# Philippine Bar Examinations

The Philippine Bar Examinations is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee.

## History

The first Philippine Bar Exams were conducted in 1901 with only 13 examinees. The third Philippine Bar Exam took place in 1903 but the results were released in 1905. José L. Quintos of Escuela de Derecho de Manila (now Manila Law College) obtained the highest rating of 96.33%, future President Sergio Osmeña was second with 95.66%, future CFI Judge Fernando Salas was third with 94.5% and future President Manuel L. Quezon fourth with 87.83%. The bar exam in 1903 had only 13 examinees, while the 2008 bar examination is the 107th (given per Article 8, Section 5, 1987 Constitution). The first Roll of Attorneys were listed in 1945 after the 1944 bar exam. After the 1903 exam, rankings were again avoided until the 1913 exam, with its first English exam and first top-ten list of topnotchers led by future president Manuel Roxas from UP Manila with 92%. This meant that every other year from the inaugural 1901 examination to 1912 no scores were given other than pass or fail. The 2016 bar exam had the highest number of successful candidates since 1954: 3,747 out of 6,344 (59.06 percent) examinees, but that ratio was later topped in 2020-21 (72.28 percent, the third highest at that point). However, the Supreme Court of the Philippines' Office of the Bar Confidant announced that (a new and official record of) 7,227 candidates took the 2017 Bar examinations.
Past Bar examinations were conducted every September at De La Salle University until 2010 when they moved the date to November and changed the venue to University of Santo Tomas in 2011. As of February 2022, the Bar examinations had been regionalized and different schools were chosen as venues for the examination, switching to three or four day schedules in one week. The examination was also converted from the traditional pen and booklet to a now computerized method.
The lowest year was the 1999 bar examinations which recorded the lowest passing rate of 16.59% or with a total number of 660 successful examinees. Also, the 2003 bar exam was marred by controversy when the Court ordered a retake of the Mercantile law exams due to questionnaire leakage. However, five months after the September 21 Mercantile law examination, the Supreme Court of the Philippines decided to cancel the retaking of the examinations, with the reason being to save the trouble for the examinees. It instead assigned different percentages per subject of the examinations.
In 2005, the Supreme Court implemented the "five-strike" rule, which disqualifies five-time flunkers from taking future bar exams. The five-strike rule imposes conditions on the third and fourth failed exams. After failing three times, certain conditions will have to be complied with before an examinee can take the examinations for the fourth time. Failing four times will also result in the same outcome — one will have to comply with certain conditions once more in order to be able to take the bar exam for the fifth time. Beyond that, flunkers are no longer allowed to take the bar exam. Eight years after rule was imposed, however, in 2013, The Supreme Court lifted the five-strike rule in taking the bar examinations. Court spokesman Theodore Te said the rule was lifted after the SC en banc adopted a recommendation by a study group to lift the five-strike policy starting on the bar exams in 2014. The lifting, however, could not be applied to the 2013 examination as the list of probable bar candidates had already been published by that point.
In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals' scores were sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act and cannot be disclosed without prior consent of the examinees. However, it allowed law schools to requests for individual scores in such a manner that does not identify any single examinee.

## Admission requirements

A bar candidate must meet the following academic qualifications:
* Holder of a professional degree in law from a recognized law school in the Philippines
* Holder of a bachelor's degree with academic credits in certain required subjects from a recognized college or university in the Philippines or abroad.
Candidates should also meet certain non-academic requisites:
* A Filipino citizen.
* At least twenty-one years of age.
* A resident of the Philippines.
* Satisfactory evidence of good moral character (usually a certificate from the dean of law school or an immediate superior at work).
* No charges involving moral turpitude have been filed against the candidate or are pending in any court in the Philippines.
In March 2010 the Philippine Supreme Court Issued Bar Matter 1153, amending provisions in Sections 5 and 6 of Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, now allowing Filipino foreign law school graduates to take the Bar Exam provided that they comply with the following:
* Completion of all courses leading to a degree of Bachelor of laws or its equivalent;
* Recognition or accreditation of the law school by proper authority;
* Completion of all fourth year subjects in a program of a law school duly accredited by the Philippine Government; and
* Proof of completing a separate bachelor's degree.

## Committee of Bar Examiners

The Supreme Court appoints memberships in the Committee of Bar Examiners, the official task force for formulating bar exam questions, instituting policy directives, executing procedures, grading bar examination papers, and releasing the results of the annual bar examination.
The committee is chaired by an incumbent Justice of the Supreme Court, who is designated by the Supreme Court to serve for a term of one year. The members of the committee includes eight members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, who also hold office for a term of one year. While the Justice who shall act as chairman is immediately known, committee members must exert every effort to conceal their identities until the oath-taking of the successful bar examinees, approximately six months after the bar exam.
| Year | Bar Exam Chairperson |
| 2001 | Associate Justice Sabino De Leon Jr. |
| 2002 | Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza |
| 2003 | Associate Justice Jose Vitug |
| 2004 | Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing |
| 2005 | Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr. |
| 2006 | Associate Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez |
| 2007 | Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna |
| 2008 | Associate Justice Dante Tiñga |
| 2009 | Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura |
| 2010 | Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales |
| 2011 | Associate Justice Roberto A. Abad |
| 2012 | Associate Justice Martin Villarama |
| 2013 | Associate Justice Arturo Brion |
| 2014 | Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta |
| 2015 | Associate Justice Teresita de Castro |
| 2016 | Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. |
| 2017 | Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin |
| 2018 | Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo |
| 2019 | Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe |
| 2020 | Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | Associate Justice Marvic Leonen |
| 2022 | Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa |
| 2023 | Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando |
| 2024 | Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez |
| 2025 | Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier |
| 2026 | Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan |

## Bar review programs

Candidates who meet all the admission requirements usually enroll in special review classes after graduating from law school. These programs are held from April to September in law schools, colleges, universities, and review centers.
Program schedule, content, and delivery differs from one review program to another. Lecturers in these programs are called bar reviewers. They are usually full-time professors and part-time professorial lecturers in law schools and universities. Most review programs invite incumbent and retired justices and high ranking public officials both as a marketing tool and as a program innovation.

## Coverage

Previously, the bar examinations was conducted in all four Sundays of the month of November. Two bar subjects were taken every week, one is scheduled in the morning while another is in the afternoon. However, beginning in the 2023 Bar Examinations, the examinations were now conducted in three separate days in the month of September, and reduced the bar subjects from eight to six:

### Grading system

The six bar subjects are separately graded. Each subject contributes to the general average in the following proportion:
| Subject | Weight |
| Political and Public International Law | 15% |
| Commercial and Taxation Laws | 20% |
| Civil Law | 20% |
| Labor Law and Social Legislation | 10% |
| Criminal Law | 10% |
| Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises | 25% |
The passing average fixed by law is 75%, with no grade falling below 50% in any bar subject.

### Passing average vs. Passing rate

The passing average is the minimum grade in the exam required to be admitted to the practice of law. The passing rate is the proportion of total number of bar passers in relation to the total number of bar examinees. It is usually computed on two levels—the national level (national bar passing rate), and the law school level (law school passing rate).
In the past, passing averages were considerably lower to admit more new lawyers (i.e. 69% in 1947, 69.45% in 1946, 70% in 1948). Since 1982, the passing average has been fixed at 75%. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the national passing rate of bar examinees, from an all-time high of 75.17% in 1954 to an all-time low of 16.59% in 1999 (all-time low should have been the single digit 5% national passing rate for the 2007 bar examination if the Supreme Court did not lower the passing average to 70% and lowered the disqualification rate in 3 subjects). In recent years, the annual national bar passing rate ranges from 20% to 30%.

### Law school passing rates

The most recent ranking (December 2015) for the top ten law schools in the Philippines by the Legal Education Board is based on the cumulative performance of law schools in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Bar Examinations. The list only included law schools which had 20 or more examinees:
* University of the Philippines (10%)
* Ateneo de Manila University (9%)
* San Beda University (8%)
* University of San Carlos (7%)
* Ateneo de Davao University (6%)
* University of Santo Tomas (5%)
* University of Cebu (4%)
* San Beda College Alabang (3%)
* Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (2%)
* Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan (1%)

### Role of the Supreme Court, Criticisms

In 2007, only 5% (of the 5,626 who took the 2007 tests, or less than 300) got the passing grade of 75%. Thus, the Supreme Court adjusted the standard to 70% and the disqualification rate in 3 subjects (civil, labor and criminal law) from 50 to 45%. Accordingly, 1,289 or 22.91%, "passed." This passing grade reduction is highly unusual, since it last happened in the 1981 exam when the passing grade was lowered to 72.5%. Prior to 1982, the passing mark jumped unpredictably from year to year:
Passing Grade fluctuations between 1946 and 1981 (56) :
| Year | Passing Mark (%) | Year | Passing Mark (%) |
| 1946 | 69.45 | 1964 | 71.5 |
| 1947 | 69 | 1965 | 71.5 |
| 1948 | 70 | 1966 | 74 |
| 1949 | 74 | 1967 | 72 |
| 1950 | 73 | 1968 | 73 |
| 1951 | 74 | 1969 | 73 |
| 1952 | 74 | 1970 | 73 |
| 1953 | 71.5 | 1971 | 74 |
| 1954 | 72.5 | 1972 | 70 |
| 1955 | 73.5 | 1973 | 74 |
| 1956 | 73 | 1974 | 70 |
| 1957 | 72 | 1975 | 73 |
| 1958 | 72 | 1976 | 74.5 |
| 1959 | 72 | 1977 | 74 |
| 1960 | 72 | 1978 | 73 |
| 1961 | 71 | 1979 | 73.5 |
| 1962 | 72.5 | 1980 | 73 |
| 1963 | 70 | 1981 | 72.5 |
In 1954, the Court lowered the passing grade to 72.5%, even if the passing percentage was already at its highest at 75.17%. In 1999, moves to lower the passing grade to 74% failed, after Justice Fidel Purisima, bar committee chairman failed to disclose that his nephew took the examination. He was censured and his honoraria was reduced to half.

## Increasing difficulty

The difficulty of the recent bar examinations, compared to exams of the past, can be attributed to the following factors:
* The growing volume of Philippine case and statutory laws is unprecedented. Laws, jurisprudence, and legal doctrines of the past constitute only a small fraction of contemporary Philippine legal materials, which are increasing on a daily basis.
* The 75% passing average with no grade lower than 50% in any subject is already fixed by law. Actual candidates who scored 74.99% in the general average were not admitted to the practice of law, unless they retake the bar exams.
* The Three-Failure Rule is now in place. Candidates who have failed the bar exams for three times are not permitted to take another bar exam until they re-enroll and pass regular fourth-year review classes and attend a pre-bar review course in an approved law school.
* The Five-Strike Rule was implemented from 2005 and ended in 2014. The rule limits to five the number of times a candidate may take the Bar exams. The rule disqualifies a candidate after failing in three examinations. However, he is permitted to take fourth and fifth examinations if he successfully completes a one-year refresher course for each examination. On September 3, 2013, the Supreme Court, issued a resolution, lifting the five-strike rule on bar repeaters.
* The four-year bachelor's degree is required before admission to law school. Hence, every bar examinee has to hold at least two degrees—one in law and one in another field. In the past, law schools readily admit high school graduates and two-year Associate in Arts degree holders.
After the end of the Second World War, the passing rate in the succeeding years was remarkably high, ranging from 56 to 72% percent. However, after Associate Justice J.B.L. Reyes, a noted scholar, was appointed Chairman of the 1955 Bar Examinations, the passing rate for that year dropped dramatically to 26.8%, with a failure rate of 73.2%. That ratio has been invariably maintained in the 50+ years since.

## Waiting period

Previously, largely essay-written-type exams are manually checked by members of the Committee of Bar Examiners. Candidates have to wait from the last Sunday of the bar exams in September up to the date of the release of results, which traditionally happens before or during the Holy Week (the last week of March or the first week of April) of the following year. During this period, candidates (who already hold law and bachelor's degrees) may opt to work in law firms and courts as legal researchers, teach in liberal arts and business colleges, function in companies and organizations using their pre-law degrees (i.e. Communication Arts, Accounting, Economics, Journalism, etc.), or even their law degrees for that matter, help run the family business, or take a long vacation. However, the recent shift to digitalization of the exams had reduced the waiting period to more than two months only, e.g., the 2023 Bar Examinations was held in September of the same year with the results released on 5 December 2023.

## Admission of successful bar examinees

The Office of the Bar Confidant of the Philippine Supreme Court releases the Official List of Successful Bar Examinees, usually during the last week of March or the first week of April of every year. Candidates whose names appear in the list are required to take and subscribe before the Supreme Court the corresponding Oath of Office.
Candidates shall take an Oath of Office and sign their names in the Roll of Attorneys of the Supreme Court. The oath-taking is usually held in May at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) with a formal program where all Justices of the Supreme Court, sitting en banc, formally approve the applications of the successful bar candidates. The eight bar examiners are officially introduced to the public. A message to the newly inducted lawyers is delivered by one of the justices. Candidates who made the bar top ten list are also introduced and honored. The deans of all Philippine law schools are requested to attend the ceremony and grace the front seats of the plenary hall.

## Controversies

In the 1930s, a distant relative of Imelda Romualdez Marcos who was a Justice in the High Court resigned after a controversy involving the bar examinations. Justice Ramon Fernandez was forced to protect his name and honor when he resigned because of a bar examination scandal.
On May 7, 1982, 12 of the Supreme Court's 14 justices resigned amid revelations "that the court fixed the bar-examination score of a member's son so that he would pass." Justice Vicente Ericta was accused to have personally approached the bar chairman to inquire whether his son passed the bar. President Ferdinand Marcos accepted the resignations and appointed new justices. Chief Justice Enrique Fernando accepted responsibility for rechecking and changing the exam score of Gustavo Ericta, son of Justice Vicente Ericta.
On September 24, 2003, the Supreme Court, annulled the test results on mercantile law after "confirmation of what could be the most widespread case of cheating in the 104-year-old bar exams".

## Bar topnotchers

Bar topnotchers are bar examinees who garnered the highest bar exam grades in a particular year. Every year, the Supreme Court releases the bar top ten list. The list contains the names of bar examinees who obtained the ten highest grades. It is possible for more than ten examinees to place in the top ten because numerical ties in the computation of grades usually occur.