The Supreme Court (SC) is anticipated to release the results of the September 2024 Philippine Bar Exam online following a special en banc session in early December 2024. Out of the 10,490 law graduates who participated in the fourth digitalized and regionalized bar exams, the full list of passers and topnotchers will be announced.
The 2024 Bar exam was conducted on September 8, 11, and 15, 2024, across 13 local testing centers nationwide. These centers included the National Capital Region (NCR), Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez chaired the 2024 Bar Examinations Committee. The exam was administered using a computer-based examination program, allowing examinees to take the test on their own devices. Aspiring lawyers took the exam in-person, at their preferred venue, under the supervision of proctors and monitored by closed-circuit television cameras.
2024 BAR EXAM RESULTS SUMMARY
- A-G Passers: 2024 Bar Exam Results
- H-O Passers: 2024 Bar Exam Results
- P-Z Passers: 2024 Bar Exam Results
- Topnotchers: 2024 Bar Exam Results
- Top Law Schools: 2024 Bar Exam Results
- GUIDE: 2024 bar passers online clearance procedure, oathtaking
SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES
LIST OF PASSERS: 2024 BAR EXAM RESULTS
Held on SEPTEMBER 8, 11 & 15, 2024
Release in December 2024
Release of Results and Oath-Taking
The Supreme Court announced that the results of the bar exam are scheduled for release in early December 2024. Subsequently, the oath-taking and signing of the Roll of Attorneys are planned for January 24, 2025.
On the day of the results announcement, the SC is expected to display the list of successful examinees on LED walls in the SC courtyard. Additionally, the results will be published on the Supreme Court's website and official social media pages.
Updates and Announcements
Prior to the official release of the list of passers, topnotchers, and top law schools, reliable sources provide updates on the possible or exact time of the announcement. The SC and related personnel share information regarding the special en banc updates leading to the release of results.
2024 Bar Exam Statistics
The 2024 Bar Examinations concluded successfully with 10,490 out of 10,504 hopefuls completing all three exam days. The Chairperson noted a slight decrease in attendance on the second day, with 10,493 examinees participating.
On the first day, 155 senior citizens and 313 examinees with special needs were among the participants. The youngest examinee was 23 years old, while the oldest was 78. A total of 12,246 applicants initially applied for the exams, but some withdrew due to various reasons.
Topnotchers and Top Law Schools
Similar to previous years, the SC is expected to release the list of topnotchers and top law schools. In the 2020/21 Bar Examinations, instead of releasing the topnotchers list, the SC recognized examinees who demonstrated "exemplary performance."
Exam Coverage and Questionnaires
Regarding the difficulty of the exam questions compared to the previous year, Justice Lopez stated that they were neither difficult nor easy, but "just right."
This year's Bar Examinations covered six core subjects:
- 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%)
These core subjects were determined and approved by the Court En Banc after careful review of previous syllabi and consideration of recent developments in legal practice.
Passing Average
Bar hopefuls must achieve a total weighted score of at least 75% to pass. This score is calculated based on the relative weight of each subject and the raw score as a percentage of the maximum possible score.
While a bar examinee is considered to have passed if they obtain a general average of 75%, the SC en banc has the discretion to make adjustments, as it has done in previous Bar Examinations to lower the passing percentage.
Philippine Bar Exam Overview and History
The Philippine bar examinations, considered the most prestigious and challenging professional licensure exam in the country for aspiring lawyers, are exclusively supervised by the Supreme Court. The SC conducts the examinations pursuant to Article VIII, Section 5 of the Constitution, which grants it the power to promulgate rules governing admission to the practice of law.
Many Filipino lawyers describe the bar exam as difficult due to its wide-ranging coverage and the historically low passing rates of 20% to 30%.
Before the release of results, a special en banc session is held to "decode" the bar exam results. This process involves the SC ordering the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) to open the sealed envelopes containing the names of the successful candidates.
In 2011, the SC introduced multiple-choice questions (MCQ) in the exams, resulting in a higher passing rate. However, in 2012, the passing rate plummeted to a 12-year low of 17.76%.
In 2013, the SC revised the rules to give essay questions more weight (80%) than MCQ (20%). While the passing rate improved to 22.18%, it remained far from the 30% mark seen in the early 2000s.
The 2014 exam also resulted in a low passing rate of 18.82%, while a significant increase was observed in 2015 with a 26.21% passing rate.
The historic high of 59.06% passing rate in 2016 was recorded under Chairman Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., who adopted a more lenient approach, awarding points for answers even if they were not entirely correct.
In the 2018 bar exam, the passing rate was down to 22.07%, with Sean James Borja of the Ateneo de Manila University topping the bar with 89.31%.
In the 2019 bar exam, the passing rate rose to 27.36% after adjusting the passing percentage to 74%. Mae Diane Azores of the University of Santo Tomas in Legaspi led the passers with a rating of 91.0490%.
The 2020-2021 bar exam, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, recorded another historic high of 72.28% passing rate.
In the 2022 bar exams, the passing rate was also higher than usual at 43.47%. Czar Mathew Gerard Torres from the University of the Philippines College of Law topped the bar with 88.8083%.
In the 2023 bar exams, the passing rate was 36.77%, with Ephraim Porciuncula Bie from the University of Santo Tomas leading the passers with 89.2625%.
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