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Lawyers and law students, especially those coming from law schools at the University Belt, would know Dean Wilard Riano.
He is the Dean of the University of the East (UE) College of Law, and previously served as the Dean of San Sebastian (SSC) College of Law for 11 years. He is a well-respected Bar reviewer in Commercial, Remedial and Civil Law in astoundingly 13 Bar review centers nationwide. He has published eight books to date.
What is interesting is that Dean Riano’s life story was not exactly how he planned it to be. Soon after becoming a lawyer, he moved to the United States, together with his wife and daughter. This decision was dictated largely by his medical condition, which required him to get regular checkup abroad. At the same time, the Dean also felt that working abroad would provide a better financial future for his family. For the most part, earning in dollars (or any other foreign currency) and spending in Philippine peso is what attracts our countrymen to leave the Philippines and work abroad. So Wilard left the country to find better opportunities in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. He started out as a paralegal and an investigator for a California-based law firm. Financially, he was secure. Professionally, he was not challenged.
So after 10 years, Wilard returned to the Philippines and immediately applied for the position of professor at the UE College of Law. A year after I became a lawyer, I also applied to teach in UE and this is where our paths crossed. It was our shared passion for teaching and love for our country that started our conversations. Professor Wilard and I shared stories about life in the US, law-school reforms, Bar examinations and even sports. We played basketball together on the Faculty Team against law students during the UE sportsfest. He was the Karl Malone, popularly known as the Mailman, of the UE Faculty Team. Just like Malone, Wilard was a good low-post player, who scored inside and outside. Team members fed him the ball and he delivered the points!
During his term as Dean at San Sebastian College of Law, Dean Riano was also considered as the Mailman, as he “delivered” law- school enrollees from a mere 500 students a year, to 1,000 students per semester. Also, while SSC Law Dean, he “delivered” the first ever Bar topnotchers in the history of the school, the last of which was the first placer during the 2008 Bar exams.
What most people do not know is that Wilard was “delivered” to the teaching profession by virtue of a stroke, a medical condition that has plagued his family.
Both his parents died in their early fifties due to stroke. His predisposition to this family medical history was exacerbated by the fact that he was a heavy smoker. When the expected did happen and Wilard suffered a stroke, he promised himself to start living healthy for the sake of his wife, Anita and his only child, Ma. Nina Lourdes. Thus, after all the medical procedures were done, including an angioplasty, Wilard decided to return to the Philippines to try out something less stressful than his job in the US. This decision turned out to be the correct one, as one can see from the accomplishments on his resume. As his professional credentials would indicate, the delivery of Dean Riano from the jaws of death was beneficial not only for himself and his family. During his second lease on life, Wilard shared his gifts of leadership and teaching with people he came in contact with. His students and coworkers whom he mentored through the years fondly call him Tatang. I refer to him as the Mailman.
The promise of our Lord in Isaiah 66:9 is, “I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born. If I cause you the pain, I will not stop you from giving birth to your new nation.”
After his stroke, Dean Wilard was “delivered” to be the Mailman for others.