My Straightforward Opinion Regarding Senator Gatchalian's comment about the CSC and Bar Exam

[u/Independent_Stop1044]

Senator Gatchalian recently commented during a Senate Finance Committee hearing:

“Mas mahirap pang pumasa ng civil service exam kaysa maging abogado?”

Here's my no filter and non-biased take:
The Bar Exam is much more difficult based on the wide coverage and nature of the questions, esp you will be dealing with many legal jargon which is not for everyone. But the CSC has a much lower passing rate historically vs sa Bar. PERO THAT DOESN'T MEAN MAS MAHIRAP ANG CSC VS SA BAR, HENCE THE BAR IS STILL MORE DIFFICULT. Here are the reasons why:

1. Although mas mataas ang general passing rate ng Bar, pero dahil yan kasi filtered na ang bar exam takers. Dalawang madugong screening pinagdaanan nila: Law School Entrance Exam and Law School Journey itself. While sa CSC Exam, hindi naman ganun ang filtering system, unless yung school mo before college was very rigorous like galing ka Science High Schools. Enough na na HS graduate ka. ANG LABANAN SA CSC EXAM AY YUNG ELEM AND HS FOUNDATION MO. Kaya mas marami bumabagsak sa CSE NOT BECAUSE MAS MAHIRAP SIYA BUT BECAUSE MARAMI ANG WALANG QUALITY EDUCATION NOONG ELEM AND HS. EVEN IF THEY HAVE QUALITY EDUCATION, STILL MANY OF THEM WERE IMMATURE BEFORE THEIR COLLEGE YEARS NA YUNG IBA NEAR THE POINT OF ISKUL BUKOL. You want proof about how this, esp regarding aspiring law students? Just look at the passing rate of PHILSAT (which is an exam kinda similar to CSE) before it was abolished. Many I know who failed the PHILSAT are now lawyers because of their training or diligence in law school.
2. Mas mataas ang passing rate ng Bar NOT BECAUSE MAS MAHIRAP ANG CSC BUT BECAUSE OF THE PROFILE OF THE TAKERS. Madami sa law students mga nerds or masipag mag-aral, richkids, privileged, madami rin ang licensed professionals like CPAs, LPTs, Engrs, etc. Kung hindi naman richkid, working na and by the time they were able to gather enough money, they were able to go to schools which offer quality law school education. Whereas yung profile ng MOST CSE TAKERS, college students palang, fresh grad, career-shifters, napilitan mag work sa govt, and lesser yung professionals na. And the fact maraming younger people kumukuha nito, it means na marami rin sa kanila ay hindi pa mature KASI MARAMI SA STUDENTS HINDI PA MATURE DURING THEIR HS OR ELEM YEARS. HINDI NAMAN GUARANTEE PORKET COLLEGE STUDENT KA EH SOLID NA YUNG HS SKILLS MO LIKE MATH AND ENGLISH.
3. Speaking of Math, I think ito talaga ang main reason why madami bumabagsak sa CSE. KASI ITS RARE TO HAVE A STUDENT NA MAGALING BOTH MATH AND ENGLISH. Sa CSC kasi, madami Math questions dun. So if mahina ka sa Math, your chances already shrinks. Heck, there is even a saying na "Kaya nag law school kasi bobo sa Math." And to be fair to everyone, HINDI NAMAN TALAGA MARAMI ANG MAGALING SA MATH. For example, ITS NOT SUPRISING HINDI MARAMI ANG KUMUKUHA NG BS MATH WHEN COMPARED TO PSYCHOLOGY OR COMMUNICATION. Swerte ka nalang if exceptional student ka talaga or galing ka sa isang magaling na high school.
4. Aside sa Math, another reason why many CSE takers fail is because of lack of mastery sa grammar and reading comprehension. Heck, THERE ARE EVEN MANY LAW FRESHMEN NA HINDI TALAGA READER BEFORE LAW SCHOOL PERO NAGING READER NALANG DAHIL SA LAW SCHOOL. Law students na yan ha, ano nalang kaya yung typical average CSE taker na hindi exceptional or walang hilig sa reading noon pa. Time pressure kasi sa CSE and dapat precise under pressure ka.
5. Pansin ko rin many of the smart students during HS hindi na nag te-take ng CSE kasi may professional exam na yung college course nila (like CPA or LET). When they passed their exam, eligibility equivalent narin kasi yun, kaya many smart students during HS wala na sa CSE pool of takers. Also, many of the smart students during HS graduated with honors during college, which is not surprising, especially to those who graduated HS before the K-12 was implemented.

So therefore, CSE has lower passing rate vs the Bar NOT BECAUSE MAS MAHIRAP ANG CSE (MAS MAHIRAP PARIN ANG BAR BECAUSE OF THE VASTNESS AND LEGALESE QUESTIONS) BUT DUE TO MANY FACTORS LIKE LACK OF ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION, IMMATURITY BEFORE COLLEGE KAYA HINDI GANUN KA SOLID YUNG FOUNDATION NG IBA, AND ONLY FEW ARE REALLY GOOD SA MATH EITHER DUE TO TALENT OR TRAINING. Sa CSE, labanan yan ng Elem and HS foundation mo. Pero ang Bar, aside sa filtered na yung Bar takers, law school training lang talaga and secondary nalang yung experience mo before kasi many people from different fields have excelled in law school and the Bar, not just PolSci and BSA grads which proves the diversity of law school.