Witty yet wacky

He has a lot of words of wisdom to offer, something to ponder on and serve as an inspiration in one’s life. He has numerous experiences from which one can learn life-changing lessons, but despite the seriousness of his stories as they unfold right before us, with Atty. Mark John M. Soriquez, or simply Atty. Mark, the ambiance remains jolly as he gamely joked with us, even throwing humorous punch lines during an exclusive interview with 1Bataan.com

Born on February 11, 1979 in Orani, Bataan, Atty. Mark is married to the love of his life, Donna with whom he has two wonderful children Alexandria and Juan Marko. They presently reside at the Doña Maria Subdivision, in the City of Balanga.

The Holy Rosary Parochial Institute (HRPI) in Orani, provided him a strong educational foundation; grade school and secondary. In 1999, he graduated with a degree in Political Science from the Far Eastern University in Manila, but he has not yet fulfilled his dream, so he enrolled at the San Sebastian College, Recoletos School of Law and subsequently passed the bar exams.

As a full-fledged lawyer, he started his way up in the career ladder as a clerk in a private law firm. In 2010, he put his business acumen to a test when he entered general merchandising, he even jokingly labeled himself as the “Divisoria King”.

In 2012, he joined the Provincial Government of Bataan as a consultant and finally in August last year, he was appointed as the Officer-in-Charge at the Provincial Legal Office. He also had a stint as an instructor at the St. Patrick College in Orani and Limay Polytechnic College. At present he handles law subjects at the Tomas Del Rosario College in Balanga City.

Although he describes his profession as the “loneliest job” for he makes other people’s problems his problems, he still manages to perform his tasks satisfactorily. In addition to representing the province in legal cases, he also leads the free legal counseling services and review of various legal documents such as contracts and deeds.

Atty. Mark still considers himself a neophyte in his post and says that he owes a lot to his seasoned mentors, Atty. Emiliano S. Pomer and Atty. Aurelio C. Angeles who not only guided him in learning the ropes of the profession, but also showed him how to stay in his best form at all times.

Having served as Vice-President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Bataan Chapter he looks forward to assuming the post as incoming President come April this year.

Young-looking as he may seem, this unflagging millennial is not just the conventional “laws-and- legal-matters-only” kind of man; for unknown to many, Atty. Mark is a musician by heart. He enjoys playing different musical instruments such as the guitar and drums and used to be a band vocalist. He also dipped his hand into writing and composing songs and even intimated that he has a rich collection of unpublished musical compositions.

Before you conclude that his hands are always loaded with “to-do” things, he assured us that he sees to it that he has time for physical activities to maintain a sound mind in a healthy body, so to speak. He enjoys playing basketball and mountain biking as well. To date, his most challenging and fulfilling trail is the Mabatang Trail in Abucay.

“Patience is a virtue”, is Atty. Mark’s philosophy in life. “Arguably, the bar exam is the hardest among the licensure exams in the Philippines.” he added. Hence, he would not have fulfilled his dream of becoming a lawyer if not for his patience and of course, hard work.  Atty. Mark also chairs the Legal Aide Committee of the province, so whenever he feels down and drained, he said, he just thinks of the indigent people who badly need their services, and he feels recharged again.

The full support of his family and the good rapport with his staff motivate him to be more passionate in his job, while his desire to learn drives him to be a good public servant.

One may say that, young as he is, Atty. Mark has achieved his life goals, but he was quick to say that he still aims big for his fellow Bataeños. He dreams of being a private practitioner with his own “big” law firm here in the province, providing affordable quality legal services to his “kababayans”.