After four Bar exam failures, this father finally passed—alongside his daughter
During Bar exam season, parents are usually the ones cheering from the sidelines as their children work to fulfill their dreams of becoming lawyers. But this time, one father-daughter duo flipped the script and took on the grueling journey together.
Mary Joyce Narciso and her 57-year-old father Ferdinand Narciso were among the 5,594 test-takers who emerged victorious in the 2025 Bar examinations, and they couldn't be prouder of each other.
However, their shared journey was marked by setbacks, especially for Ferdinand, who faced the heartbreak of falling short four times.
Motivating each other
In an interview with PhilSTAR L!fe, Mary Joyce recalled that she was first inspired by her father's dream to become a lawyer back in 2005. At the time, she was just a Grade Five student who still didn't understand the magnitude of his perseverance.
"He was really committed to becoming a lawyer that he took the bar exam three more times after 2005. And yun nga, 'yung last year was his fifth take. So I was definitely inspired," she said.
Growing up, the thought of being a lawyer had never crossed Mary Joyce's mind, and her parents also didn't pressure her into pursuing the career.
"I made a decision myself. I thought back to how my father worked hard to become a lawyer, and I was inspired by that definitely. I was already working for five years when I entered law school. I wanted to shift careers and do something that I think will have more impact on society," she said
"At the time when I was deciding, my main goal was to give back more to the community. It sounds very idealistic, but that was my main motivation. And then papa's journey 20 years ago pushed me to actually take the exam," she added.
What was surprising was that Mary Joyce didn't tell her parents that she took the law aptitude exam until after she passed.
"When I passed the exam, si papa tinanong niya ako kung itutuloy ko ba. So sabi ko, 'Yes Papa, I want to enroll sa law school.' And then siya 'yung na-inspire to take the exam again. Tinanong niya ako when I'll be graduating, I told him 2025. And then that's when we made the decision together to take the exam right after I graduate," she said.
Faced with failures
@peachymaj Our Bar Review Journey Papa and I started studying together around three weeks before the Bar exam. Before that, since we were both working, he spent most of his review time in Isabela while I finished my last sem in law school here in QC. He travelled from Isabela to QC to stay with me and my sister. We didn’t study the same materials at the same time but took some moments to discuss and share what we think would be important to remember and review for the exam. It was a heavy and challenging time for our family financially, emotionally, and mentally and we are fortunate to have a strong support system. Looking back, I’m glad I took some photos and videos of us studying together. 🥹🙏 #Bar2025 #HaveFaith #Amyingforexcellence ♬ The Quiet Life - Housman
Ferdinand highlighted that preparing for the Bar was no easy task for him, especially considering how many hours he needed to allot for reading study materials as well as the financial sacrifices required throughout the review period.
He had to take a sabbatical leave from his work in order to focus on his studies, while Mary Joyce had to resign from her job in July last year.
"Siguro kung iipunin ko 'yung gastos from studying to the series of failures until I thought of quitting, [malaki na]," he said. "It's mandatory that I have to enroll and go back to fourth year and earn the passing grades.
"And part of the requirement is to enroll in a regular Bar review. So it's really a difficult preparatory stage for me before I finally got the long-coveted title," he continued.
According to him, after failing his first Bar exam in 2005, he took another crack at it three more times in 2006, 2007, and 2009.
"That was the last time where I even really decided to quit. So from 2005 to 2009, that's how long it was in fact for me to finally have this race over," Ferdinand said.
Even with his daughter by his side throughout the journey, Ferdinand admitted that the pressure weighed heavily on him.
"It was an added pressure because imagine 20 years ago, siya 'yung nag-Bar (operations) sa akin," he said. "Although I realized that as days go by, napansin ko sa sarili ko na 'yung pressure lalong nadadagdagan ng nadadagdagan. And I find it quite [distracting] when I see somebody reading along with me."
However, it helped that Mary Joyce was a "very independent daughter" and that she was always there to pitch in as a sort of "manager" when things got too rough.
"Siya 'yung naging elder ko pa na nag-advise sa akin kesa ako 'yung nag-advise sa kanya," he said.
In preparing for the exam, Mary Joyce said that she and his father had different review styles.
"Nag-enroll siya sa review center. Ako hindi ako nag-enroll sa review center. Although nagsha-share kami ng materials kapag may makita ako online. Nagka-chance lang kami talaga to study together nung magkasama na kami physically sa Manila," she said.
"So 'yung schedule namin, early morning maguluto na kami ng breakfast. Either ako o siya. Tapos may separate tables. Naka-set up na yung codals niya, 'yung reviewers niya. Ako din, nakaset up na rin 'yung reviewers ko, 'yung codals ko, 'yung laptop ko. Tapos tahimik kami. Hindi kami nag-uusap," she added.
In this together
During the exam proper, Mary Joyce admitted that the two of them were nervous about how they would fare.
"'Yung kaba ko kasi for both of us, kasi gusto ko talaga pumasa kami both ni papa. Kung ako lang 'yung papasa, malulungkot ako, pero kung si papa lang 'yung papasa, masaya pa rin ako. But syempre yung goal is both of us. So habang nag-aaral kami, ang nasa isip ko talaga, kailangan kong tulungan both myself and papa," she said.
"May tiwala ako kay papa. I know that he can study, he's smart, he's intelligent, and masipag siya mag-aaral. At 'yung tulong ko sa kanya, more on the logistics, the food, and I asked help sa mga kasama ko sa law school to help papa," she added.
His own painful history with the Bar exams also made Ferdinand apprehensive, as he worried about the possibility of his daughter facing the same heartbreak.
"Kabado ako sa kanya dahil ako with my experiences, kahit anong preparation na ginawa ko, without any justification may mga ibang mga factors kasi kung bakit nafa-fail ang isang tao. Sa akin for my four takes, ang hindi ko talaga ma-master ay paano matulog the night before the test," he said.
When the results were finally released, both father and daughter couldn't help but be overwhelmed with emotions after they learned that they both passed.
"'Yung priority ko talaga, makapasa si papa, gustong gusto ko talaga matupad niya 'yung pangarap niya 20 years ago na maging lawyer. As a daughter who witnessed my [apa's journey from 20 years ago, 'yun talaga 'yung pinagdasal ko kay Lord na makapasa siya," she said.
"So sakto una 'yung name ni papa sa list. Umiyak na talaga ako, and then doon ko lang naalala, ''Yung pangalan ko rin ba nandoon?' So nakita ko din 'yung pangalan ko, so sobrang saya 'yung family namin. Until now, pino-process pa rin namin pero sobrang saya talaga for our family," she added.
Now that they've surpassed one of the most grueling hurdles of their lives, Mary Joyce couldn't help but get sentimental as she looked at old pictures of her and her father.
"Clueless pa ako nung bata ako eh kung ano 'yung impact ng pag-take ng bar exam. Pero ngayong napagdaanan ko na siya myself, doon ko na-appreciate and doon ako naiyak, realizing na ang hirap pala talaga niya. So not just for me and papa, but for everyone," she highlighted.
Ferdinand, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to his daughter, "Thank you very much sa'yo anak at ikaw actually ang inspirasyon ko rin talaga kung bakit tinuloy-tuloy natin ng mag-Bar at eventually nakapasa ako."