Ateneo grad who survived shooting incident among latest Bar passers

For Ateneo Law School graduate Katrina Veronica “Kate” Raymundo, the months leading to the 2014 Bar examinations were not easy.

Not only was she reviewing for what is believed to be the toughest among licensure examinations, she was also recovering from a gunshot wound that could've permanently maimed or killed her.

Raymundo, who was among the 1,126 examinees who passed the exams, was shot in the face in May last year in a carnapping attempt in Makati City.

In an interview with The Palladium, Ateneo Law School's  official publication, Raymundo said the incident happened in the afternoon of May 13, 2014.

She said at 3:20 p.m. on that day, she and her boyfriend parked at the corner of Bautista Street and Buendia right across a bank to withdraw. She said she remained in the car while her boyfriend went to the bank.

It was then that she noticed a man circling the vehicle.

“I didn’t really mind him until he tried to open [the door],” Raymundo told The Palladium.

To attract the attention of people outside, Raymundo honked the car's horn. But instead of running, the stranger pulled out a gun.

“I just bent my head downwards facing my seat because I already knew what was going to happen next,” she said, adding these all happened “in less than about five seconds.”

Raymundo, who was immediately rushed to a hospital by her boyfriend, was hit on her right cheek. She suffered a smashed cheekbone and eye orbital floor, a fractured jaw and C1 vertebrae, and a destroyed nasopharynx.

Even with these injuries and her friends' appeal for her to rest, she went on reviewing although she stopped for almost a month.

“I am not able to read as much as I want to, as much as I planned to. But I am not going to let this incident alter my plans completely. I might be reading slower, there may be days I can’t read because of the pain, but I will be taking the Bar this year. I will give it everything I’ve got,” she told The Palladium.

Fortunately, Raymundo recovered after various medical procedures and operations, and with the support of her friends and family.

“All I can say is that since then, I don’t ask for anything. I’m just thankful. I became a believer in miracles and it strengthened my faith. All my doctors described what happened to me as nothing short of a miracle – just millimeters away from paralysis or death,” she said. —Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News