Son Honors Late Mother Who Believed He Would Pass The Bar But Never Got To See It Happen

The recent Bar Examinations brought different heartwarming stories from the passers like a 65-year-old mom who and passed the Bar and mom and beauty queen Eva Patalinjug who pursued her dream to became an Attorney. 

A slightly different but equally heartwarming story from a son who also passed the bar in the same batch as both previously mentioned attorney moms stood out. Atty. Nathaniel Nolasco Diaz honored his late mother who celebrated his entrance exam results as if it was already The Philippine Bar Examination when she was still alive. Unfortunately, she passed on in 2020 when Atty. Diaz was still finishing his law degree and was in his third year.

“Nay Eloi, pumasa pa lamang ako noon sa PhilSAT pero ipinagkalat mo na sa buong barangay at mga co-teachers mo na abogado na ako.  Salamat sa pananalangin, pangangamusta, at pagpapaalala na ingatan ang katawan. Pasensya na kung hindi ko sinunod ang payo mo na mag-full time student na lang ako para hindi ako mahirapan, pero sa halip ay pinili ko pa din ipagsabay ang pag-aaral at pagtatrabaho.

 

 

He continued, "Sa’yo ko kaya namana ang pagiging hardworking. Salamat sa pagdalaw sa panaginip ko higit lalo na tuwing gabi ng bar exams. Naging mas mahirap man abutin ang pangarap natin mula nung nawala ka, pero sa grasya ng Diyos, eto oh, may abogado ka na. Alam kong masayang masaya ka dyan dahil answered prayer ka. I miss you.”

29-year-old  Atty. Diaz shared with Smart Parenting, “Challenging, kasi I consider her to be my number one supporter. Talagang everytime lagi niya kong chinecheck, kumain na ko, natulog na ko, nag-aaral pa ba ko.”

In an exclusive interview, Atty. Diaz recalled fond memories and described his mom as the type of mom who checks up on him multiple times a day “Kaya I’m really missing her and nung nawala siya, malaki talaga ang nawala sakin. Parang hinahanap-hanap ko yung naging routine niya sa akin everyday,” he said.

 

 

It was hard for him to work, study and at the same time grieve for his mom, but he continued his journey. “Then siyempre, yung motivation din ang hirap kasi grieving ako but at the same time, I have to make a choice kung itutuloy ko pa ba ito o hindi. Pero ang naging mindset ko na lang, is that ipagpapatuloy ko to para sa kanya.”

When he passed the PhilSAT (Philippine Law School Admission Test), his mom was so proud of him, as if he had already passed the Bar exam. “Entrance exam pa lang yun, as much as possible I want to be low key lang sana. Kunyari parang wala lang pero pag-uwi ko dito sa probinsiya, yung mga tao, “Uy congrats!”, Sabi ko, hindi pa po. Ganun yung feeling, entrance exam pa lang.”

His mom was already proud of him back then, and believed ever since that he would make it and become a lawyer. 

His family’s reaction upon knowing the Bar Exam result was a sigh of relief. “Yung waiting season talaga kasi ang pinakamahirap sa buong bar journey. Kasi hindi ka makatulog, naka-hold yung mga next steps. Hindi mo alam kung itatago mo na ba yung mga libro mo o hindi. Kaya nung lumabas yung result, yung buong family, ‘Hay, salamat.’”

Journey to attorney

We asked Atty. Diaz if it was his childhood dream to become a lawyer and surprisingly, it wasn’t. “Hindi, actually. Doctor ang dream ko. Dapat Psych ang kukunin kong pre-med, kaso hindi ako pumasa sa UP Diliman kaya ayun. Dun ako dinala ni Lord.”

He continued, “Dream ko talaga mag-med pero after college there is a need for me to help my family so nag-work muna ako as HR. Sa second work ko, sa Save the Children, ang mga nakaka-work ko is lawyers. So sila ang nag-encourage sakin to take up Law. Hindi talaga siya childhood dream.”

'Ang pinaka-important na tinuro nila [parents] sa akin is to always look back. Always appreciate the people around you. Hindi ko mararating yung achievements ko kung hindi din dahil sa malalaki at maliliit na efforts ng mga tao sa paligid namin.' -Atty. Diaz

Atty. Diaz finished his undergraduate degree (BS Human Ecology) in UP Los Banos as Cum Laude and took up Law in Arellano University School of Law (7th honorable mention). 

He was working while he was taking up Law and reviewing for the Bar Exam. Was it hard to juggle everything? “Oo, sobra. Ang schedule ko sa Law ay weekends, executive class. Saturday to Sunday, 9AM to 6PM, lunch break lang ang break. Then Monday to Friday, 8AM to 5PM ang work ko. Literal na walang pahinga for 5 years.”

As he said in his post, his mom originally advised against him working while studying, but he felt like his parents were not obligated to finance his studies, “Ayaw niya akong mahirapan. Kahit sino namang parent siguro mas prefer na sila yung magpo-provide ng needs for their children. It just so happened, yung pag-take ng Law is a personal choice. Kaya I feel na hindi na nila obligation. Kaya pinili ko na mag-work habang nag-aaral.”

He shared that even during the review, he didn’t really leave work, “After ng semester, June, diretso review na agad hanggang November, so five months. While working yun.” One of the hardest parts of his journey was the waiting period. He took the bar exams in November 2022 and the result only came out in April 2023, 5 months later. 

 

 

His parents' lessons and teachings

“Walang pressure,” was how Atty. Diaz described his parents’ involvement in his studies. He has been a consistent honor student since elementary school. “Ni-reremind nila ako na hindi naka-base ang identity ko sa scores ng exams at sa grades ko,” he shared what his parents said about grades. 

“Good thing, walang pressure. Siguro sa sarili ko lang, kasi galing kami sa mahirap na family, so parang grace lang ni Lord na nakakapag-aral ako. More on stewardship na kung ano yung binigay sakin ni Lord like wisdom, knowledge and privilege na makapag-aral ay maibalik  ko din kay God through being excellent on whatever I’m doing.”

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“Ang pinaka-important na tinuro nila sakin is to always look back. Always appreciate the people around you. Hindi ko mararating yung achievements ko kung hindi din dahil sa malalaki at maliliit na efforts ng mga tao sa paligid namin,” he recalled his parents’ teachings. 

He also mentioned what he appreciated from his parents, “Kasi diba yung mentality dati ng parents, kelangan ito lang, dapat ito yung gawin mo, kahit hindi gusto ng anak.”

“Siguro support, especially sa calling ng anak. Siguro i-enjoy din ang journey na walang pressure. I think naging factor din sa parents ko na wag makalimot na magpray, more on kay God, laging i-acknowledge si God sa lahat ng bagay,” he continued. 

Atty. Diaz’s late mom was a Public School Teacher and his father is a pastor. He is currently working as a Advocacy Strategist at the International Justice Mission and is thinking of working in International Law or the Public Attorney’s Office.