T.

Chatto Bar Tips

REMARKS
SUGGESTED MATERIAL/S
(Examples: non-negotiable material, supplementary
material, number of reads, etc.)

BOOKS: These were my main materials. 1 solid read for everything.

POLITICAL LAW Codal, Nachura This is a very heavy read, adding to the fact that
I read this together with the UP Poli reviewer
(which I annotated) so I was very slow in Poli.
But sulit. I think this is the best Poli reviewer we
have available.
LABOR LAW Codal, Chan I already read this in 4th year 2nd sem so it was a
bit of an easier read during bar review.
CIVIL LAW Codal for everything Sempio-Dy is an old book but I still like it
Sempio Dy – Persons, Conflicts because it really goes back to the basics. Just
Jurado – Property, ObliCon and all the make sure you have the updated jurisprudence
smaller subjects (sales, agency, partnership, to supplement it.
credtrans, torts)
Paguirigan – Succession For Jurado, I liked the Q&A format. Haha It is
Villanueva (Outline Only) – Sales, Agency, still a good material even if its old.
Partnership
Paguirigan – I only read this because this is what
I read in 4th year under Mel. Sabi kasi niya
examiner daw. Di naman totoo ugh. But okay
narin siya. It’s a condensed version of the
Balane book.

Villanueva – the outline will suffice. If you were

his student and you annotated your outline for
class, use that. His books are too long and
winding to read again.
TAXATION LAW Codal I tried so many materials but none of them
worked for me. I always discarded it after a few
pages. I ended up just watching Lumbera’s
lectures. I most definitely do NOT recommend
doing this though. Very risky. Look for a book
or reviewer that works for you. I think most
people used Ingles.
MERCANTILE LAW Codal and Sundiang for everything Live and die by Sundiang for Comm. Stick to
Villanueva – Supplement for Corp, Banking this and you’ll be fine.
and Securities
Abad – Nego Made Easy
CRIMINAL LAW Codal, Boado Book 1, Reyes Book 2 for I used Boado for Book 1 because Reyes is too
common crimes long of a read. For book 2, there is nothing
better than Reyes so I went with that. BUT I did
not read the whole thing. I only read the parts
on crimes which are commonly asked in the bar.
The rest, Mem-Aid na.
REMEDIAL LAW Codal, Riguera I wanted to try something new for rem since I’ve
read my Riano books over and over again. Riano
still covers more ground but I think Riguera is
more updated. He also gives acronyms for the
 things you have to memorize.
LEGAL ETHICS Codal I didn’t have the time to read a book except the
codal. I just used a reviewer.
REVIEWERS:
(Examples: Ateneo Central Bar Notes, Beda Mem-Aid, Ingles Reviewer)

NOTE: sa totoo lang, these reviewers (except for Poli and Crim) were really just safety nets for
me. I didn’t really read them except to cross-reference when I find a particular topic confusing,
or if I want tables.
POLITICAL LAW UP Poli Reviewer, ASIL PIL Reviewer It’s based on Nachura. I read this together and
annotated the reviewer so I wouldn’t have to
read Nachura again for second read.
LABOR LAW Beda Memaid
CIVIL LAW Champ Reviewer for Succession
Kat Gaw Reviewer for Persons
Boss Jean’s Review for Torts
TAXATION LAW Ateneo Reviewer (only the tables and
charts)
MERCANTILE LAW None I relied on Sundiang.
CRIMINAL LAW Beda Memaid, Boss Kim’s Happy tables Boss Kim’s tables are a god-send. It has
comparative notes on the different crimes and it
is arranged based on how frequently the topic is
asked during the bar.
REMEDIAL LAW Beda Memaid
LEGAL ETHICS Ateneo 2014 Ascend Reviewer I didn’t finish this. I just listened to Balmes’
lecture and read codal.
PRE-WEEK MATERIALS
(Examples: Albano pre-week notes, Ateneo Central pre-week, Beda red book)

NOTE: Except for Codal and Sundiang, all my materials during pre-week were new, the ones
released the week before the bar. Since I only read books during pre-bar, I didn’t have time to
re-read them during pre-week.
POLITICAL LAW Codal, Albano Magic Areas, Carlo Cruz When all else fails, just go for the codal.
Reminders, Jack Jimenez Pre-week
LABOR LAW Codal, Albano Magic Areas, Abad Pre-week
CIVIL LAW Codal, Albano Magic Areas
TAXATION LAW Codal, Albano Magic Areas, Lumbera’s
Lecture, UP Pre-week
MERCANTILE LAW Codal, Albano Magic Areas, Sundiang
CRIMINAL LAW Codal, Albano Magic Areas, Beda Memaid
and Pre-week, Boss Kim’s Happy Tables
REMEDIAL LAW Codal, Albano Magic Areas, UP and Beda
Pre-week
LEGAL ETHICS Codal, Albano Magic Areas, UP and Beda
Pre-week
RECENT JURISPRUDENCE MATERIALS: fast read lang, no highlighting.
(Examples: Albano handouts, Baste recent jurisprudence)
POLITICAL LAW Jack Jimenez, Carlo Cruz For Jack, I got his 2010-2017 jurisprudence
handouts. For Carlo Cruz, only the two latest
ones because his handouts are long.
LABOR LAW Manuel
CIVIL LAW Albano, Recent Jur handouts from ateneo
TAXATION LAW Montero
MERCANTILE LAW Jack Jimenez
CRIMINAL LAW Campanilla
REMEDIAL LAW Villasis Critical Areas, Tranquil Look for the ones Villasis himself made, not any
other lecturer

Tranquil doesn’t have a handout but the cases

from his class and his lectures were very helpful.
While I was answering the exam, it’s like I kept
hearing his voice hahaha
LEGAL ETHICS Albano, Balmes
REVIEW CENTERS/LECTURES
(Examples: Jurists pre-bar, Albano lectures, Jack lectures)
POLITICAL LAW ALS – PIL Candelaria Good! I only had basic knowledge of PIL prior to
bar review. This lecture explained more of the
nuances and updates in the field. Sulit naman.
ALS – Jack Jimenez – Poli bar review proper He was my prof in PoliRev 4th year. He mostly
repeats his lectures from our class so I didn’t
feel the need to listen intently to his bar rev
lecture. I usually listen to it only when I’m also
doing something else or when I’m about to
sleep. Hehe
ALS – Jack Jimenez – Poli Pre-Week I only read the transcript made by the sisses. It’s
faster than actually listening to the lecture.
LABOR LAW ALS / Jurists – Marlon Manuel – Labor I only listened to this as a supplement when I
felt like I didn’t understand the topic well.
CIVIL LAW ALS – Zuniga – Credtrans I only listened to part of the lecture. But I read
his entire handout.
Jurists – Riguera – LTD a must for anyone who took LTD for granted
haha
Albano – Teresita L. Cruz – Property and Her PPT slides were the last things I read in the
Succession car on the way to UST. It’s basically like a crash
course of all the important doctrines and tables.
Buti na lang nabasa ko kasi marami lumabas
from there. I think she normally doesn’t give out
her PPT slides so maybe ask the barops team if
you want it so they can look for sources.
TAXATION LAW Jurists – Lumbera – Tax (she discussed You CANNOT miss this!! Tax hates me. I
everything kahit yung mga hindi naka- honestly don’t know how I passed the bar. I
assign sa kanya haha) didn’t read anything but the codal for tax. I
started the first few pages of UP Tax, Co-
Untian, Ingles and whatever but they did not
work for me. I think Lumbera saved me. I
 learned so many things from her, and she’s very
funny too. Di ka aantukin sa lecture niya.

Down side—don’t mind her predictions. Di ata

siya magaling manghula. Haha

But her lecture is golden. I swear.

Jurists – Recalde – Local and Realty Tax, Okay din. Not as good as Lumbera, but still
Tariff and Customs Code, Remedies. good.
MERCANTILE LAW Jurists – Balmes – Insurance Law Okay lang hehe they were not very memorable
Jurists – Zarah Castro – Corp, Transpo for me.
Jurists – Riguera – Banking, Securities This was a must for me! I would suggest this to
anyone who didn’t take the banking and
securities elective.
Jurists – Celso Cruz – Intellectual Property Also a must! Good and funny lecture. It really
Law simplifies IP.
CRIMINAL LAW Albano – Victoria Garcia I only read the transcript.
REMEDIAL LAW Jurists – Tranquil Salvador – CivPro, CrimPro He was also my prof in 4th year so I did not listen
to the entire lecture. I only watched this when
there are times while I’m reading that I feel like I
did not understand the topic. But if you have
time to listen to the whole thing, go for it. I love
his lectures because he simplifies everything
with tables, graphs and whatnot.
LEGAL ETHICS Jurists – Balmes Good!! We usually take ethics for granted so do
yourself a favor and watch a lecture just in case
you never get to read or finish your material.
Some of Balmes’ examples during his lecture
actually came out in our exam.
LAST MINUTE TIPS
(Examples: Blue Tips, UP Tips, Sigma Rho Tips, Aquila Tips)
POLITICAL LAW Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia I always read Blue Tips first since Ateneo is my
most trusted source haha
LABOR LAW Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia
CIVIL LAW Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia For Tax, I also read KokoBar kasi na-peer
pressure ako haha
TAXATION LAW Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia
I also fast read the purple tips because usually it
MERCANTILE LAW Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia
contains the questions I previously asked the
CRIMINAL LAW Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia barops team and I just want to be refreshed. It
also contains the rumored topics that the soro
REMEDIAL LAW Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia got so it’s helpful.
LEGAL ETHICS Ateneo, UP, Regina, Utopia
UP and Utopia tips were only supplements, only
when I still had time left.

REVIEW CENTER AND/OR LECTURES ATTENDED REMARKS

(Examples: great lectures for x subject; uploads their lectures
online)

ALS Bar Review I’m sure there were some great lectures, I just never found
the time. I have some friends from the province who
 religiously attended all the lectures and they passed.

For those who feel like they don’t have the time, like me, I
suggest getting the handouts instead. For myself, I got
and actually read Candelaria’s PIL, Manuel’s Labor Slides,
Jack’s Poli and Comm jurisprudence, Zuniga Credtrans,
and all the case updates.

During our year, they also offered live streaming of the

lectures. Sometimes the link is still up even after several
weeks.
Jurists Online Review They have great lecturers. It’s also refreshing because
they’re new to us, unlike in ALS Bar Review where it will
just be our professors from law school.

Albano Review Center – Last minute lectures
All the lectures are available until the end of the bar
season so you can take your time.
I only attended the first weekend. I didn’t go back because
I felt like I would spend my time better if I just read more.
Besides, a lot of the stuff they say in the lecture are also in
the Magic Areas handouts that they distribute so just get
those from the soro if you don’t want to attend the
lecture.

STUDY SCHEDULE

I did have a study schedule initially. I allocated more days for the subjects with bigger percentages (like rem) or those
which I knew would be long (like Civ). I initially thought I would be able to do 2 readings + pre-week. Unfortunately, I
never actually followed my schedule and I was only able to do one reading + pre-week. One read lang but I made sure na
sulit ang 1 read na yun. It took me a long time to study one subject because I read as if it would be my last chance to read
this book, this reviewer or whatever. Don’t panic when you don’t get to follow your sched or reach your quota for the day.
Of course, that would be ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. Just make sure that the time you spend reading is quality
reading time, not just skimming through the pages of the book in order to meet quota. My mindset was that I won’t have
the time to come back to this, so I need to understand it now.

For the schedule, there are many considerations, it really all depends on how you want to study. I think the common style
is to mirror the subjects. Another is to start with the subjects that you find difficult so it is given more attention and you
aren’t burned out yet. In making my schedule, I took into account the bar review lecture schedule, thinking I would want
to either attend lectures personally or watch videos online while I’m reading at home. I tried to pattern my schedule after
the lectures I wanted to attend, or watch. I also took into account the days when I knew I would not be able to study or I
would have the tendency to study less. For instance, in the middle of July, I had to go home to Bohol for an entire week
because of my Lola’s birthday and all my cousins were coming home. So, I scheduled ethics for that week. Events like
these are rare, but just in case you’ll have one coinciding with bar review, it would be good to take note.

Initially, I also scheduled Mondays off because they said that during the bar month itself, the barristers could not study on
Mondays. I think I only did this for 2 weeks. Eventually, I felt like I still wanted to keep studying. But, there were also days
when I just could not bring myself to study. Zero energy left. So I use that as my rest day instead. The specific day varies
but I make sure to always have that one day a week where the most that I do is lie down and watch a lecture online.

At the beginning of bar review, I also tried to adjust my body clock. In law school, I would study late at night til early
morning. Then I’d sleep til the early afternoon. Nocturnal haha I knew this would not do for the bar since the exams start
at 8am. While I did succeed in waking up early, I kept falling asleep while studying in the morning. I realized that even
though I was “studying”, I was not very productive because I was going even slower than my usual pace. So I reverted to
my nocturnal habits. Getting yourself used to waking up early and studying is ideal so that you get used to the bar exam
style. But it’s not imperative. Just do whatever works for you. It’s not about how many hours you’ve sat at your desk but
the quality of the reading you’ve done. During bar exam month, the adrenaline just kicked in for me.

As you may have noticed, none of my initial plans for bar review were actually followed and that’s okay. Sometimes plans
don’t work out. Don’t stress about it, just study and keep going. Remember that the only person you’re competing
against here is yourself, so just do what works for you.

STUDY PLACE:

During the first 2-3 months, I studied mostly at the bar crib in Lyceum. It’s always so quiet because only barristers are
allowed inside. In Ateneo, you can stay in LSAC or the designated rooms for barristers. Sometimes I’d also go to
Starbucks in Valero or BGC Stopover. Eventually as the bar month came closer and during the bar month itself, I decided
to stay in my apartment. I felt that the time I would spend going somewhere else could be better used if I just studied.

OTHER TIPS/MESSAGE YOU WANT TO SAY TO OUR DEAREST 2018 BARRISTER SISSES:

Number One tip: Don’t panic!! Sayang oras. Wala ka naman mapapala pag nagpanic ka!

Trust the codal, especially for subjects like Civ and Rem. You need it for all the subjects but most especially those two.

Give yourself a break! It’s okay to still go out sometimes and drink, in moderation. You don’t have to live in a cave for 4-5
months.

VERY IMPT: Double and triple check your booklet and the questionnaire to make sure that you’ve answered everything!
Check including the back pages. I know a bunch of barristers who missed out on some of the questions because they
didn’t see it or they forget to go back to the ones they previously skipped. Sayang din ang points.

You won’t be able to study on Mondays after the bar exams. Don’t worry, that’s normal. Give yourself time to rest and
recover. A massage on Sunday night is a good idea. 

Always pray. During the 30-min. period after you’re given the questionnaire but before you can open it, I prayed the
rosary to keep myself calm. Whenever I find myself scared, I just think that it’s all in God’s plan. 

Good luck!!