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2009 Bar Exams: 1,451 Pass; Passing Percentage Lowered

By Jay B. Rempillo & Annie Rose A. Laborte
Supreme Court Online

A total of 1,451 out of the 5,903 examinees from 108 law schools nationwide passed the 2009 Bar examinations.

Do you have friends who took the bar exam and you want to know if they passed?

Click to these Supreme Court links: here or here

The top 10:
1.Reinier Paul R. Yebra ( San Beda College) – 84.80 percent.
2. Charlene Mae C. Tapic (San Beda College) – 84.60 percent.
3. John Paul T. Lim (Ateneo de Manila University) – 84.50 percent
4. Caroline P. Lagos (University of the Philippines) – 84.40 percent
5. Eric David C. Tan (Ateneo de Manila University) – 84.05 percent
6. Yves-Randolph P. Gonzalez (Ateneo de Manila University) – 83.90 percent
7. Joan Mae S. To (Ateneo de Manila University) – 83.65 percent
8. Herminio C. Bagro III (University of the Philippines) – 83.40 percent
9. Timothy Joseph N. Lumauig (Ateneo de Manila University) – 83.20 percent
10. Naealla Rose M. Bainto (Ateneo de Manila University) – 83.10 percent
Sheila Abigail O. Go (Ateneo de Manila University) – 83.10 percent.

So it’s two from San Beda, two from UP and seven from Ateneo in the top ten.

Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, chair of the 2009 Committee on Bar Examinations, disclosed that the number of those who passed represented 24.58% of the total examinees. The exams were administered through Deputy Clerk of Court and Bar Confidant Atty. Ma. Cristina B. Layusa.

For the 2009 Bar exams, Justice Nachura said that the passing rate was lowered from 75% to 71%, while the disqualification grade in Taxation has been lowered from 49% to 45%.


Justice Nachura announced that the examiners are Atty. Sixto S. Brillantes, Jr. and Atty. Jeremy I. Gatdula (Political and International Law), Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Vicente S.E. Veloso and Atty. Pablo R. Cruz (Labor and Social Legislation), Justice Alicia V. Sempio-Diy (ret.) and Court Administrator Zenaida N. Elepaño (ret.) (Civil Law), Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) Presiding Justice Ernesto D. Acosta and Atty. Edwin R. Abella (Taxation), CA Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando and Atty. Hector Danny D. Uy (Mercantile Law), Sandiganbayan Justice Edilberto G. Sandoval and CA Justice Mario V. Lopez (Criminal Law), Sandiganbayan Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and CA Justice Magdangal M. De Leon (Remedial Law), and Sandiganbayan Justice Samuel R. Martires and CA Justice Noel G. Tijam (Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises).

The list of successful Bar examinees simultaneously will be shown on three LCD monitors strategically set up at the Supreme Court front yard and can simultaneously be viewed at sc.judiciary.gov.ph, the official website of the Supreme Court.

In the last decade, the highest passing rate was posted in 2001 with 32.89%, while the lowest was in 2002 with 19.68%. The highest passing percentage of all time though in 1954 with 75.17%, while the lowest was in 1999 with 16.59%.

The 2009 Bar exams marked the first time that not one but two examiners were designated as examiners in each of the eight Bar examination subjects. Thus, every Bar subject would be divided into two parts, with each designated examiner assigned a specific scope.

In February 2009, the SC, upon the recommendation of the Committee on Legal Education and Bar Matters, decided to implement the two-examiners per subject policy.

The Supreme Court annually conducts the Bar examinations pursuant to its constitutional mandate to promulgate rules governing, among others, the admission to the practice of law.

The Bar exams are traditionally held in four consecutive Sundays of September but the High Court had to reset to October 4, 2009 the last exam week due to the widespread flooding brought about by Typhoon Ondoy.

The Rules of Court provide that “a candidate may be deemed to have passed his examination successfully if he has obtained a general average of 75% in all subjects without falling below 50% in any subject.” In determining the average, subjects in the examinations are given the following relative weights: Political and International Law, 15%; Labor and Social Legislation, 10%; Civil Law, 15%; Taxation, 10%; Mercantile Law, 15%; Criminal Law, 10%; Remedial Law, 20%; and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises, 5%, for a total of 100%.

The 2009 Bar Examinations were held on September 6, 13, and 20; and October 4, 2009 at the De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila.

The first Bar exams were held in 1901, with 13 examinees.

Published inJustice

17 Comments

  1. kejotee kejotee

    How dumbie can bar candidates be?? Only one of five passed? Did four out of five feel na sinusuerte sila habang natutulog sa pansitan?

  2. The law profession has stopped attracting the brilliant ones, which is probably good. Too many brilliant guys making a living looking for loopholes of the law is not good for society in general.

  3. tru blue tru blue

    Just like most grads of PMA, a great stepping stone to evil things down the road. Hope they’ll all find a job soon, and not just notarizing.

    Five women in the top 10 is pretty good.

  4. Jake Las Pinas Jake Las Pinas

    Conrats to Justice Nachura, San Beda topped the exams finally 😉

  5. jawo jawo

    Hope these new bar passers live up to the high standards of being true LAWYERS and not as fucking LIARS who circumvent provisions of laws for the financial and political advantage of the fucking greedy and powerful few.

  6. mario mario

    Karamihan sa pumasa ay mga Atenista. They all begin as idealistic lawyers but end up being eaten by the system. Mahahawa sila kina Nani Perez at Mike Arroyo. The Ateneo Mafia at DOJ is very much alive.

  7. rose rose

    It is sad to say that professionals once they pass their exams are idealists at the beginning but lose their idealism as they go on in their life journey..take the case of the Ateneo graduates..a number of them sa umpisa kahangahanga pero marami na ngayon ay nakakasuka…lalo sa administration ni putot…this is the new breed of Ateneo graduates it seems…malungkot!

  8. jawo jawo

    Much to our chagrin, most of our lawyer-politicians are graduates of prestigious instituions of learning the likes of UP, Ateneo, San Beda, etc. Not a few are even Summa-cum-laudes, magna-cum-laudes, and cum-laudes. Still some of them even had the opportunity to attend Ivy-League schools in America to “polish further their crafts”. And what do we get in return ? Pure and un-adulterated “HORSE-DUNG”.

    Truly, these assholes are idealistic on the onset of their practice. Pero kapag na-anggihan na ng pera, all idealisms are thrown out the window and they become “MERCENARIES”.

  9. bayong bayong

    nadagdagan na naman ang mga panggulo sa bayan. isang issue itanong mo sa 4 na abugado iba iba ang sasabihin samantalang pareho lang naman ang mga librong binasa. may kinalaman kaya ang korte suprema natin dahil ang kanilang mga desisyon ay nagiging batas din.

  10. Pero kapag na-anggihan na ng pera, all idealisms are thrown out the window and they become “MERCENARIES”. — jawo

    Spot on!

  11. Too many brilliant guys making a living looking for loopholes of the law is not good for society in general. — ricelander

    Indeed. It’s become a sort of sport to these people too — twist the law. If Davide can do it, they probably tell themselves, why shouldn’t they.

  12. rose rose

    with all the crimes committed in the country…from traffic, pagnanakaw, drugs, massacre…we need lawyers..thus marami ang gustong maging liars…pagkikitaan ng malaki…eg si fried fortune na abugado ng mga Ampatuans..it is their duty to defend, hindi ba? but who will defend the ordinary folks…not the Supreme Court, not the Ombudsman (is this the right spelling?), not the justices,mahirap ang mahirap..kahit na magtiaga ka, magaling ka o matalino kang tunay..si Money Villar lang ang nagsucceed…kaya kung ikaw ay matiaga, magaling, at matalino mag congressman ka muna and mag senador..that is the key to success…no doubt about it…pasukan ang politica, magtiaga ka at gamitin ang galing at talino…ang buhay talaga…

  13. It is not Ateneo’s fault that some of its graduates turned out that way. So is it with the other schools. Corrupt lawyers became such on the individual choices they made, mostly done while in practice of the profession. Way after they graduated from school.

    The fact that Ateneo and UP are consistently producing bar topnotchers only means they are on the right track as far as the education of future lawyers are concerned. The moral and ethical part, you do not get the same influence to the lawyer’s person from school as much as the influence of society in general.

    The country has corrupt lawyers because it has a corrupt justice system brought about by a corrupt government. Period.

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