The recent Bar exam for lawyers
again affirmed a trend that Kagay-anons make good lawyers. Or at the very
least, very good Bar passers.
During the latest edition of the
Bar, a Kagay-anon resident again made it to the Top 10 of the successful
examinees.
Eric David Chua Tan, 25, is the son
of the Dolly C. Tan and the late Jimy S. Tan. Eric is the second of four
children and a part of the pioneering Tan clan of Cagayan de Oro.
“It was unexpected,” said his older
sister Pamela Rose. “We were praying for him to pass the Bar Exams, having him
get into Top 10 was totally euphoric. Although we knew that Eric had it in him
to pass the Bar, we can never be too overconfident ‘coz we didn’t know if the
examiner could read his handwriting or his answer was unfavorable. Human
factor ba. It’s not black and white, like math.”
Born August 1, 1984 in Cagayan de
Oro City, Eric took his early schooling from Kong Hua School in Kauswagan
before pursuing BS Accountancy at De La Salle University, and successfully
hurdled the board exams for Certified Public Accountants in 2006.
Now employed as a senior associate
of the country’s leading professional services firm,
SGV&Co, Eric took up Law at the Ateneo de Manila Law School and
successfully hurdled the 2009 Bar Exams, landing 5th among the Top
10 examinees.
"It was his father who
encouraged him to pursue a law degree on top of his accountancy course,"
said his mother Dolly, who still works with the family business at Jimar
Construction Supply.
Eric already demonstrated a
propensity for excellence even in high school where he was a consistent Honor
Student and was graduated with a bronze medal in high school with many other
awards including Best in Math and Best in Science.
He was also one of the three members
of the Kong Hua school team to the National Math Olympiad where they
emerged regional champions. Among his two teammates was Katrina Limbonhai, his
classmate at DLSU who also successfully passed the recent Bar exams.
Despite all this, his mom Dolly says
Eric wasn't really what one would consider "studious" but
was "responsible enough" to know what he needed to do to achieve
something.
Among his extra curricular
activities in college were his membership in the Aquila Legis Fraternity
and Filipino Chinese Catholic Youth.
For his future plans, Eric would
like to specialize in Taxation, which he finds “reasonable” even when he was
still in Law School. Beyond that, he would simply answer “one day at a time,”
according to his mom Dolly.
Asked about the family’s reaction to
Eric’s making it to the Top 10, Pamela replies: “Of course, I feel proud, very
happy for Eric 'coz he deserves this. From 1st year pa niya, sacrifice giyud siya sa Manila. Commuting to school.
Budgeting. No family nor home cooked meals. I can really say that he’s
responsible. Coz wala siyay binuang
even without my mom to keep an eye on him. I'm also very happy and proud for
mama, being a single mom since 2002, dili
sayon mag discipline 4 kids uy. Bunga gyud ni sa iyang efforts."
His mom Dolly attributes Eric's
achievement also to the family's devotion to "Mama Mary" as devout
Catholics. She's been doing the Station of the Cross at Malasag faithfully for
years as her "panaad". "We're grateful for what God
has given us through all these years and we thank Mama Mary for Eric's
achievement."
An achievement no doubt, not only
the Tan family, not only Kong Hua School but the entire Cagayan de Oro
could truly be proud of.
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