Father and daughter took and passed the 2020-2021 bar exam together

A father and and his daughter have passed the 2020-2021 bar exam together!

In an email interview with GMA News Online, Atty. Regidor Yumul said he and his eldest daughter Atty. Anice Salvi Yumul took and passed the bar together.

Atty. Regidor said his daughter Atty. Anice not only passed the bar exam, she also had an exemplary rating.

"I am very elated and very thankful to GOD for making this happen. I felt the grace and generosity of GOD," he told GMA News Online. 

Despite the challenges that come with it, Atty. Regidor said he was able to finish law school and pass the exam with hard work and the support of his family to achieve his dream.

"Imagine at my age, he made it possible for me to still hurdle the bar. I have to admit that my mental faculty is not anymore at its prime," he said. 

"There are times that I'm experiencing that which we call memory lapse. Coupled it with the distinction that I passed the bar with my daughter at the same time," he added.

Atty. Regidor said he and his daughter have "different modes of review."

While Atty. Anice enrolled with an online review class, Atty. Regidor said he relied on his previous notes from the Legal Edge Review Center in 2019 and he listened to the audio and video lecture of Judge Gener Gito on different law subjects.

Atty. Anice said although she and her father studied apart, they "helped one another like those times when my dad did not understand the legal concepts or doctrines, he would video call me and we would discuss them." 

"There were also those times when we were on a road trip and my dad would just play the lectures on the radio and we would listen and learn together," Atty. Anice told GMA News Online.

Atty. Anice said she thinks being a lawyer runs in their blood. 

"My father and I had this intense passion for speaking up and fighting against injustice and abuse of power," she said.

"I am also very passionate about helping other people and all of these motivated me to become a lawyer," she added.

Atty. Regidor, who is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a licensed Real Estate Broker, said it has been his childhood dream to become a lawyer.

"I started my study of law when I was 46 years old. It was really my childhood dream to be a lawyer, but somehow along the way, my path to that dream took an askew when I was in college," he said.

Atty. Regidor said "an incident of oppression perpetuated on us by a big company rekindled my desire to pursue again the law profession."

"I resolved it to myself that I will help those who are similarly situated as we are, and those who have less in life, be never denied of justice just because they do not have the means," he said. 

Atty. Regidor having a daughter who will also be taking the bar examinations helped with his motivation.

However, he said "the main motivating factor to pursue and finish the race is my family." 

"My wife's support gave me the biggest motivation. When the going was tough, she egged me to continue," he said. 

"When I was contemplating on giving up due to the difficulties and rigors of law school, she prodded me to proceed further on," he added. "How can you quit when you can see that she was holding the fort while I am pursuing my dream."

"She was minding the store so to speak. How can I quit? I Cannot, in conscience, put all the efforts of my wife to naught. So it became my resolve to finish the race," he said.

On the other hand, Atty. Anice said knowing that her father will also take the bar exam motivated her to do her best.

"First of all, the pressure I felt was lessened, since I know that my father is going through what I am going through," she said.

"Second, when there were times that I felt like I wanted to break down, my father would always tell me 'Huwag mo akong artehan ng ganyan, pare -parehas nga tayong naghihirap dito. Ako nga nagtatrabaho para sa ating lahat, nagaaral pa ako,'" she added.

Atty. Anice said during these times she would always tell herself that her father is right.

"If he can do it, even while working to provide food for the family, to put my brother in med school, to put  us in law school, and to put my sister in special education, then perhaps I can really do it," she said.

According to the father-and-daughter, Atty. Anice is now employed in a prestigious law firm as a junior associate training to become a great litigation lawyer.

Meanwhile, Atty. Regidor said he will continue with their family business Yumul's Metaltech Industries co. while practicing law at the same time.

His daughter graduated from San Beda University while he graduated from the Philippine Law School. Both of them graduated in 2019. —JAB, GMA News.