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From 96th in class, Nielson Pangan lands no. 1 in 2013 Bar exams


(Updated 3:48 p.m.) Academic achievement is no forecast of Bar exams performance, if the 2013 topnotcher is any indication.
 
Nielson Pangan, a 2013 graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law, was ranked 96th in his class, according to Supreme Court spokesperson Ted Te, quoting UP officials, yet he topped all the law school valedictorians who took the Bar with him.

"Ang rank ko is nasa half," Pangan confirmed, adding there were 200 students in his batch, of which 170 graduated. 5,293 examinees took the grueling licensure exam in October last year.

More than topping the 2013 Bar exams, Pangan claimed to focus his energies on being a good lawyer than passing the actual exams.
 
In a phone interview on GMA News TV's Balitanghali, Pangan said he did not expect to top the Bar exams.
 
"Hindi ko talaga inasahan. Until now I am shocked. Hindi ko alam kung anong nangyari," he said.
 
 
Pangan, who is the first UP law graduate at number one since Joan A. de Venecia in 2005, said he felt happy that UP copped five of the top ten places in the 2013 Bar exams
 
"I am really happy for my school for placing the top again to redeem ourselves. Maraming nagsasabi na nawawala na ang UP, but here we are and I'm really proud of my school," he said.
 
"We were reminded na galingan namin, pero from the start, ang focus namin is to train to be good lawyers. So minsan, wala nang pakialam sa Bar. Parang ganon ang dating... But our batch tried to excel rin," he added.
 
When asked for his plans after passing arguably the most difficult of professional licensure exams, Pangan said he will continue to work for the law firm Migallos and Luna Law Offices.

96th in class
 
According to the law office's website, Pangan, who was born in Manila in 1987, took up B.S. Business Administration major in Legal Management at New Era University, and graduated magna cum laude in 2008.
 
Pangan then entered UP College of Law, and graduated in 2013, it added.
 
Meanwhile, he admitted that he found the change in the exams to be the most challenging part.
 
"Talagang nahirapan kami especially noong nagbago ang format..." he said.
 
For last October's Bar exams, the Supreme Court decided to change the rules once more. This time the exams were mostly being made up of essay questions rather than multiple choice. 
 
The exams consisted of 20 percent multiple choice questions (MCQ) and 80 percent essay-type questions. The 20-percent MCQ portion of the exam was divided into four or five fact situations, from which the MCQs were asked.
 
The 80-percent essay portion, on the other hand, was divided into eight divisions of 10 points each, with a maximum of two facts per division from which questions were drawn.
 
The high court only introduced multiple-choice questions during the 2011 Bar Exams. However, for two years, or until the 2012 exams, results for the MCQ weighed more (60 percent) than the results for essay-type questions (40 percent) in computing for the final grade.
 
In August last year, or two months before the exams, the SC came up with guidelines for the examinees, among them a reminder not to use carabao English and an advice to construct sentences using only five to six words to increase readability. 
 
The latest Bar exams' passing rate was 22.18 percent, according to 2013 Bar chairman and SC Associate Justice Arturo Brion at a briefing in Manila on Tuesday. That was a significant jump from the 17.76 pecent passing rate in 2012, a 12-year low.
 
A total of 5,293 examinees hurdled the four Sundays of the exams, from the original 5,593 who were admitted to take them in October last year. According to the SC, 5,641 law graduates applied for the 2013 Bar exams. —Amanda Fernandez with a report from Mark Merueñas/KG, GMA News
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