Graduation issue Class of 2012

Delivering news that matters, as it happens

2012 GRADUATION ISSUE

ANIMO SAN BEDA:

The Bequeathing of the Hood and the Cap

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Ulpiano Sarmiento III Dean

Dom Clement Ma. Roque, OSB Rector-President

A much deserved congratulations to It is with distinct pride and plea-

you all!

The time you’ve spent with us has been fraught with many challenges and much hardship. But with admirable courage, fortitude, passion and determination, you’ve conquered them all, and come away the better for it – stronger, wiser, and ready to take on the Bar and beyond. This is your hard-won triumph; enjoy it!

It is with no small pride or joy that we, your mentors, watch you depart. As it is for parents whose children, carefully nurtured and prepared, finally grow into their own, so it is for us who now watch you make your mark upon the world. You leave this institution honed by unyielding moral standards and years of hard work and dogged effort in one of the best legal education programs in the country, more than certain to find success wherever life may lead you. As we have guided you, so now must you guide others, as righteous leaders and counsel worthy of respect and trust. You’ve earned the privilege and the responsibility of being a Bedan law student – do what is just, have faith in yourself, and trust in God, and you’ll surely find your way.

Good luck, God bless, and make us proud!

Atty. Bruce V. Rivera Prefect of Students

“A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall.”

This is from a fable about the contrasting traits of the Oak, which boasts and holds its head high, and the Reed, which bends with the force of the wind.

Against an angry storm, the Oak stands rigidly and is uprooted; the Reed bends and, once the storm has passed over, stands upright again.

To my dear graduates: congratulations! I could not be prouder of the feats you have accomplished and the persons you have become. My heart swells with pride as I see how you have weathered the many tempests we have subjected you to, like the pliant Reed instead of the unseasonably proud Oak. Success in one’s endeavors is not achieved by sheer strength or resistance alone. Nor does it come with haughty self-righteousness or selfimportance. It also takes patience, endurance, resilience, and enough grace to acknowledge that one must sometimes be humbled and bowed to truly understand what it means to win.

Now, here you are. The storm is over, and you stand tall and unbroken.

There will always be strong winds and storms along the way, but I am confident that you will surmount these as you have done here in SBCA – SOL. And as we send you off to yet another challenge looming in the horizon, I wish you all the best. As an Irish blessing goes, “May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.”

Now go fight and make us proud.

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sure that I congratulate you on the 2nd Commencement Exercise of the School of Law. I join you, your parents and loved ones in celebrating this joyful occasion.

During your stay in law school, you received a Bedan education that is rooted in the best tradition of academic excellence and in the formation of Catholic, Benedictine, and Filipino values. I am confident that, with your solid training in the law by the best law professors in the country, and with a strong foundation in Catholic, Benedictine, and Filipino values, you will ably conquer the challenges brought before you, especially the Bar Examinations, and, as future professionals, you will be able to transform our society so that it becomes a place where our people may live in justice, peace, and security.

I thank and congratulate Dean Ulan Sarmiento III, Prefect of Student Affairs Atty. Bruce V. Rivera, the members of the faculty, and the service personnel for their unselfish dedication in forming you as Bedan lawyers. I thank and congratulate your parents and guardians for the trust and support they have given you.

Through the intercession of our Lady of Montserrat, St. Benedict, St. Bede, and St. Thomas More, the patron of lawyers, judges, and politicians, may the Sto. Nino continue to bless, guide and protect you as you prepare for the bar exams, and as you practice your legal profession in the future.

Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno The Red Chronicles Faculty Adviser

It is with much pride and hope that I congratulate you, Dear San Beda Alabang graduates, on your graduation day.

The batches before you have brought much honor to our School of Law. Having known you in your entire residency in the School and having seen your dedication and commitment to becoming lawyers, I do not doubt that you will carry on the same tradition of excellence our School has started. Perhaps, you will even exceed all expectations!

But as you endeavor to pass the bar, please remember that passing it is not the end-all and the be-all. It is just a door that you have to pass through so that you will have the opportunity to serve our country and our people, using the skills you have learned in legal advocacy.

Be good lawyers with integrity and higher purpose.

Your Alma Mater will forever be proud of you!

Amerissa D. Base

Valedictorian, Class of 2012

I came from the law school nestled between the seat of power, Malacanang, and venue for protest, Mendiola. But due to personal and pragmatic reasons, I decided to transfer to San Beda College- Alabang School of Law. Aside from adjusting to the fresh air because I was used to the smog permeating the atmosphere, the transition was not as difficult as I dreaded it to be.

The students and the administration were so friendly, they rival the natives of Bacolod. In that moment I knew that, indeed, I was in the happiest law school in the universe.

It is in San Beda College Alabang where I saw many a men consumed by the most jealous and exacting mistress-the study of law. Students were able to concoct a weird but delicious mix of coffee, beer, Cobra and Bacchus far better than professional baristas to stay awake until the wee hours of the morning, just to spend time with Regalado. But it is also where I met students who had the uncanny ability to multi-task between their personal life and law school. I learned a lot from all of them, and for that I am immensely grateful.

It is in San Beda College Alabang where the adage “dream big, start small” came to realization. The school has started with fourteen graduates, and now it has produced numerous lawyers, including a topnotcher who is an inspiration to many. The organizations like the Red Chronicles, Debate Society and the Academic and Hotel Bar Operations started small, too. Indeed, every vision that has been actualized started with humble beginnings. The first year students will someday be graduates, then lawyers, and then catalysts for reforms in our society.

It is where I have been given an opportunity to be taught by brilliant professors and mentors, including Atty. Romeo Batino, who reminded us that a lawyer is not measured by the sheer number of cases he has won, but by how many lives he has touched. That, no matter how cliché it may seem, goodbyes are not the end but they simply mean until we meet again.

It is where I have proved that Chief Justice Puno is correct, that “while man is finite, he seeks and subscribes to the Infinite.” We have relied on God and in turn, He has been with us in all our triumphs, pains and hardships, throughout our years in this institution. While we have hurdled law school, there are more challenges for us to overcome and more things to learn. And in the next chapter of our lives, as we face the future Estelito Mendozas or Justice Serafin Cuevas (or even the actual ones) and all the other obstacles outside the law profession, we will fear nothing, because we know that despite our shortcomings, He will be with us.

Joseph Nelson Q. Loyola Salutatorian, Class of 2012

Sa lahat ng sumuporta Sa lahat ng nagdikta Sa lahat ng nagpahiram ng bolpeng walang tinta

Sa mga nangutya At sa mga naniwala Sa mga nagdasal araw-araw kay Bathala

Sa mga nagalit At mga lumapit Sa mga nakasama nang kahit ilang saglit

Sa mga nagpautang ng walang interes Sa mga kaibigang naasar at nagtiis

Sa mga kinupitan ng yosi at lighter Sa mga kinopyahan ng notes at reviewer Sa mga namigay ng yellow pad sa tuwing may quiz At sa mga pumayag sa hiling na “5 minutes pa please!”

Sa mga umintindi At sa mga nangunsinti At sa mga pumiling pahalagahan ang sarili

Sa aking pamilyang gabay sa bawat problema At sa aking nobyang walang tigil sa pagsuporta Sa institusyong humubog mula pagkabata Sa mga propesor na tuluyang naghasa ng mga sandatang gagamitin sa gyera, taglay ang paninindigang ora et labora Maraming salamat at lubos na paumanhin Kung ako’y isang taong hindi ninyo akalain.

Kayo’y mananatili sa puso’t isipan at para sa inyo, ako’y buong pusong lalaban.

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Congratulations

Batch 2012

The Red Chronicles Salutes The Graduates of

2012

EL FIN.

Aretha M. Eugenio Editor-in-Chief 2011-2012 Every general rule has an exception.

I can still remember my first week in the School of Law. I met new people, formed study groups, and hung out with a new clique. It was a rainy Wednesday evening when we first met with our professor and everyone was just as apprehensive as I was. Our professor, in his intimidating stance and quite possibly, in all his legal glory, started class by asking, “Who among you went to law school because your parents said so?

Because your parents are in the legal profession?” Around ten of us raised our hands.

To this, he replied, “If you are not doing it for yourself, you better quit now because you will not make it.”

I could have simply dropped all my subjects back then and just quit law school. But his statement, however chilling, however initially disheartening, actually motivated me to go through with it. As I went out of class that night, all I could tell myself was, “I will be the exception to the general rule”.

I must admit that law school was not at all kind to me. If anything, it was painfully gruesome and every single day made me want to just give up. The failures and the unmet expectations were much too heavy for my self-esteem to bear. They were too much for my heart. There were circumstances that surely tried to break my spirit, instances that tried to unglue my resolve, which I was not even sure I had in the beginning.

But I had to constantly remind myself that when I took the admission test in this institution, I had a vision. Of course, being a Bedan lawyer was such an obvious goal, but more than anything, I wanted to make my family proud. I wanted to make my father proud.

They say following in the footsteps of your parents is such a cliché. Not for me. I was never forced into law school, but it was not something that I wanted from the beginning either.

So, on those countless days when everything was just so hard on me, my only option was to just quit. To go another route.

But when I am reminded of how my dad’s face would light up every single time he proudly told his peers that his daughter is in law school, it was more than enough. It was more than enough to fuel my drive and to get me back on my feet (and my study table, naturally).

The six years I spent in law school felt like a perpetual roller coaster ride, made more surreal in that there were several humps and bumps. And with each rut that I found myself in, there were people who, though not obligated, never left my side. As my rollercoaster journey into law school ends today, I would like to take this priceless opportunity to say thank to those who have been part of my law school story.

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To Bossman, my source of strength, thank you for trusting me too much; the trials you have given me have molded me into a better Christian. To my professors in the School of Law, thank you for the knowledge that you have shared with me; there are not enough words to express how it feels to have finally earned your trust. To my law school rocks, Hazel and Mari, thank you for being there when no one else would; I cannot imagine how I could have survived law school without the both of you. To my Katarungan family, I am lucky to have found people who share the same principles; your support and belief in me served as a motivation to strive harder after a failure. To my Thursday Club family, you are my blessings in disguise; the bond that we share is incomparable. To my first family, Dugie, Mela, and SY, you kept me sane when everything was hazy; thank you for believing in me even in those times when I seriously doubted myself. Never forget that we will be allies always, in all ways.

To my family, thank you for your undying support; thank you for crying with me in defeat, and rejoicing with me in success.

This is all for you. To my siblings, this is me, taking one for our team. This is me, making you proud. I love you. You are my favorite people in the world.

Lastly, to the editors, writers, layout artists, photographers, cartoonists, and logistics team of The Red Chronicles, thank you for sharing my love and passion for the written word.

I cannot express how grateful I am for having been given the opportunity to work with all of you. Your hard work and commitment to make this publication a cut above the rest are remarkable. I hope you continue to be as dedicated and passionate to making TRC unparalleled and unsurpassed. We are indeed the best and the happiest organization in the School of Law, and so let the other organizations fight for the number two spot (hahaha). We are a fraternity, sorority, and a family, all rolled into one. I am, and will always be, proud of you. I love you all to the moon and back.

As I take a bow for my curtain call, I leave everything but the memories and the lessons I have learned. These will be my armor, my weapons, for when I face another journey to fulfill my dreams. And if asked how I would describe my life in the School of Law, I would say law school was a lot like love. It makes you. It breaks you, and then oddly enough, restores you back into life.

To my fellow graduates, congratulations and good luck.

With the support of everyone we hold dear and the One who never failed us, we did it. We are all one step closer to becoming Bedan lawyers. We are all one step closer to fulfilling another dream.

My Last Curtain Call Humility, perhaps, is the most hardly ever used virtue. In a time and place where confidence is seen as an advantage for a better career or a better life, we all have forgotten the meaning of humility especially in a profession that instills confidence.

But what does it truly mean to be humble? Do we have to give up our beliefs and accept defeat?

Humility is a virtue earned and never wasted. I grew up with my mother, our sole bread winner reminding us each day to thank God for our blessings and remain humble despite our success and even our failures. As she would always say, it is easier for a humble man to fall, than a proud man to accept his mistakes. It is through humility that we see ourselves as mortals, humanized by our fragile heart and the meekness of our ego. Humility is not synonymous to defeat, it is recognizing our accomplishment and appreciating every ounce of it, with the blood and sweat that we have given up, but with our feet still on the ground.

For the graduates of 2012, I pose this challenge: to remain humble despite our success and remember the unending trials of each day and each year in law school. As we painstakingly took each day and paved our way through this dream, let us remain humble. It is just the beginning for us, may we be welcomed to the legal profession with our heads down and our hearts held up high, to do good and serve our fellow men as true Bedan lawyers, just as how our Lord have served and sacrificed for us.

We thank all the people that have helped us and never stopped believing in us, and those that have doubted our capabilities, let us take it as a challenge, a simple bump to motivate us further and push to our success. It is at these times that our beliefs may have crumbled, but our faith remains as true Bedans with work and prayer. It is only through God that we become the best of ourselves, and it is all things in Him that we act for His glory.

I thank the Lord God, for guiding me, and for giving me the strength to never give up despite the numerous trials through out my journey.

I personally thank my mother, a super woman—raising three children on her own, a cancer survivor, a faithful Christian, for her sacrifices and for never losing hope in life. Each day is a blessing to have her. For my family, my Dad who I pray would get better, my young siblings Renee and Lance, it’s your turn to make Mom proud next year.

I thank The SBCA-SOL Administration and all my professors, especially those that have inspired me and despite all the failures, have given me the chance to

Mary Sayeh R. Hassani Editor-in-Chief 2009-2011

do better. For Ma’am Zarah, Justice Dimaampao and Commissioner Sarmiento, for reminding us to be humble even during our review days. For Dean Jara, Dean Sundiang and Atty. Amurao, the hard times were all worth it, we will never forget what you have taught us. Thank you, Judge Wagan, for your kind heart; to Judge Palamos, Sir Bruce, Sir Rocky and Dean Ulan for welcoming us into the San Beda Alabang family and for your trust and confidence, we will not fail you.

I would also like to thank my “Agency” barkada, soon we will have three lawyers. For my OFW BFF’s Hana, Tatin and Amir, I hope you could be with me this time. Thank you for always believing in me and keeping me sane. For my SkewU Skews and Sizzlers family Kuya Dennis and Ate Vive, in our attempt to be young entrepreneurs and multi slashies, to my BFF, business and future law firm partner Atty. Veronique Singson, thank you for having faith in me.

Thank you to my Beda Alabang team mates, especially Kalay for being a friend since day one in Alabang, our team captain Eka for the motivation, Julie, Che, Coach BJ and Issa, it was a privilege working with you guys. To my GJ study buddies RA and Cas, thank you for our grave yard study sessions.

To my old The Barrister family, my first EIC Atty. Pambie Herrera for inspiring me to be a slave of the red ink, to Grace, Ada, Kai, Pam D., our first times at presswork were truly priceless. For my The Red Chronicles family, I am so proud to have worked with you guys and to have spent numerous sleepless nights of presswork with such a wonderful and talented team. From the past and present editorial board, to Andie, Sy and Melki, Argel, Joan and Kat thank you for staying with us from the beginning. Thank you to our Muffins, Teta, for being the best managing editor of our time, and for pushing TRC even further. I would not have survived Senior year without you; Lai, our future EIC, I have always believed in your capabilities; Sam, thanks for the laughs and together with Dingdong, for our sleepless nights doing lay out. To Joey, thank you on and off the court; to Dugie and Jeamie for our friendship even outside the office; to Rio, for the wonderful literature, and Carlo our first baby graphic artist. To Chuck, Mau and Migs, our most talented photographers. To our honorary layout artists, Annie and Flip, for pushing us forward. And to Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno, our wonderful faculty adviser who has always been a mother to us, for guiding us every year and listening to our simplest woes. Thank you very much.

And as we start our new journey as barristers for 2012, I pray to God that we earn our wisdom. And as for humility, to accept our future success with meekness, as we are one step away from our dreams.

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Raymond George L. Santos Estrella

Writer

My stay in law school and the people I have the most grati-

“

Laida May P. Isidro Writer

“

Failure is Just a Detour Not a Dead End Street.

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- ZIG SIZGLAR

tude for can be best summed up in the following parable. At the gates of heaven, there were several architects, lawyers, doctors, and a teacher waiting to be let in by St. Peter. To determine who would enter heaven first, St. Peter began questioning them about their good works during their lifetime. He asked the architects, “What have you done for others?” The architects began enumerating the buildings they had designed and built, including the low-cost housing for the poor. St. Peter was impressed. He then asked the lawyers what they have done in their lives. They enumerated those they defended and the innocent people they fought for in court. Again, he was impressed. Afterwards, St. Peter asked the doctors why they deserved to go first. They recited the lives they had saved. At this, the gatekeeper was doubly happy. He then asked the single teacher in the crowd, “And what have you done with your life?” To which the teacher answered, “You see this crowd gathered here? They were all my students!” At this, St. Peter ushered the teacher ahead of all the others.

Michael Joseph J. Lorico

Writer

“Pare, masakit yung dinaanan mo last year, pero humanga ako sa iyo kasi tumayo ka ulit para lumaban.” – TJ Cabasa, 2012

I started law school in 2005, and after marriage, two kids, several failing grades and seven years, I am finally graduating.

If there is one lesson I am taking with me from law school, it is that if you want something that bad, quitting should never be an option.

There have been so many would-haves, could-haves and shouldhaves in law school. That class I would have passed if I had just studied past exams; the recitation that I could have perfected had I read the last case; or that subject I should have passed but, for some unknown reason, had failed.

The experience has given me a smorgasbord of failures to last me my entire lifetime, but one thing I can proudly say about it is that I just kept getting up. Every failure hurt, and it took every ounce of me to pick myself up again. When taking the easy way out seemed to be the best option, I never gave in. Now that I am graduating, I look back at everything, smile and say, “Every failure just made this success so damn worth it.”

Beda’s Own Battle Royale

By Chris Ian Silva Logistics

Battle Royale is a Japanese novel that revolves around students fighting each other to death, which is quite similar to Hunger Games. In comparison to law school, the latter is one big battlefield where only the strong survive and only a few get the coveted diploma. Students fighting each other for the finish line and for self-survival are typical scenarios in law school. Everybody hungers for success and the pressure to survive forces one to eliminate the competition. But at the end of the day, you realize that you and the others are in fact one. Survival is the second law of life. The first is that we are all one.

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Merci beaucoup. Kamsahamnida. Mahalo. Dank schön.

Grazie. Xie xie. Cám ơn. Arigatō Gozaimasu. Thank you.

Atty. Theo Joseph N. Cabasa & Atty. Maria Anna Irene B. Guzman Writers

One’s appreciation can be translated in different languages. But no matter how you say it, the meaning is still the same. It is the fact of saying it or showing it that makes the difference.

First and foremost, we would like to thank our Almighty Father. Without Your strength, guidance and wisdom, we would never have accomplished our dreams and aspirations. Truly, You are majestic, powerful, merciful, and loving.

We thank our alma mater, San Beda College Alabang, for the excellent education. It is within the halls of this reputed institution where we first met in high school, fell in love, and as they say, the rest is history. Thank you for the bonus of having found our better halves.

We also thank our families for the unfaltering love and support.

We thank our professors in law school, Dean Sarmiento, and Vice-Dean Delson, and most especially, Judge Palamos, Judge Wagan, Judge Alaras, Judge Paño, and Atty. Rivera for always believing in us.

For that, we are forever grateful. To Atty. Villanueva-Castro and Atty. Cabaneiro, thank you for making us go through the eye of the needle before allowing us to graduate. It was really a humbling experience for us.

We thank our dear friends who stood by us through the best and worst of times.

A lot of words could express our gratitude, but we would like to simply say, SALAMAT!

Atty. General Du Writer

First of all, I would like to thank my friends: Argel, Miguel, Anna, Tj, Pao, SY, Chuck, Ann, Ian, Nessa, Istay, Teta and Ron for taking up arms with me in battling the evil MCQ army of the Supreme Court. May A, B, C and D rest in peace. I would also like to thank my fraternity brothers for the support, food, sleepless nights, beer, and hotel accommodation subsidy. To Atty. Amurao, thank you for giving me the chance to prove myself. Criminal Law is now my favorite subject because of you, and I am currently planning on writing a book titled, Criminal Law for the Criminal Minds. I give my heartfelt gratitude to Atty. Rivera and Judge Palamos for helping me convince Atty. Amurao to take a gamble on me. To Atty. Nic Jimeno, thank you for believing in me, especially during those times when almost everyone doubted my capabilities. To Dean Ulan, Vice Dean Delson, and the rest of the SBCA faculty, thank you for all the guidance, knowledge, and support. Lastly, I would like to thank the following establishments: Starbucks for the overpriced coffee, repeat jazz and blues music, and noisy college students; Kowloon House for their wanton mami, asado siopao, and siomai; KFC bucket meal, it’s finger-lickin good; Dra. Vicki Belo for my skin; and Timex for my watch. Kidding aside, sa lahat ng tumulong, nagpuyat, at nagpagod, MARAMING SALAMAT PO.

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Atty. Melquisedic Maitim Associate Editor, 2010-2011

Today I became a TV star.

My life has been warped into that of a lead character on many US legal TV series that I love watching. I’m head butting with big corporAtions, taking on crazy clients with ADD, getting caught in between armed cops and suspects in handcuffs while standing tall amidst persons eager to find legal relief. I’m so engrossed in thinking of my next move, my proof, my legal bases, that I often pass by entrances and exits. No matter. My sense of direction in my pleadings makes sense anyway. That’s more important.

So far, I love being a lawyer.

A year ago I was trying to graduate. Ten months ago I was attempting to pass the bar.

Two months ago I was paranoid that I failed the bar exams. But I didn’t.

I passed the bar. It wasn’t because of the rainbow I saw on the first week of November, or the fact that my barrister ID number was 11111. It was partly because I reviewed for a few months before the bar. But mostly it was because I studied as a law student in San Beda Alabang. The screening process in school should have been enough assurance for me. But it wasn’t until I passed when I realized this. I was crippled with doubt until the results came out.

Thank you San Beda Alabang! Thank you professors! Thank you Red Chronicles!

Thank you my friends and classmates! Thank you non-friends as well.

Each day during and after the bar, I pray in these exact words- Thank you Lord for making me pass the bar. Even as I wailed in self doubt and even before the results came out I say this, my prayer of thanks.

And now I’m living my dreams.

SBCA-SOL bestows the Orbaz Budi Award to Topnotchers

By Maria Josefina R. Alfonso

The San Beda College of Law honors every graduate who makes it to the top ten of the Bar Examinations.

This accolade is called the Kalantiaw Award, which has been received by numerous topnotchers from the San Beda Manila campus.

This year, however, is another first of sorts for the San Beda College Alabang School of Law. For the first time since the birth of the School of Law in Alabang, a graduate has come out triumphant, not only for passing the 2011 Bar Examinations, but also for garnering the 10th spot in the previously held bar exams. For his astounding achievement, the members of the San Beda College Alabang Board of Trustees, through the initiative of Dean Ulpiano Sarmiento III, unanimously agreed that an award should be bestowed upon Atty. Rodolfo Q. Aquino, the very first bar topnotcher of SBCA-SOL. This award shall be known as the ORBAZ BUDI AWARD, which shall be conferred upon every graduate who assumes one of the top ten slots in the Bar Examinations.

ORBAZ BUDI is an old Hebrew-Russian saying which means, “Be thou an example (or symbol).” Taken from 1 Timothy 4:12, the verse declares the call of St. Paul to Timothy to, “Be an example to all the believers in the way you speak and behave, and in your love, your faith and your purity.” ORBAZ BUDI, VYERNUIM, SLOVOM, ZHITIEM, LIUBOUIU, VXEROIN, CHISTOTOIU. Aside from the honor of being given the coveted Orbaz Budi medal, Atty. Aquino and future bar topnotchers from SBCA-SOL shall receive CD Titles from CD Technologies Asia, Inc., a pioneer in electronic legal research in the Philippines. By partnering with CD Asia, bar topnotchers from San Beda Alabang shall receive an electronic library set of Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence, which shall provide future awardees with access to the most comprehensive databases of law related materials.

The bar topnotcher shall also receive a generous cash prize from San Beda College Alabang, as kindly approved by Dom Clement Ma. Roque, OSB. The achievements of Atty. Aquino and of other future bar topnotchers from Alabang should be acknowledged and looked up to by all law students, specially those who are yet to take the bar examinations. As how Dean Sarmiento put it, the barristers should “be firm, determined, stubborn, tenacious, blessedly obstinate in fulfilling that goal of becoming a true Bedan lawyer.” In addition, future Bedan bar topnotchers are expected to be exemplary models of proper behavior and must present themselves in a manner that is befitting of a Bedan lawyer.

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Message from the TRC Staff Members This year marks a special juncture for the The Red Chron-

icles as it produced yet another fine batch of graduates, including its Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Sayeh Hassani and its Editor-in-Chief, Aretha Eugenio.

The goodbye is bittersweet.

To our bosses, we are very proud of you. This is perhaps one of the rare times that we are at a loss for words in saying how happy we are for your success. We watched you toil and go through the long hard grind with solid team work.

The best example would be the EIC’s, Teta and Sai, who have forced and bullied each other to read and finish their readings. Theirs was a tough-love kind of team work that lasted from day one until the end. We watched you do that with much delight! And now, we share your joy just as we shared your fears when you were waiting for the official list of graduates. Because, as what you have taught us, that is what family does.

And this is where it begins to be a pang in the heart. You have all served as our mentors, our big bro/sis/mom/dad, our relentless and demanding bosses who would badger us for our articles, our food trip buddies, our school advisers. Naturally, the goodbye is difficult.

We have become used to going through press work, meet-

ings, photo shoots and interviews with you. Out of those long hours of work, came the unforgettable moments, some of which have become a subject of jokes to us. Something only we, TRC members, understand. We look back at those petty fights that arose (throwing money at each other), creative arguments that became dramatic (walking out because of an “anonymous” decision) and the stress of beating deadlines that gave existence to famous one-liners (“You get me?!) with a funny note of nostalgia.

Long Sleeves Day, Leggings day, Grammar Nazi, Hitler, ube-han, Dibs In Rem, bilangan ng nabarok na grammar/pronunciation, word count wars, “You’ve-Been-Redchron-ed!”.

The list goes on. Thank you, bosses, for the memories. Thank you for making this org the best and happiest one – a family.

Thank you for the love of words and ideas, the dedication and the work ethics you have taught us. And most of all, thank you for giving, what to us is, the golden age of TRC. We will miss you. The office will not be the same without you.

And so sentimentalities aside, we congratulate you and bid you good luck in your next big endeavor. We rooted for you from day one and we still root for you when you take the bar.

A salute to you, bosses!

OFFICIAL EDITORIAL BOARD

Aretha Eugenio Editor-in-Chief Ma. Katerina Santiago Associate Editor Laisa Mae Aguila Managing Editor Mary Sayeh Hassani EIC Emeritus Atty. Rita Linda Jimeno Faculty Adviser Joey Alfonso News Editor Rio Dizon Features Editor Dugie Dela Cruz Literary Editor Exequiel Valerio Senior Photographer Staff Bunny Bañaria Carissa Barcena Stephanie Dandal Suyen Dimanlig Ron Esquivel Raymond Santos Estrella Laida Isidro Roselle Jimeno Michael Lorico Magic Movido Angelo Murillo Arianne Pascual Tia Perfecto Rose Ann Reyes Mayan Saidamen Layout Luvimindo Balinang Jr. Samantha Santos Carlo June Tibayan Photographers Maureen Betita Miguel Llave Cartoonists Bradly Listones Jonathan Vitug Logistics Mike Catbagan William Eusores Ian Silva