Z-list actor Janus Del Prado faced widespread backlash after mocking Jimmy Bondoc’s legal credentials—only to embarrass himself when he admitted he hadn’t even finished his own studies.
Del Prado tried to frame Bondoc’s passing of the Bar Exams as a punchline in a social-media post aimed at examinees:
“Wag kayo kabahan sa Bar Exams. Si Jimmy Bondoc nga nakapasa eh,” he wrote, referring to Bondoc’s qualification as a lawyer.
But the joke backfired when Del Prado revealed he hadn’t completed his education, drawing brickbats from critics.
Bondoc, by contrast, graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a BA in Communication before building a celebrated career in music as a singer, songwriter, composer, and producer.
He later entered government service at PAGCOR, holding senior posts in entertainment and corporate social responsibility before serving on its Board of Directors.
While already working in government, Bondoc pursued law—starting at San Beda in 2017, transferring to University of the East College of Law in 2019, and completing his Juris Doctor in 2023, graduating Top 3 of his batch. He passed the 2023 Bar on his first attempt, joining only 3,812 successful examinees.
Del Prado then tried to pivot, saying he doesn’t judge people by school accomplishments but by professional ones. Yet Bondoc’s professional record—spanning years in the music industry, senior PAGCOR leadership, and government programs in corporate social responsibility—only widened the comparison Del Prado himself had introduced.
Atty. Israelito Torreon defended Bondoc, stressing his achievement:
“Jimmy Bondoc was a successful artist before becoming a lawyer. He could have remained comfortably within the world where he had already achieved fame and recognition. Instead, he chose to challenge himself again, entered law school, finished the course, took the Bar—and passed it on his first attempt.”
Even lawyers who openly disagree with Bondoc politically came to his defense. Atty. Race del Rosario said she disagrees with Bondoc on “almost everything political” but stressed that he still went through the same process required of other lawyers and earned his title after passing the Bar.
Netizens piled on, mocking Del Prado’s history of playing supporting roles:
“Dear Janus, kaya ka pala effective sa role mo bilang tangang sidekick ng bida sa pelikula, wala na palang workshop needed kase ganun ka talaga sa totoong buhay,” one wrote.
By then, Del Prado was being torn apart online from all sides, as lawyers and ordinary netizens alike slammed his attacks on Bondoc—with even people who opposed Bondoc’s politics publicly defending his legal achievement.
Del Prado could have challenged Bondoc on politics, public statements, or government service. Instead, he chose one of Bondoc’s clearest documented achievements and tried to make it the punchline. Once the discussion shifted to professional records, the comparison became brutally unflattering—for the man who started it.
Bondoc, meanwhile, remains on voters’ radar for another possible Senate run in 2028. A Pulse Asia survey conducted from June 28 to July 3, 2026 gave him a 14.9% voter-preference rating, placing him within the 13th-to-25th ranking range in the still-early race.
That comes after Bondoc narrowly missed a Senate seat in 2025 but still finished 17th with 10,615,538 votes—218,405 more than Manny Pacquiao, who finished 18th with 10,397,133. His more than 10.6 million votes in 2025 and continued presence in early 2028 polling have kept his name among the personalities being watched ahead of the next senatorial election.
