Andres Bonifacio College

Atty. Athalia Briones-Liong is ABCollege’s Guest of Honor for the 77th Foundation Celebration

Dubbed as the Pioneer Builder of Leaders, Andres Bonifacio College marks its 77th year as an institution of learning with an outstanding alumna as guest of honor. Her success is definitely one of the defining moments of the College, particularly in the School of Law, as she etched the school’s name in the Philippine Bar Examinations’ history by clinching the 3rd spot in the 2016 Bar Examinations.

Born on July 31, 1985 to Atty. Paulo Briones and Ms. Evelyn Gandola in Dipolog City, Atty. Liong had a simple and happy chidlhood.   She finished her elementary education at Dipolog Pilot Demonstration School with special awards. For her secondary education, she graduated at Jose Rizal Memorial College as 5th Honorable Mention. Wanting to reach her childhood dream of becoming a doctor, she took up BS Biology at Silliman University. In 2005, she graduated as Cum Laude and was a BPI-DOST Science Awardee for her research on “Ice-ice Disease of Seaweeds,”also proclaimed one of DOST’s best researches.

Despite her early success, she was unable to pursue medicine due to financial constraints. However, it did not discourage her from exercising her gifts. After graduation, she entered the banking world and rose from the ranks to become the Branch Manager of BPI-Dipolog, a position which she held until 2013.  In 2012, she enrolled at Andres Bonifacio College School of Law. For two years, she joggled her responsibilities as a manager, wife, mother and a law student.  She recalled that to survive law school, she had to strictly manage her time. She added that during examination days, she would take a leave of absence from the bank just to finish the coverage for each subject. Upon reaching 3rd year, she resigned from her work to focus on law school. Such decision paid off as she ranked fourth in the 2016 Pre-Bar Examinations of the College.

The path to success was not easy for her. Doubts about her handwriting being difficult to read due to exhaustion after the lengthy hours of examination on top of the physical, emotional and psychological strain, plagued her at that time. Thus, she rejoiced when the bar examinations ended. When the result came in May, she could hardly believe what she had achieved. She did not only pass the “most difficult professional examination” in the country, she also clinched the 3rd place with the rating of 88.8%.

Taking cognizance of this momentous achievement, Atty. Liong along with some of her fellow topnotchers were invited to join the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), the country’s chief counsel. She now practices law as Associate Solicitor 3 at the OSG. More than following the footsteps of her father who was a human rights lawyer, what really keeps her going all this time is the love and support she gets from her husband Jose Mari Liong and their three beautiful daughters Sophia Marie, Maria Ysabella and Briannah Marie. When asked about her “secret weapon” in passing the bar, she said that no single factor was responsible, for it was more of a confluence of various virtues of perseverance, dedication, diligence, love for what you are doing and most specially, divine intervention.

The whole Andres Bonifacio College community is proud, delighted and honored to have Atty. Athalia Briones-Liong as Guest of Honor for the 77th Foundation Celebration! (Kevin James Limbaga)

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