USA Law lands high in Bar exams, reaches semi-finals in moot tilt

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The University of San Agustin-College of Law (USA Law) had a good weekend after an impressive showing in the 2022 Bar Examinations and a semifinal finish in a top moot court competition held in the United States.

A total of 67 out of 117 takers (57.26 percent) from USA Law passed the 2022 examinations, held on November 9, 13, 16, and 20, at various testing sites around the country.

The USA examinees took their tests in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Cagayan De Oro.

The Supreme Court, which administers these exams, also named USA as one of the top 5 schools in the country with 51 to 100 first-time takers, after 54 out of 85 first-takers (63.53 percent) hurdled one of the toughest examinations in the country.

In a Facebook post, USA Law Dean Jose Mari Benjamin Francisco Tirol addressed all exam takers, reminding them to rest and to remember their steps moving forward.

“Allow yourself time to adjust to your new reality. To take stock of your new situation, and to determine your next cause of action. Pass or fail, you will confront the same question: what will you do next?” Tirol said.

“Remember however that your results do not determine your personal circumstances nor your fate. Pass or fail, these merely provide you with pathways or options that lead all of you to the same goal: adherence to, and promotion of Justice and the Rule of Law. Service to community and society. What matters most is not the results, but what you do after. Padayon,” he added.

On Sunday morning (Philippine Standard Time), the 79-year-old law school added another feather to its cap after reaching the semifinals of the 27^th Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition (IEMCC), held in Gulfport, Florida, USA.

The team, composed of Blessie Marie Cawaling, Marco Giorgione Dava, Quemel Charles Malte, Rency Joseph Ponce de Leon, and Raphael Descartes Roldan, beat teams from Ukraine, India, Nepal, and the University of the Philippines College of Law during the preliminaries.

They beat a Brazilian team in the quarterfinals but lost out to another Indian team in the semifinals.

Dava was named as Best Oralist of the Preliminary Rounds while Cawaling placed Sixth Place Oralist.

Their “moot problem”, which forms the basis for their hypothetical legal arguments in front of a simulation of the International Court of Justice, dealt with issues on deep-sea mining and state responsibility in relation to environmental law.

To this, Tirol said in another Facebook post, “A product not of destiny. But of hard work and teamwork. Of commitment and consistency. And of our goal to further improve ourselves. For our own sakes. And for our University, our City, and our Country.”

The USA Law team emerged as regional champions in the South-East Asian Regional Rounds of the 27^th IEMCC last February.

The dean also told Daily Guardian that the Bar Exams and moot court competitions together proved how “the value of hard work” would pay off.

“We have always believed in and promoted the value of teamwork and hard work. For us, the performance of our first-timers and all our bar candidates in the 2022 Bar Examinations, and of our Moot Court Team and oralists in Florida, proves that we are doing something right: in the short term, to mentor law students; in the medium term to produce capable, competent, and ethical Augustinian lawyers; and in the longer term, to produce lawyers who are imbibed with and are advocates of Justice, the Rule of Law, all working to uplift and improve our society,” he said.