Citations up for blind Mindanaoan who passed Bar exams
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The city government’s council and a Bangsamoro parliament leader are separately sponsoring resolutions citing a 28-year-old blind law graduate from Sarangani province who had just passed this year’s Bar examinations.
Set to be feted is Martsu Ressan Ladia, who has distinguished himself among the 43 graduates of the law school at the Mindanao State University-General Santos City.
Vice Mayor Rosalita T. Nuñez, presiding chairperson of the General Santos City Council, said on Thursday that she has proposed a resolution by the city law-making body congratulating Mr. Ladia for his extraordinary feat.
Likewise, Kadil M. Sinolinding, Jr., an India-trained opthalmologist who is a member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, also plans to give Mr. Ladia an honorable citation.
“He is so amazing. He is a fascinating example, a good epitomé of human capability to overcome challenges brought about by physical disability, particularly a very serious visual problem,” said Mr. Sinolinding, noting that Mr. Ladia has had retinopathy since childhood, a serious condition caused by abnormal growth of blood vessels in the retina, causing blindness.
Mr. Ladia, who is from a marginalized family, told reporters he is grateful to the Supreme Court for allowing him to use a computer reading application, the NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), that enabled him to read and answer in an audio format the questions in the Bar exams.
“I am also thankful to the Sagittarius Mines Incorporated for sponsoring my law review studies through its corporate social responsibility program,” he said.
Local officials here and in nearby towns in Sarangani told reporters Thursday that the SMI, which Malacañang contracted to mine for copper and gold in the mineral-rich Tampakan town in South Cotabato starting 2025, already produced in the past six years 759 college graduates from the Muslim, Christian and indigenous communities in Region 12 via its scholarship program despite not having even operated yet. — John Felix M. Unson
