Private prosecutor Atty. Mae Divinagracia highlighted the Bar Examination performance of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura during Monday’s impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The exchange took place as Divinagracia was asking Buenaventura about his qualifications to serve as AMLC executive director, including his background as a lawyer.
Divinagracia asked Buenaventura about the result of his 2015 Bar Examination.
“Nakapasa naman po. I placed 10th po,” Buenaventura told the impeachment court.
When asked about his Bar rating, Buenaventura said he obtained 85.75%.
“85.75?” Divinagracia repeated before remarking that the score was “5.7 percentage points more than yung 80 percentage points na nakuha ng kakilala namin ni Atty. Vinluan.”
Defense counsel Atty. Mark Vinluan immediately moved to strike the remark from the record, arguing that the comparison was not relevant.
Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero subsequently ordered the remark stricken from the record.
Records of the 2015 Bar Examinations show that Buenaventura, a graduate of Bulacan State University, placed 10th with an overall rating of 85.75%. He shared the 10th spot with Lara Carmela Fernando of San Beda College-Manila.
The exchange came as the prosecution continued presenting Buenaventura’s qualifications and testimony before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
Vinluan had previously cited Duterte’s 80% Bar rating during an earlier stage of the impeachment proceedings while discussing the Vice President’s legal background.
