Former Comelec janitor tells aspiring lawyers to have faith in God and stick to your dreams

If  you want to be a lawyer someday, seek the Lord's guidance and learn how to dream and make your dream come true, according to one among the thousands who passed the Bar exams.

"Sa mga nangangarap po, hindi lang bilang isang abogado, ang maipapayo ko lang mangarap po kayo, matuto po kayong mangarap. Humingi po kayo ng gabay sa Panginoon at gawin niyo po yung pangarap ninyo," Ramil Comendador said in an interview on GMA News' "Unang Balita" on Thursday.

A former janitor at the Commission of Elections, Comendador, 35, passed the 2016 Bar Examinations.

He is currently an election assistant at the COMELEC in Malabon.

For Comendador, getting a college degree was his dream since no one in his family was able to do so. "'Yun po kasi talaga ang dream ko, makatapos ng pagaaral. So ginrab ko na 'yung opportunity na mag-night schooling po," he said.

"Ang goal ko, sabi ko po, maputol po 'yung cycle ng kahirapan. Kasi kung wala po isa sa pamilya na lalaban, patuloy po 'yun, yung anak nila maghihirap din, sunod-sunod po 'yun," he added.

After graduating from college with a degree in Public Administration, Comendador did not stop and kept pursuing his dream.

"Naisip ko po kung anong gagawin after ng office. Parang ayaw ko po magpahinga. Parang gusto ko po na ma-improve rin 'yung sarili ko. Tapos feeling ko, parang mas na-i-stress ako 'pag hindi ako nagbabasa. Parang gano'n po. Parang bakit hindi ko na lang gamitin sa mas importanteng bagay?" he said.

Comendador also took the Civil Service Examinations, noting that he was also fortunate to pass.

"Nasa private po ako noon, nagtatanong-tanong na ako kung papaano makakapasok sa government, ang sabi po nila, mag-take daw po ako ng Civil Service, ginawa ko naman po 'yun. Fortunately, nakapasa naman ako," he said.

He did not have a specific government agency in mind, saying that he was just a walk-in applicant at COMELEC. "Actually, wala pong specific na government agency, nagkataon lang po na ang dinaanan ko po sa Intramuros 'yung COMELEC po, so pinasok ko na po. Walk-in," he said.

Comendador said it was not easy to strike a balance between work and school. He said he was grateful to his colleagues who gave him law books that he could afford to buy.

"Mahirap po. Kasi, normally, 'yung klase namin sa law school, 5:30 p.m. o 6 p.m. So aalis naman ako sa office ng 5 p.m. Kailangan ko makipagpatintero sa mga sasakyan para mapaaga. Pero normally po ang dating ko sa aming classroom late na po talaga, kaya lagi akong tinatawag," he said.

"Isa po akong janitor so hindi po talaga ako makaka-afford bumili ng mga law books. Napakamamahal po ng law books. Buti na lang napakabubuti ng aking mga officemates," he added.

It took him 30 minutes before he was able to start answering the Bar exams, and had a difficult time the Constitutional Law section of the test.

"Ang pinakamahirap talaga sa akin 'yung unang subject po, Consti Law. Kasi doon po, nangyari, hindi ko po inaasahan na thirty minutes na po hindi pa ako nakakapagsulat," he said.

"Hindi ko po alam siguro fatigue. Na-excite na po ako. Ang ginawa ko po 'yung kanang kamay ko po talaga nagshe-shake na po siya at talagang hindi mo siya maisusulat, feeling ko nga po parang nag-lock siya, eh," he added.

Comendador said that he started to pray. "So nagdasal po ako. Sabi ko, 'Panginoon hayaan mong makapagsulat ako, kasi kailangan ko po talagang makapag-sulat. Ang ginawa ko po hinawakan po ng kaliwang kamay 'yung kanang kamay ko at diniin ko po doon sa papel para lang makapagsimula na."

He said his labors are dedicated to his family, his father whom he hasn't met ever since he was born.

"Para sa pamilya ko, lahat naman ng pinaghirapan ko para sa inyo to, eh. Lalong lalo na sa nanay ko na nagtiis at bumuhay sa aming mag-isa po. Pati na rin po sa mga anak ko, gusto kong makita nila 'yung improatansya ng edukasyon sa isang tao," he said.

"'Tay, gusto ko pong mabigyan pa tayo ng Panginoon ng pagkakataon na magkasama. Kasi po, sa too lang po, gusto ko ring maramdaman 'yung pakiramdam ng isang anak na may tatay. Para sayo din po 'yung kung ano mang nakuha ko ngayon," he added.

In the same interview, COMELEC Chairman Andres Bautista cited Comendador for his achievement.

"Sa COMELEC, talagang ang daming natutuwa dahil sa tagumpay ni Ramil. Talagang nakakataba ng puso ang kanyang kwento at kami naman sa COMELEC, lahat kami ay nakikiisa sa kanyang mga pangarap," Bautista said.

"Alam ko ngayon ay isa siyang election assistant namin sa Malabon at ngayon ay siya'y magiging abogado na, sana'y umakyat pa siya sa mga ranggo ng COMELEC," he added.

Comendador intends to continue working at the COMELEC. "Kasi napakalaki po ng utang na loob sa COMELEC kaya gusto ko pong magsilbi," he said.

Bautista hopes this story would inspire other COMELEC employees.

A total of 3,747 out of the 6,344 examinees passed the licensure exam, or a passing rate of 59.06 percent, the highest in recent years.

In an unprecedented development, the top-notchers came from provincial law schools, beating the law graduates from usual top-performing Metro Manila-based schools including the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo De Manila University. — Marlly Rome Bondoc/VDS, GMA News