Pal’s unsolved rape-slay case motivated Bar topnotcher

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The rape and murder of her classmate, which remains unresolved, motivated 2019 Bar topnotcher Mae Diane Azores to become a lawyer.

Azores, a law graduate of the University of Santo Tomas in this city, said Laesybil Almonacid was found dead in a grassy area around 50 meters away from her house in Barangay Bascaran in Daraga on Nov. 2, 2011.

“What happened was so frustrating that it motivated me to take up law... so I could contribute to the justice system,” Azores said in an interview over local radio station Zagitzit-FM.

Azores and Almonacid were third year accountancy students at the Bicol University when the incident occurred.

“To the parents of Laesybil, don’t lose hope. Have faith in God. Justice can still be served,“ she said.

Azores said she is also interested in the  plight of workers who were displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

She said she labor laws are among the issues that interest her when she was a student.

“The first person who predicted that I could be a Bar topnotcher was my professor in labor laws,” she said.

Azores’ former professor retired judge Arnulfo Cabredo said he knew that the Bicolana would be a Bar topnotcher.

“Diane was a very diligent law student. I knew she would make it to the Top 10,” Cabredo said.