Atty. Joji Alonso celebrates the passing of the 2025 Bar Exams of her son, Nico Antonio
- Actor Nico Antonio passed the 2025 Bar Exams, 11 years after graduating from law school in 2014
- Nico successfully balanced the Bar review while filming the legal drama Unmarry for the 2025 MMFF
- With Nico’s passing, Atty. Joji Alonso is now a mother to three licensed attorneys, cementing a family legal legacy
- Atty. Joji recalled taking her own law school qualifying exams just before giving birth to Nico in 1983
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When the 2025 Bar Examination results were broadcast across the Philippines on January 7, 2026, the list of 5,594 successful candidates held a name that felt like a scripted finale for the local film industry, Jerico "Nico" Antonio.
Source: Instagram
For the public, it was the moment an actor became a lawyer. For Atty. Joji Alonso, it was the culmination of a decade-long wait and a mother’s unwavering faith.
Nico Antonio, a familiar face in both indie films and mainstream K-dramas, actually finished his law degree at San Sebastian College back in 2014.
However, the "Roll of Attorneys" remained a distant dream as his acting career skyrocketed. Between filming schedules and the responsibility of providing for his wife, Angel, and their two sons, the Bar exams were repeatedly pushed to the background.
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"I must admit, I didn't think this day would come," Atty. Joji shared in a moving social media tribute. As a seasoned lawyer and the power behind Quantum Films, she understood better than anyone the grueling nature of the profession.
She watched her son balance the erratic life of a performer with the quiet, heavy burden of an unfulfilled goal.
The turning point came three years ago when Nico approached his mother for her blessing. Inspired by seeing a 68-year-old woman pass the Bar, Nico decided to re-enroll and face his "last battle."
The 2025 review season was a masterclass in discipline; Nico attended classes while simultaneously filming for the MMFF drama Unmarry.
Ironically, he spent his days playing "Atty. Willie" on camera, only to spend his nights studying to become an attorney in reality.
In fact, he was back on the film set just days after the first two days of the Bar exams to meet production deadlines.
Atty. Joji wasn't just a spectator; she became his "Bar Ops" commander. Alongside Nico’s younger brother, Paeng, she stayed in his hotel, delivering last-minute tips and moral support.
While Joji drove him to the testing venue, Nico’s wife and children were there to fetch him at the finish line.
With Nico’s success, Atty. Joji Alonso is now a proud "mother to three lawyers." The victory feels particularly poetic for her, she recalled giving birth to Nico in the summer of 1983, immediately after finishing her own final exams in Economics 151 to qualify for law school.
Forty-two years later, that same baby has followed her into the halls of justice, proving that while some dreams take a decade to ripen, they are always worth the wait.
Jerico Alonso Antonio, widely recognized by his professional name Nico Antonio, is a celebrated Filipino figure whose career spans acting, music, and now, the legal profession. Born on May 24, 1983, Nico is the firstborn of four children to Reynerio Antonio and the prominent film producer and veteran lawyer, Atty. Joji Alonso. A proud alumnus of the Ateneo de Manila University, Nico completed his primary, secondary, and tertiary education at the institution, eventually earning a degree in European Studies. Driven by a family legacy of legal excellence, he initially entered the San Beda College of Law before transferring to San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Manila. Demonstrating immense grit, he completed his Juris Doctor degree as a working student, balancing late-night classes with his rising career in the entertainment industry. Nico first made waves in the music scene as a member of the vocal group Voizboys. However, it was in the world of cinema—specifically independent film, where he found his true calling.
It can be recalled that showbiz personalities Nico Antonio and Luke Jickain have successfully transitioned from the screen to the legal bar, officially joining the 5,594 new attorneys announced by the Supreme Court on January 7, 2026. Nico’s professional victory comes at a poetic time, as he recently portrayed a legal counsel in the 2025 MMFF legal drama Unmarry, effectively turning his onscreen role into a real-life credential. For former model Luke Jickain, passing the Bar on his first attempt after a hiatus fulfills a personal prophecy; he was the original inspiration for the struggling student character in the film Bar Boys. The success of these two actors highlights a growing trend of "multi-hyphenate" celebrities in the Philippines, proving that artistic talent and rigorous academic achievement can coexist.
In a related article, after a journey that began in 1993, 59-year-old Eduardo Rivera Regio finally saw his name on the list of Bar passers, conquering the licensure exam on his 11th attempt. Regio’s resilience saw him through the era of the "five-strike rule" and multiple "near-misses" in 2015 and 2023, where his scores of 72.93% and 73.49% fell agonizingly close to the passing mark. The Land Bank employee and former public servant shared that his motivation wasn't personal glory, but a desire to provide his five children with a living example of why one should never abandon their dreams. Among the 11,425 candidates who sat for the 2025 examinations, Regio has emerged as a national symbol of hope, reinforcing the idea that the timeline for success is unique to every individual.
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Source: KAMI.com.gh
