“It’s never too late to follow your dreams, and there’s no time like the present to start,” as the saying goes. Indeed, it’s never too late for anyone to achieve his or her dreams, even at the age of 87.
A native of Tacloban, 87-year-old Ibarra Mariano is one of the oldest among the 8,701 takers of the bar exam this year.
He was one of the first examinees to come out of the exam venue, University of Santo Tomas, after finishing the second set of the Bar last weekend.
Unknown to many, the 87-year-old man is already an accomplished individual. Retired Police Colonel Ibarra Mariano served the Philippine National Police (previously Philippine Constabulary) for decades and currently teaches combat training lectures to the police in schools.
“It is not really that hard but it is confusing and time consuming. All the important provisions of law are not even asked in the bar [examination],” Mariano told ABS-CBN News, referring to the Civil and Taxation Law part of the Bar exams.
Mariano graduated in the Philippine Law School back in 1967, and only had the opportunity to take the bar examination after retiring in 1995. Unfortunately, he failed the first time.
Now on his second attempt and 51 years after school, Mariano is still determined to become a lawyer “to help other people, especially the unruly cops.”
“Hindi na tayo bumabata. I wanted to become a lawyer before I die. That’s why I took the interest to take it now [while] I can still write, I can still walk around alone,” he said.
At the age of 87, what worries Mariano is his handwriting—which he hopes the Bar examiners would comprehend.
“I have a problem with my right hand. Sometimes it’s aching. Even orthopedic doctor wanted to operate me but I said no, I may not be able to write during the exam so the operation will be done after the examination,” he said.
“I am praying to God that I’ll be given good health to finish the bar examination so that, I hope, I become a lawyer by next year,” Mariano concluded.
Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN News
