daily News.
“The brand of excellence and education in USC shall continue,” she added.
In the 2016 Bar exam, USC graduate Karen Mae Calam clinched the top spot and became the first law graduate from Cebu to ever secure the number one place in what has been considered the toughest licensure examinations in the country and the most glorified.
Three other Carolinians joined Calam in the top 10 in the 2016 Bar exams. Fiona Lao placed third, Anne Margaret Momongan ranked seventh, while Jefferson Gomez secured the eighth spot.
To date, USC, the oldest university in Cebu and one of the top-performing law schools in the country, has produced about 25 top placers in the Bar exams.
Calam bested the record set by another USC alumna, Athena Plaza, who ranked second in the 2015 Bar examination with a rating of 87.25 percent, and former Cebu governor and congressman Pablo Garcia, who ranked third in the 1951 Bar exam. Garcia’s rating of 91.5 percent, however remains the number to beat in the school’s history.
About 25.54 percent of 6,750 aspiring lawyers completed the exams held in all Sundays of November 2017 at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
The Bar, the only licensure exam that is not administered by the Professional Regulations Commission, covers eight subjects: political law, labor law, civil law, taxation, mercantile law, criminal law, remedial law, and legal and judicial ethics