It's official: Chris Lao has been informed that he passed the Bar

An Ateneo Law School graduate may have emerged first in the 2011 Bar exam, but the victory is perhaps sweeter for University of the Philippines graduate Christopher Lao.

 

"Thank you all for the prayers and faith in me. Most of all, thank you my Lord Jesus Christ. Your love is on display in my life right now :)" Lao gushed on his Twitter account, just moments after the list of passers was released. 

 

Lao first earned Internet celebrity status when he became a victim of cyberbullying after his infamous on-cam outburst, which later earned him a starring role in an insurance advertisement for a local bank.

 

“I should have been informed," he famously ranted to a GMA News reporter after he drove his car into a flooded street last August, when he was still immersed in reviewing for the Bar. Social media users were quick to make fun of Lao, but eventually he took their sour comments in stride and in a sweet twist, poked fun at himself in a BPI auto insurance ad.

 

"This is my way of saying yes to life. Some good finally came out of this crisis. It became an opportunity. I can now pay for the tuition of my daughter," he told GMA News in an earlier report.

 

“Christopher Lao does not deserve the treatment he is getting from others on Facebook and Twitter. And yes, he is from UP College of Law and we are still proud of him," former UP Law dean Marvic Leonen said as he defended Lao from social media attacks.  

By passing the bar, it seems Lao has more than proven himself worthy of the college's pride. — TJD/HS, GMA News