Persistence matters: Three new lawyers who refused to quit after multiple Bar exam tries

The first time Eduardo Rivera Regio, 59, took the Bar Exam was in 1993 when takers still had to write their answers by hand. 

"Medyo pangit ang sulat ko. Then nauuna 'yung isip ko, naiiwan ang kamay ko sa pagsulat. So in my previous exams, marami akong mga erasures o kulang na words. Kaya lang, hindi mo na mabalikan," he told L!fe. "Now, [with the digital exam], puwede kang mag-edit."

In 2023, after nine tries, Regio almost made it, getting a score of 73.49.

It isn't just a dogged stubbornness that made Regio keep trying. He wanted to become a lawyer so he could help fix a broken system that ignores the ones on the wayside.

"Naging dream ko 'yun kasi anak mahirap lang ako. May mga na-encounter [ako] na 'yung 'pag wala kang pera, kayang-kaya kang anuhin ng mga may pera. Siyempre, 'di mo siya kayang labanan kung magkakasuhan man kayo," said Regio, who graduated from the University of Manila College of Law. 

"Tapos 'yung mga naging victims ng injustice, 'yung mga tinatanggal sa trabaho nang walang kalaban-laban dahil ordinaryong manggagawa lang," he added, counting those among the people he wanted to help. 

Having worked as a barangay official and now as a paralegal, Regio is no stranger to helping others. 

In 2013, after the Supreme Court lifted the five-strike rule barring five-time takers from trying again, Regio kept taking the Bar, with his fraternity brothers and family being his loudest cheerleaders. 

What broke Regio's 10-year drought was a simple strategy: he focused only on what he could handle. 

"Ang pinili ko lang [na basahin], 'yung kaya sa pagbasa ko; 'yung madali kong ma-absorb," said Regio, who can now read with only his left eye as his right has a cornea problem.

After going through the material for so many years, Regio, also a criminology graduate, was so familiar with the exam material and Constitution that he could tell which relevant provisions of the law, including article numbers, he needed to focus on. 

And Regio sailed right through on his 11th try. He is now looking to specialize in labor law.

Lawrence C. Lesangke: 6-time Bar taker 

For Lawrence Lesangke, 37, his long journey to pass the 2025 Bar Exam is especially poignant because becoming a lawyer was a dream he and his mother, who worked in family law, once shared.

Lesangke, who graduated from Bicol College School of Law, first took the Bar in 2013 and tried again a year later. In 2015, he sat for the exam once more—but this time, his mother decided to take it alongside him. Neither of them made it.

"I was already in Manila, working, when she found out the results," he told L!fe. "Tumawag siya. Sabi ko, 'Walang problema, Ma. We'll just have to try again."

But they were not able to... at least not together.  

In early 2017, they discovered his mother had stage 5 chronic kidney disease. Lesangke moved back to Daraga, Albay, to help his father care for her, still armed with his legal dream. A year later, in October, he took the bar again. That December, his father passed away from colon cancer.

Lesangke refused to bow to the odds stacked up against him. He looked for work locally, cared for his mother solo, sold what he could, and borrowed where he could—at one point, his debt had ballooned to around P2 million. 

For three years, Lesangke and his mother held on, postponing their plan to use his mother's retirement package to travel to Singapore. But in July 2020, she passed away. 

It was not the end of Lesangke's journey, however. In 2023, having been fired after refusing to lay off members of his staff, he borrowed money to, once again, take a refresher course and try for the Bar. He got 73; two points shy of the passing score.

A friend encouraged him to try one more time.

"I have a feeling na...it's for me to encourage a lot of people that no matter how difficult your life is, as long as it is in your heart that you are fated to become a lawyer, you can do it," Lesangke told L!fe. 

And on his sixth try, he did.

Jody Balantac: 6th time Bar taker

A mother of three with a full-time job, Jody Balantac's plate was full all six times she took the Bar Exam. But since her childhood dream was to follow the footsteps of her attorney father, she took it all in stride, leaning heavily on her faith and her huge support group.

For the past three years, Balantac's daily schedule was particularly rigorous. She woke up at 4 a.m. to prepare her kids for school and herself for work. She studied during her lunch break. After work, from 5 to 9 p.m., she took a refresher course, which is required of Bar retakers after the third time. Once home, she spent time with her husband and kids before bed.

"Kinaya ko lahat 'yun because of my family. And also my faith in God. Talagang si God din 'yung nagturo sa akin kung ano ang dapat kong gawin, kung papaano. And He sent people nga to help me rin," Balantac told L!fe. 

He sent plenty: Balantac's husband, eldest child (who is about to graduate from college and wants to be a lawyer, as well), father, sister, bosses at the Supreme Court, sorority sisters, and fraternity brothers all came together and pitched in whenever Balantac needed help.  

"Failing was the most difficult part. Having to face yourself after every failure, having to see my family being sad every time I didn't pass, it was very difficult," said Balantac, who graduated from San Sebastian College Recoletos. "Pero I pray a lot. So after every failure, nakikita ko po 'yung help din talaga. God send His angels para i-assist ako, i-help ako throughout my whole journey."

The expenses didn't help. Every time a Bar taker prepares and sits for an exam, they have to be ready to spend at least P150,000, which covers study materials, refresher courses, etc. 

As of writing, Balantac still hasn't completely recovered from the euphoria of passing the Bar. 

There is much to celebrate this week, with hundreds of new lawyers ready to keep justice in the country churning. And with Balantac, Lesangke, and Regio among them, armed with strong determination and fierce courage to never give up, it looks like the Philippine judicial system has a glimmer of hope.