First Blind Bar Passer Never Lost Sight Of His Goal

He may have gone blind at the age of 10, but Anthony Mark Emocling never lost sight of his goal to succeed in life despite his condition.

Last Friday, April 14, 33-year-old Emocling became the first blind Bar exam passer since 1901.

Based on the list released by the Supreme Court, 3,992 passed the Bar exams out of 9,183 examinees last November, which equates to a 43.47 percent national passing rate.

Blind ever since he was 10 years old, Emocling, who is from University of Baguio, ranked 1407th out of the 3,992 passers. He was the second blind Bar examinee following fellow UB Law alumnus Christopher Yuman in 2014.

Emocling finished Political Science at UB in 2013 cum laude and went on to finish his Juris Doctor degree in 2017 in the university.

According to Emocling, he had been visually impaired as early as four years old since he suffered from myopia or nearsightedness. Due to this, he had to wear glasses at a young age.

But a weak retina led to total blindness when he turned 10 years old.

In an interview with Cignal TV producer Von Belinario on Sunday, April 16, Emocling said he had several surgeries for his detached retina, but these no longer helped.

His dream to be a lawyer began during former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada’s impeachment trial from early December in 2000 to mid-January in 2001, shortly after he became blind. Prior to this, Emocling wanted to become a policeman, according to his interview last Saturday, April 15, with the Philippine Information Agency Cordillera office.

However, when his vision failed him, he became fascinated with how lawyers explain things.

He was lent a radio by his grandfather and listened every day to radio talk shows, where interviews of eloquent lawyers fascinated him.

It was also in listening to those radio interviews that Emocling first encountered former UB School of Law dean and now Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Mayor Pablito Sanidad Sr., who later became his dean in law school.

In another interview with “Bangon Bayan with Mon” Gualvez over Radyo5 True FM on Monday, April 17, Emocling said: “I listened to these lawyers and they explained the legal terms so well so I was amazed. I told myself I wanted to be a lawyer like them and I can do it too. So since then, that was the mindset that I established.”

On his Facebook page, Sanidad expressed his happiness over Emocling’s achievement. “Congratulations ANTHONY MARK DULAWAN EMOCLING!!! My blind student at the University of Baguio, School of Law (UBSOL) who against all the odds and despite being blind is now a Lawyer!” Sanidad wrote last Friday, April 14, along with their photo.

No easy feat

Emocling’s journey to being a lawyer was not easy. It was his fourth time to take the Bar exams in 2022 after failing for three consecutive years in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“There were times where I was losing hope but I thought, it would also be wasting what I studied if I give up. It’s as if I’m also giving up on the people who believed in me so I tried until now, I finally passed the [Bar exams],” Emocling told Bangon Bayan with Mon.

Even the 2022 exam was a roller coaster ride. On “One Balita Pilipinas” over One PH on Saturday, Emocling admitted having “mixed feelings” while taking the Bar exams.

“It’s like there’s a part of you that feels like you’re going to pass, but after taking another subject, you feel like there’s no chance of passing at all and that’s what you end up thinking,” Emocling said.

He noted that his life as a law student was even more difficult due to the lack of books and other materials suitable for blind students, not to mention the stereotype against people with disability.

In order to keep up, Emocling had to double his efforts as a law student and relied on screen reading softwares to read law books and resources as there were no braille versions.

Emocling also said it was hard to go to review centers in Manila from Baguio. Fortunately for him, review centers started going online, making access for people like him easier.

A special setup was used for Emocling during the Bar exams. According to him, a designated encoder was assigned, wherein the questions were dictated and he would recite his answers to be encoded on a laptop.

Emocling also revealed that he took the Bar exams at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) because of the unique setup, despite wanting to do so in his hometown Baguio.

Since 2021, the Bar exams have been taken digitally in local sites across the country. This departs from the traditional pen and booklet format, along with a Manila-based university being the testing venue.

Emocling welcomed the new setup, calling it “favorable” given his impairment.

‘Never give up’

To get through adversities, Emocling cited family and friends as his inspiration and support system. “They never gave up on me. They believed in my abilities (and) that I can do it. I also have good friends that supported my dreams, and they are the ones who also helped me in reviews,” he told PIA-Cordillera.

Beyond financial and emotional support, Emocling also said his parents would accompany him back and forth to law school, as his classes were at night and there would be no more jeepneys by the time his classes finished.

Emocling recalled finding out that he made it through a friend who saw his name before him when Bar exam results were released last Friday. In his interview with Belinario, Emocling said he was at home with his father and nephew, who were unaware of the incoming release of the results.

“I was waiting for the Supreme Court’s livestream when my friend who also took the Bar exam messaged me, saying congratulations and this officially begins my journey as a lawyer. At first I couldn’t believe it because there was no link for the livestream yet but my friend said he saw my name on the screen,” Emocling told Bangon Bayan with Mon.

He recalled that he and his family were overcome by emotion upon learning he passed.

“We really cried. We were speechless because we were so emotional over the fact that I passed the Bar exams,” Emocling told Belinario on Sunday.

Now that he’s finally achieved his dream, Emocling said he plans to specialize in human rights, “especially for persons with disabilities” who he thinks “are the most in need of assistance from lawyers like him.” He said it was another inspiration for him to pursue law.

“We are really the marginalized sector in society and we need help. I want to be a voice for the PWDs and hopefully take care of this sector, give them more rights, and fight for their rights as well,” Emocling said. 

In his interview with Belinario, Emocling cited issues such as a lack of PWD-friendly infrastructures along with education and employment opportunities for the sector.

He also hoped that the government would spread awareness on the sector’s plight, as well as ensuring that PWDs will have equal access to educational resources like non-PWDs.

When asked for advice, Emocling said aspiring lawyers passers should use their failures as a stepping stone to fulfill their dreams.

“It’s natural that there will always be disappointments and failures along the way. Hopefully, we don’t think that failure means the end. Those will be the ones to guide us so we could really fulfill our dreams,” Emocling told Bangon Bayan With Mon.

On One Balita Pilipinas, Emocling reminded his peers about law practice being a “sacrifice to serve the people”.

For those who fell short, he said they should continue to persevere, and are no less than those who passed this year’s Bar exams.

“[This year’s passers] just passed first. You [those who fell short] will have your time soon too,” Emocling said.

As for career plans, Emocling is still unsure on whether he will work for a law firm in Baguio or in Manila.

“I’m not yet sure. It depends on what I am considering, on what will be a better career path for me,” Emocling told Belinario.