The Brilliance of Ferdinand Marcos - - A Bar Legend

The Brilliance of Ferdinand Marcos - - A Bar Legend

Marcos studied law at the University of the Philippines, attending the prestigious College of Law. He excelled in both curricular and extra-curricular activities, becoming a valuable member of the university's swimming, boxing, and wrestling teams. He was also an accomplished and prolific orator, debater, and writer for the student newspaper. He also became a member of the University of the Philippines ROTC Unit (UP Vanguard Fraternity) where he met some of Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff. He sat for the 1939 Bar Examinations, receiving a near-perfect score of 98.8%.** Although some have disputed this score. The Supreme Court then called him to an Oral Examination addressing some complaints that Marcos had cheated. He was the first ever to be called upon Oral Examinations.** He then mesmerized the judges with his wits by answering their questions brilliantly. The Supreme Court then made his grade at 92.35 although their was no evidence that he cheated. Thus, he graduated cum laude despite the fact that he was incarcerated while reviewing. Had he not been in jail for 27 days, he would have graduated magna cum laude. He was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu and the Phi Kappa Phi international honour societies, the latter giving him its Most Distinguished Member Award 37 years later.
his future cabinet members and
In Seagrave's book The Marcos Dynasty, he mentioned that Marcos possessed a phenomenal memory and exhibited this by memorizing complicated texts and reciting them forward and backward, even such as the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, in an interview with the Philippine Star on March 25, 2012, shared her experience as a speech writer to President Marcos: "One time, the Secretary of Justice forgot to tell me that the President had requested him to draft a speech that the President was going to deliver before graduates of the law school. And then, on the day the President was to deliver the speech, he suddenly remembered because Malacañang was asking for the speech, so he said, 'This is an emergency. You just have to produce something.' And I just dictated the speech. He liked long speeches. I think that was 20 or 25 pages. And then, in the evening, I was there, of course. President Marcos recited the speech from memory."

Note: His recorded score for the bar exam is 92.35%. He was the top-notcher of the 1939 Bar Exams.
** Claim only
Post a Comment (0)
Previous Post Next Post