The results of the bar exams were released today, with 1,800 law school graduates having hurdled what is considered the toughest professional licensure examination in the Philippines.
A total of 8,158 people took the exam, which means that the 2018 bar has a passing rate of 22.07 percent, reported Rappler.
The bar covers different topics such as civil law, criminal law, labor law, legal ethics, practical exercises, mercantile law, political law, and remedial law, reported Manila Bulletin.
The release of the bar exam’s results is always met with much fanfare in the Philippines, where lawyers are held in such high esteem. Students and parents even camp out outside the Supreme Court building in Ermita, Manila to wait for the exam results. Those who pass are sometimes welcomed by their parents with giant banners hanging outside their homes.
As proof of Filipinos’ fascination with the exams, an independent film company even produced a comedy-drama movie titled Bar Boys in 2017, which follows the travails of four men as they go through law school and prepare for the bar exams.
It also reached the top of Philippine Twitter trends today.
Filipinos are always curious to know the top notcher for the year, and this year it’s a graduate of Ateneo de Manila University law school, Sean James Borja, who scored 89.3060 percent, reported GMA News.
Below are the other top notchers this year:
2. Natu-El, Marcley Augustus D. of University of San Carlos (87.5300 percent)
3. Badayos, Mark Lawrence C. of the University of San Carlos (85.842 percent)
4. Fordan, Daniel John A. of Ateneo de Manila University (85.44 percent)
5. Gaw, Katrina Monica C. of Ateneo de Manila University (85.421 percent)
6. Tongco, Nadaine P. of the University of the Philippines (85.032 percent)
7. Sevilla, Patricia O. of University of the Philippines (84.859 percent)
8. TING, Kathrine T. of De La Salle University (84.857 percent)
9. CANE, Jebb Lynus Q. of University of San Carlos (84.805 percent)
10. PITA, Alen Joel R.O of University of San Carlos (84.693 percent)
The 2018 exams were held on four Sundays in November at the University of Santo Tomas in Sampaloc, Manila. This year’s passing rate is lower than the 2017 exams, where 25.55 percent passed. In 2016, 59.06 percent of examinees passed the exam, one of the highest in decades.
