MANILA, Philippines – The results of the 2024 Bar Examinations will be released before the year ends, Bar Chairperson and Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Mario Lopez said on Sunday, December 8.

Lopez said the results will be announced in early December, but did not give the specific date of release.

“… We anticipate releasing the Bar exam results by early December, tentatively. The oath-taking ceremony and signing of the Roll of Attorneys are already scheduled on January 24, 2025, marking the formal entry of new lawyers into the profession,” the Bar Chairperson said in a press conference.

On Sunday morning, aspiring lawyers flocked to testing centers in the country for the first of the three-day Bar Examinations. The rest of the exams will be held on Wednesday, September 11, and then on Sunday, September 15. Lopez assured that the SC has contingency plans for any “typhoon or disastrous circumstances,” that might come.

“This is something that is beyond our control… We have the local government… cooperating with us in preparation for this kind of circumstances,” Lopez added.

As of July, the SC received a total of 12,246 applications, but only 10,483 examinees qualified and took the exam on Sunday. Lopez said some of the applicants did not push through due to several reasons, such as failure to finish law school in time for the Bar.

Meanwhile, to facilitate the exams, the High Court deployed a total of 2,316 employees across the country. Lopez also gave the breakdown of examinees per local testing center, with San Beda University having the largest number of Bar takers.

Metro Manila

• San Beda University – 1,455
• University of the Philippines Diliman – 1,025
• University of Santo Tomas – 785
• University of the Philippines Bonifacio Global City – 739
• San Beda College Alabang – 579
• Manila Adventist College – 438

Luzon

• Saint Louis University – 1,158
• University of Nueva Caceres – 527

Visayas

• University of San Jose Recoletos – 1,055
• Central Philippine University – 582
• Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation – 461

Mindanao

• Ateneo de Davao University – 1,081
• Xavier University – 598

Of the over 10,000 examinees, 5,234 are new applicants, 4,060 are previous takers, while 1,189 are refreshers. Majority of the takers are female with 6,108, while male examinees are 4,375. In addition, at least 155 of the examinees are senior citizens, while 313 are with special needs.

The youngest examinee is 23 years old, while oldest is 78, Lopez said. The number of this year’s Bar takers was only a bit higher compared to last year’s which had 10,387. A total of 3,812 aspiring lawyers passed the exams in 2023 chaired by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, with a passing rate of 36.77%.

‘Legacy’

Lopez will be retiring next year, the first SC justice to do so under the current administration, as he reaches the mandatory age of retirement of 70 years old. His retirement will pave the way for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to appoint his first SC justice. (IN NUMBERS: Things to know about the Philippine Supreme Court and its justices)

The Bar Chairperson said the 2024 Bar exams will be his legacy in the High Court.

“Considering that I’ve been in the academe, for more than 20 years. And that is one of the main reasons why I was designated Bar Chairman. And also, it is for that reason that I am preparing this as my legacy being a professor of law. I will have a legacy that for one time or another, I have been a Bar Chairperson of the Supreme Court,” Lopez said.

“And finally, our hashtag also is ‘Marvelous Bar Exam.’ I want to be remembered that I have performed or I have made a marvelous Bar examination,” he added.

The retiring associate justice was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte on December 5, 2019, and is set to retire in June next year. Lopez is the SC’s 185th associate justice and obtained his law degree from the San Beda College, cum laude.

Lopez was among the top 30 examinees during the 1980 Bar exams with a grade of 85.05%. Aside from being an SC justice, Lopez is regarded for his specialty in criminal law. – Rappler.com