Bontoc son tops real estate exams

By Desiree Sokoken

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- A native son of this capital town topped two recently held real estate licensure exams.

Lawyer Blake Salingbay Feken ranked number one in both the March 2014 Real Estate Broker Licensure Exams and July 2014 Real Estate Appraiser Licensure Exams.

Besting all the other passers in said board exams, Feken scored 84% in the real estate broker exam and 85.5% in the real estate appraiser exam. He shared the top spot in the latter exam with another passer.

Feken, a 38-year-old Bontok who traces his roots to Barangays Maligcong and Mainit, obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 2004, graduating on the Top 5 of his class.

He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2005.

Feken is the second among six children of Benedict Feken and Elsie Salingbay-Feken. Born and raised in Bontoc, he attended the All Saints’ Mission Elementary School (ASMES) and the Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School (MPGCHS). He then went to Baguio City to earn his bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and English from the Saint Louis University.

Immediately after graduation from UP Law in 2004, Feken joined the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala& Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), practicing in the areas of litigation, tax law, mining law, civil and criminal law, corporate rehabilitation, and intra-corporate and stockholders’ disputes.

After working at ACCRALAW for almost ten years, he decided to establish his own law firm and realty services company, FekenLaw and RealtyPro& Diligence Services, respectively.

On topping the two exams, Feken said, “If you follow the path the Lord has willed for you, good things will happen.”

Taking pride in Feken’s achievement, Mayor Franklin Odsey sent a request to the Sangguniang Bayan for it to adopt a resolution recognizing and commending Feken.

“Atty. Feken’s achievement is worthy of emulation by our youth,” Odsey said.

“He is a fine example of what the Bontok can achieve with perseverance and hard work. All the people of Bontoc ought to take pride in his accomplishments which bring honor to our town,” Odsey added.