BAR EXAM GUIDE
by: DKSOCAMPO
CAVEAT: This is just a guide, I suggest if you can develop and organize your own bar methods/technique,
then that is better. This may not be applicable to some but this proved effective to me, so here, I’m
sharing it with you, guys!
Q: HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU STUDY PER DAY?
A: During my first few weeks, I tried to stretch my patience at around 12hours per day excluding my
lunch break, snack, and coffee breaks. So nakaka-gross ako ng around 16hours a day. Four hours for my
necessities. Kaso naisip ko sobrang exhausting. Ang layo pa ng bar baka ma-burn out ako, so I reduced it
to 10 hours per day. 4 hours in the morning, 4 hours in the afternoon, then two hours sa evening after
my dinner. Then nung BER Months na, nag-reduce ako ulit to 8 hours per day.
Sa una, napakahirap pero masasanay din ang brain cells niyo, lol. It will take about two weeks to develop
a study habit so I suggest that you work on it as soon as possible.
Q: DO YOU HAVE A STUDY PATTERN?
Yes, I’ve answered the bar syllabus. Sinulat ko lahat ng sagot sa comprehensive notebook. Good training
na din to work on my penmanship at para masanay na din ako magsulat. After my review, nagulat ako
kasi almost 60 notebooks ang nagamit ko sa bar subjects.
So here, Exhibit A. Medyo
madami din akong
nagamit na
comprehensive
notebooks. Ito na din ang
ginamit ko nung second
reading ko at pre-week
then codal.
Q: DID YOU ATTEND LECTURES?
A: Yes, but most of the time nagbabasa ako. 20 minutes lang kasi ang attention span ko. I’ve completed
the lectures of Prof. Carlo Cruz in Poli and Atty. Kit Villas in REM. I’ve attended some of the lectures of
Atty. Elmer Rabuya in Civ and Atty. Pearlito Campanilla in Labor. Umattend din ako sa special lecture ni
Atty. Tranquil Salvador sa REM.
So here are the pros and cons of attending a lecture.
1. If you attend, you’ll have a guide plus it will confirm kung tama ang idea o pagkakaintindi mo sa
isang topic. If you’ll not attend, more time of studying. Right then and there kung gusto mong
kabisaduhin yung nabasa mo, magagawa mo. (Btw, mahilig kasi talaga ako magmemorize kahit
nung nasa law school pa);
2. If you attend lectures, medyo light lang ang dating. All you have to do is to listen. If you will not
attend, intense ang magiging aral mo palagi.
3. Nakakaantok ang lectures, lalo na kung sobrang boring ng lecturer. Plus, kung katulad niyo
akong mahina ang pandinig, sobrang hirap magtake down ng notes.
4. Kung mag-aaral ka naman mag-isa, you have to keep up your pace, kailangan sabayan mo ang
schedule ng bar review, otherwise, hindi ka makakayari ng subject.
Q: DID YOU FINISH THE BAR SYLLABUS?
A: Honestly, hindi. May mga nilaktawan ako na feeling ko suntok sa buwan itanong. So, pano ba
malalaman kung pwedeng itanong o hindi, you also read previous bar questions. May mga suki diyan na
paulit ulit tinatanong sa bar. Scan lang and browse kahit ‘wag niyo na basahin ang sagot kasi minsan
yung sagot modified na ng Supreme Court or na-reverse na ang ruling, mamaya mailto pa kayo.
Familiarization lang.
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR BAR REVIEW MATERIALS?
1. POLI - UST GOLDEN NOTES (MAIN MATERIAL)
UNLI CODAL (I’ve memorized Art. III, VI, VII, and VIII)
2. LABOR - UST GOLDEN NOTES (MAIN MATERIAL)
AZUCENA, Everyone’s Labor Law (Binili ko ‘to kasi natsismis na si Azu ang
examiner namin, nanghinayang lang ako sana Chan nalang ang binili ko)
UNLI CODAL (I’ve memorized important provisions)
Also please memorize Art. XIII of the Constitution, by heart.
3. CIVIL - JURADO (MAIN MATERIAL)
UST GOLDEN NOTES (FOR UPDATED CASES)
UNLI CODAL (Mostly minemorize ko dito provisions ng Family Code, Persons,
and Oblicon; then some provisions of Special Contracts)
4. TAX - DR. VIRGINIA JEANNIE LIM (MAIN MATERIAL)
UST GOLDEN NOTES (SUPPLEMENTAL)
NO CODAL
5. MERC - DIMAAMPAO (MAIN MATERIAL)
UST GOLDEN NOTES (FOR UPDATED CASES)
MIRAVITE (BAR Qs)
NO CODAL
(As you can see, ang dami kong material na ginamit dito kasi waterloo ko ‘to
nung law school, tapos 15% pa sa bar kaya nagfocus ako dito)
6. CRIM - CAMPANILLA VOL. I and II (MAIN MATERIAL)
UNLI CODAL (I’ve memorized important provisions like Art. 1 – 20, then I’ve
memorized the table of contents to familiarize myself with all the other crimes
enumerated in Book II)
7. REM - RIGUERA VOL. I and II (MAIN MATERIAL)
UNLI CODAL (I’ve memorized important provisions, especially Civil procedure,
Crim procedure, and Evidence.)
8. ETHICS - I’ve only used the UST Pre-week notes. Hindi ko ‘to nireview buong season, yung
Saturday lang before mag last Sunday, haha. Basta, in answering Ethics, just use
your conscience. Nagmemorize din ako ng canons and lawyer’s oath. Siguro mga
10 Canons ang baon ko.
Q: HOW DID YOU CALENDAR YOUR BAR REVIEW?
A: Basta sinabayan ko lang yung sa UP. I make sure na kahit hindi ako umaattend ng lectures,
nakasabbay ako kasi nagtetake ako ng Mock Bar.
Q: DID YOU TAKE ANY VITAMINS?
A: Okay, gumamit ako ng brain supplement from GNC. Hindi ko rerecommend kasi ang mahal,
hahahaha. Pero alam mo ‘yun, desperate moves in desperate times kaya sige. Go. Naka four bottles ako,
I think naka 15k din kami dito, lol. Ginamit ko na ‘yun for the whole six months. Ang pangalan nung brain
supplement ‘BrainSpeed’. I think effective naman siya kaya alert parin ako kahit ang tagal ko na
nagbabasa.
Q: HOW WAS UP REVIEW CENTER?
A: Okay naman ang UP, ako personally I would recommend it to you. Ganda ng facility at parang feeling
mo nasa probinsiya ka lang din. Ako kasi I don’t care kung sino man ang lecturers kasi hindi naman nga
ako umaattend ng lectures, haha. Inenjoy ko lang ang library at ‘yung masarap na isaw ni Mang Larry.
‘yun lang. Well, for me ha. Para sa akin lang. Kung wala kang displina na kagaya ko, maghanap ka ng
review center na may magandang library facility kasi nakakahawa ng kasipagan ang mga estudyante nila,
lol.
Q: DID YOU ENROLL TO ANOTHER REVIEW CENTER?
A: Hindi siya review center e, pero bar coach and mentor ko siya. Dun ako natuto magspot ng issue at
kung pano ma-improve ang reasoning ability ko. Search niyo lang sa FB: Bar Coaching and Mentorship, si
Dean Ralph Sarmiento mismo ang magmementor sa inyo.
***SPECIAL POINTERS
1. ALWAYS PRAY. Before you start reading, magdasal kayo ng mabuti. Ipagdasal niyo na sana yung
mabubuklat niyo, relevant sa itatanong sa bar.
2. DO NOT DEPRIVE YOURSELF. If you are hungry, then eat. If you need to rest, then sleep. Ako pag
pagod na natutulog ako sa library, isang power nap 30 – 45 minutes, sobrang sarap sa feeling
parang akong bagong panganak.
3. ALWAYS REMEMBER WHY YOU ARE THERE. Una, andiyan ka para magreview at mag-aral, hindi
para magbulakbol. Andiyan ka para tuparin ang mga pangarap mo. Ilaban mo na. Ibigay mo na
‘yung 100% mo.
4. MASTERY IS THE KEY. Hindi ‘yan padamihan ng materials at padamihan ng nabasa. You only
need one material and you have to master it, by heart and soul. So, necessary ba talaga ang
second reading? Ako personally, YES. BIG YES. Pero ang ginawa ko sa second reading, sariling
notes nalang. Then I had my last or third reading nung pre-week. So, sum it up, I had three
readings. First reading, yung original materials. Second and third readings, notes and codals.
5. I will share with you here some of my answers during our mock bar in UP.
