Perhaps, the most prestigious and most difficult examination in the Philippines. Definitely, this is my bias. After obtaining a law degree, the next thing a person needs to surmount is the bar exam. He or she should be able to pass it for him or her to be allowed to take the lawyer’s oath, sign the Roll of Attorneys and become an official member of the Bar. The term Bar (referring to all lawyers or the legal profession as an institution) is derived from the wood or line that separates lawyers from participants and spectators inside the courtroom. It is said that only lawyers are allowed to enter said area.
In this week’s edition, our topic will be the bar examination, its history and other cool facts about it.
To begin with, the first bar examination in the Philippines took place in 1901 and only had 13 examinees.
Two of the said examinees of 1901 Bar became president of the Philippines: Sergio Osmena who attained the second highest rating with 95.66% and Manuel L. Quezon with 87.83 who ranked fourth. In fact, out the seventeen (17) presidents the Philippines had, nine (9) were lawyers. Manuel L. Quezon, Jose P. Laurel, Sergio Osmena, Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Carlos P. Garcia, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand E. Marcos and Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Worthy to note that from 1935 up until 1953, all elected presidents were lawyers. It was only with the election of my personal idol, Ramon Magsaysay, that such a streak was broken.
In addition to that, out of the 9 Philippine presidents that are lawyers, 8 were topnotchers of their respective bar examinations. President Ferdinand E. Marcos was also claimed to be the person who have attained the highest bar examination in history with 98.8%. However, because of such high score, suspicions and cheating allegations arose thus, he was asked to redo the examination and only obtained an average of 92%. Officially, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Florenz D. Regalado held the record scoring of 96.7% in the 1954 Bar.
Other notable bar examination topnotchers were: Senator Jovito Salonga, Senator Jose Diokno, Senator Franklin Drilon, Senator Leila De Lima, Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro, PAO Chief Persida Acosta, Justice Antonio Carpio, Justice Presbitero Velasco, Justice Lucas Bersamin and Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma. Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma was the second woman to top the bar with a rating of 89.4 in 1937. She was the first woman to become a Justice of the Supreme Court.
Our province has also produced its own share of bar topnotchers. First was my personal idol, Judge Romulo P. Atencia of Bagamanoc, Catanduanes, who placed 5th during the 1971 Bar. He was a former columnist for Catanduanes Tribune mainly discussing laws and legal doctrines. His column Some Random Thoughts deeply inspired me to pursue law, thus, I also wish that my column would also have a similar effect on my readers. Second was Nicolas J. Gomez Jr., from Panganiban, Catanduanes who placed 10th during the 1977 Bar.
Before 2010, bar examinations were held every September and the examination place was De La Salle University. From 2010 up and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, bar examinations were conducted during the four Sundays of November at University of Sto. Tomas. This was the bar examination I experienced. Now, bar examinations reverted back to September and have been regionalized. Schools from the respective regions of the examinees were chosen to serve as venues for bar examination. This was proposed and implemented to aid bar examinees from the provinces in avoiding the burden and expense of a month’s stay in Metro Manila. Moreover, the bar examination was changed from the pen and book format into a computerized format. It will be the fourth time bar examinations will be computerized or digitalized.
This year, the Bar Examination will be held for 3 days – September 8 (Sunday), 11 (Wednesday) and 15 (Sunday) and the same will be chaired by Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario Lopez.
For one week, bar examinees’ wit, endurance and faith will be tested as they endeavor to surpass perhaps the biggest challenge of their life by far. I wish them all good luck and hope that they all make it. To my future panyeros and panyeras, we will include your success in our prayers. Have faith, do your best and God will do the rest.
(NOTE: This column was supposed to appear in the Sept. 11, 2024 issue but the paper mistakenly used the one intended for this week. Our apologies to the columnist and the reading public for the mix-up.)