The results of the 2023 online Bar examinations will be released before Christmas and the oath-taking of the new lawyers will be held before New Year, the Supreme Court (SC) announced on Sunday.
Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, chairperson of the 2023 Bar exams committee, said this during a press briefing at the San Beda College Alabang (SBCA), which serves as the national headquarters for the three-day Bar exams that started on Sunday, Sept. 17, in 14 local testing centers (LTCs) nationwide.
The last two days of the exams are on Sept. 20 and 24.
“For the longest time, Bar examinees have had to endure several months of perceived agony of waiting before the results of the professional licensure exams for future lawyers are released,” Hernando said.
“This year, however, following the examples of my recent predecessors as Bar chair, the time spent by the examinees waiting in agony for the results of the exams will be cut short: my team and I are eyeing the release of the results of the 2023 Bar Examinations in early December before Christmas day,” the SC magistrate added.
Apart from the early release of the Bar exams results, Hernando said the simultaneous oath-taking and signing of the Roll of Attorneys in December would be held before Christmas Day “so that we will have our new batch of full-fledged lawyers before the year ends.”
“It will be an additional reason for those who will hurdle the Bar exams to celebrate the holiday season,” Hernando said.
He said that as of Sept. 17, a total of 10,791, instead of 10,816 as earlier announced, would take the subject of the six-subject examinations spread in three days.
The change is the number was a result of the withdrawal of 25 examinees who had earlier registered. Some, as in previous examinations, may still withdraw from the exams after the first day.
Hernando said the conduct of the examinations by the SC will be assisted by 2,571 Bar personnel deployed in the 14 LTCs.
Six core subjects are covered in the examinations — Political and Public International Law, 15 percent; Commercial and Taxation Laws, 20 percent; Labor Law and Social Legislation, 10 percent; Criminal Law, 10 percent; and Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises, 25 percent.
The subjects for Sunday, Sept. 17, were Political and Public International Law in the morning, and Commercial and Taxation Laws in the afternoon, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
On Sept. 20, the subjects covered are Civil Law in the morning and Labor Law and Social Legislation in the afternoon. On Sept. 24, 2023, Criminal Law and Remedial Law will be in the morning and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises in the afternoon.
The 14 local testing centers are at San Beda University and University of Santo Tomas in Manila; San Beda College Alabang; University of thePhilippines (UP) – Diliman in Quezon City; Manila Adventist College in Pasay City; and UP – Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City (Metro Manila); Saint Louis University, Baguio City; Cagayan State University, Cagayan province; and University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City, Camarines Sur (Luzon); University of San Jose – Recoletos and University of San Carlos, Cebu; and Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban, Leyte (Visayas); and Ateneo de Davao University – Senior High School in Bangkal, Davao City and Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan in Cagayan de Oro City (Mindanao).
The Bar staff include court officials; judges; numerous personnel from SC, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals, and First-and Second Level Courts; and government and private practice lawyers.
Hernando said there are daily and close monitoring of the Bar applicants’ responses and feedback.
“We connect with the Bar takers through the hard work that we share.
To be with our baristas is our way of giving them a feeling of enlightenment, comfort, a boost of confidence, and a push to proceed and succeed,” Hernando said.
There were 3,992 passers out of 9,183 who completed the four-day November 2022 Bar exams, or a passing rate of 43.47 percent.
UP graduates occupied the top five, led by Czar Matthew Gerard Dayday, who scored 88.80 percent. Second-ranked Erickson Mariñas was not too far behind at 88.76.
Ateneo de Manila had the best passing rate of 96.74 percent among schools with at least 100 takers.