By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. 

“Becoming a topnotcher in the bar examination is an answered prayer. I achieved this goal because of having a personal intimate relationship with God, being disciplined, and ensuring that my mind is always in the state of absorption.” 

This is what Atty. Jether K. Corpuz had to say for making history in the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), having ranked 12 in the 2022 Bar Examinations. He is one of the nine passers from MMSU who posted an impressive 75% institutional passing rate, making the university the fifth top-performing school in the Philippines with 11-50 examinees. 

In an interview, Atty. Jether said he was able to endure all the trials in his studies and in the bar review because of his devotion to God and discipline in his academic journey. 

“I spend devotional time daily, and I focus on doing what is important. I also make sure that I am capable of understanding all the concepts and questions being asked [in my law classes and during bar review], he said. 

He said that the biggest factor in passing the bar exam is the examinees themselves, because of the circumstances of losing momentum and feelings of being unworthy and inadequate. “[But] you just have to do what you need to do, get back in the fight, and do it,” he beamed. 

Celebrating his feat, the bar topnotcher said he dedicates his achievement to God, his family, to the university, and his law professors. “All of them form a large part of who I am right now. They are part of this victory,” he expressed. 

When asked about what makes MMSU-COL continuously produce excellent law graduates, he shared that it is the quality of teaching that its law professors provide, and the standard of academic excellence that the state university upholds. 

“Studying law is not for everyone. Taking up law should be your personal ambition, and the most important lesson you will learn in law school is that you must be humble,” he shared to those who aspire to become a lawyer. 

After his recent victory, the bar topnotcher from MMSU expressed hope to serve as a lawyer or a law professor in Ilocos Norte in the future. 

“I am praying for an opportunity to get back to Ilocos Norte and contribute somehow, maybe by teaching at the MMSU College of Law, or by handling some cases [in the province], he expressed.  

Currently, the 24-year-old barrister is gaining experience in law practice by serving as associate attorney at the Ganan Law Office in Sta. Ana, Manila. 

Born on July 3, 1998 in Las Piñas City, Atty. Jether is the eldest son of Armand and Agnes Corpuz. His father is a missionary pastor, while his mother is a values education instructor and missionary of the Level Up Ministries Philippines based in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte. In the course of his study and his family’s church missionary, they resided at barangays San Francisco and Bingao in San Nicolas, barangay 51-B Nangalisan in Laoag City, and in barangays Quiling Sur and Aglipay in Batac, Ilocos Norte. 

He graduated with a degree of information technology at the AMA Computer College, Laoag City in 2017. Immediately, he took up law at the MMSU-COL and graduated in 2022. 

In the past, MMSU also produced two exemplary performers in the 2020/2021 bar examinations: Atty. Ofe Marie L. Balalio and Atty. Czarina Mae Claudine F. Cid. (JVBT/StratCom)