After 11 attempts, 59-year-old passes Bar exams

Dreams delayed are not dreams denied. On his 11th attempt, a 59-year-old man finally achieved his long-held dream of becoming a lawyer.

Working at the Land Bank of the Philippines, Eduardo Regio passed the Bar Exam and was among the examinees who went to the Supreme Court (SC) to check the results—where he finally saw his name on the list of passers.

He told reporters at the SC that as long as he lives, there is still a chance.

He first took the test in 1993 and failed it for the fifth time in 2005, after which the five-strike rule prevented him from taking it again.

However, in 2013, the Supreme Court lifted the rule. Regio then resumed his pursuit of becoming a lawyer and went on to take four more exams, coming close to the 75 percent passing rate. His 10th attempt was in 2023 before he decided to try his luck again in 2025.

Before that, Regio took a refresher course at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and reviewed for the exams, keeping his faith.

“I gave it to the Lord since if he will give it to me he will give it. If not I can do nothing,” Regio said in the vernacular.

Regio said he kept taking the test because he had nothing to lose, and the father of five also hopes to inspire his children to study law.

“I said, I will lose nothing. I really that some of my children to be encourage to take a law course para maging abogado,” he said.

Regio, on the other hand, said he would see if he would be given authority by the Land Bank to practice law so that he could work part-time as a lawyer.

He said another option is to resign from the Land Bank and work full-time as a lawyer.

Regio earned his law degree from the University of Manila, after earlier studying at Manuel L. Quezon University.