Summary of the 118th Bar examinations (#BernaBar)

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe, Chairperson of the 2019 Supreme Court Committee on the Bar Examinations, today released the results of the 2019 Bar Examinations shortly after the special En Banc session of the High Court held today.

Read more: Supreme Court (April 29, 2020). 2,103 NEW LAWYERS; UST-LEGASPI GRADUATE TOPS THE 2019 BAR EXAMS. http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/11279.

Justice Perlas-Bernabe announced that a total of 2,103 out of the 7,685 examinees who completed the 2019 Bar Examinations passed. This figure translates to 27.36% of the total examinees who completed the 2019 Bar Examinations. The figure and percentage are higher than the 22.07% (1,800 out of 8,158) examinees who passed the 2018 Bar Examinations.Justice Perlas-Bernabe said that the clearance procedure, oathtaking of the successful Bar examinees, and signing of the roll of attorneys, will be announced in due time.

2019 BAR TOPNOTCHERS

 Mae Diane M. Azores, a graduate of University of Santo Tomas-Legaspi (formerly Aquinas University) topped this year’s Bar Examinations with the highest over-all rating of 91.049%. The 2019 Bar topnotchers are as follows:

Rank Name School Rating
1 Azores, Mae Diane M. University of Santo Tomas-Legaspi 91.0490%
2 Parahiman, Princess Fatima T. University of the East 89.5230%
3 Baranda, Myra M. University of Santo Tomas-Legaspi 88.8250%
4 Bandiola, Dawna Fya O. San Beda College-Alabang 88.3360%
5 Fabello, Jocelyn B. Palawan State University 88.2630%
6 Manuel, Kenneth Glenn L. University of Santo Tomas 88.1730%
7 Buergo, Rhowee D. Jose Rizal University 87.8710%
8 Avila, Anton Luis A. Saint Louis University 87.5820%
9 Rojas, Jun Dexter H. Polytechnic University of the Philippines 87.5765%
10 Madera, Bebelan A. University of St. La Salle 87.3795%

The 2019 Bar Examinations (#BernaBar2019 #Bar2019) are the 118th held in the Philippines. The exams were held at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and were administered by the OBC headed by then Bar Confidant (now retired) Atty. Cristina B. Layusa.

The complete list of successful examinees is posted and may be viewed at sc.judiciary.gov.ph, the official website of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and its designated mirror sites.

Read more: Supreme Court (April 29, 2020). 2,103 NEW LAWYERS; UST-LEGASPI GRADUATE TOPS THE 2019 BAR EXAMS. http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/11279.

STATISTICS FOR THE 2019 BAR EXAMINATIONS

 For the 2019 Bar examinations, there was a total of 8,304 applicants. Of the said number, nine were denied, while 50 withdrew their applications, leaving a total of 8,245 applicants admitted to take the Bar by the Supreme Court En Banc. Of this number, 545 examinees did not show up on the First Sunday of the Bar, leaving 7,700 who actually took the exams on the first Sunday. After the fourth Sunday of the bar, only 7,685 examinees completed the examinations, i.e., showed up for all Sundays.

Of the 7,700 who took or showed up for at least one Sunday, 3,735 were new candidates, while 3,965 were repeaters, i.e., those who had taken the Bar examinations at least once previously.

COMPARATIVE RESULTS FOR THE BAR EXAMINATIONS

 The OBC, which administers the annual Bar examinations, is also the repository of the records and data on Bar admission. It provides these comparative statistics on the Bar examination results since 2000:

Year Passers/Total Examinees Passing Percentage
2000 979/4,698 20.48%
2001 1,266/3,849 32.98%
2002 917/4,659 19.68%
2003 1,108/5,349 20.71%
2004 1,659/5,249 31.61%
2005 1,526/5,607 27.22%
2006 1,893/6,187 30.60%
2007 1,289/5,626 22.91%
2008 1,310/6,364 20.58%
2009 1,451/5,903 24.58%
2010 982/4,847 20.26%
2011 1,913/5,987 31.95%
2012 949/5,343 17.76%
2013 1,174/5,292 22.18%
2014 1,126/5,984 18.82%
2015 1,731/6,605 26.21%
2016 3,747/6,344 59.06%
2017 1,724/6,748 25.5%
2018 1,800/8,158 22.07%
2019 2,103/7,685 27.36%

TWO-EXAMINER POLICY

 The bar examinations are held only once every year at a designated venue under the supervision of the Supreme Court which designates an incumbent Justice to chair a committee consisting of eight (8) examiners, one for each bar subject. The subjects are: Political Law and Public International Law (15%), Labor and Social Legislation (10%), Civil Law (15%), Taxation (10%), Mercantile Law (15%), Criminal Law (10%), Remedial Law (20%) and Legal and Judicial Ethics (5%). Handpicked by the bar committee Chairperson and bound by strict confidentiality, the examiners are considered as experts in their particular fields.

For the 2019 Bar examinations, the Court, upon the recommendation of Bar Chairperson Senior Justice Perlas-Bernabe, adopted a general policy to designate two examiners per subject pursuant to B.M. No. 3489.

This year’s examiners are:

  1. Dean Sedfrey M. Candelaria
  2. Former Commissioner Rene V. Sarmiento
 Political Law and Public International Law
  1. Dean Salvador A. Poquiz
  2. Justice Arturo D. Brion
 Labor Law and Social Legislation
  1. Justice Priscilla J. Baltazar-Padilla
  2. Dean Cynthia R. Del Castillo
 Civil Law
  1. Justice Japar B. Dimaampao
  2. Atty. Lily K. Gruba
 Taxation
  1. Justice Maria Rowena G. Modesto-San Pedro
  2. Atty. Francisco ED. Lim
 Mercantile Law
  1. Judge Selma P. Alaras
  2. Justice Apolinario D. Bruselas, Jr.
 Criminal Law
  1. Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh
  2. Assistant Solicitor General Marissa Macaraig-Guillen
 Remedial Law
  1. Justice Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega
  2. Commissioner Pablo C. Espiritu
 Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises
Read more: Supreme Court (April 29, 2020). 2,103 NEW LAWYERS; UST-LEGASPI GRADUATE TOPS THE 2019 BAR EXAMS. http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/11279.