BACOLOD City – Local officials led Bacolodnons in congratulating the 31-year-old Mark John Simondo, a law graduate of the University of Saint La Salle (USLS), for topping the 2017 Bar examinations.
Simondo, a resident of Barangay 33, got a passing rate of 91.05 percent, results released by the Supreme Court on Thursday showed.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said Simondo’s feat is a “proud moment for Bacolod.”
“We salute Mark John Simondo. We have proven that we have local talents who are at par with the best in Manila and elsewhere,” stressed Leonardia, adding that“Simondo will be a source of inspiration to the people of Bacolod in general and the law students in particular.”
On its official Facebook page, the USLS congratulated Simondo and 12 other new lawyers who are also alumni of the school’s law program.
Councilor Em Ang, in her Facebook account, said Bacolod is “proud of its latest topnotcher, who is the son of retired Senior Police Officer 4 Noli Simondo.”
Simondo, who finished law school on top of his class in 2017, is also a member of the USLS’ moot team.
He had represented USLS in the Stetson Environmental Law, the ICRC International Humanitarian Law, and the Philip Jessup International Law moot competitions.
Simondo’s undergraduate course was nursing, which he also took at USLS. He finished the course as magna cum laude in 2009. (With a report from PNA/PN)
