People arrive at the Supreme Court in Padre Faura, Manila to wait for the result of the 2023 bar exam. (File photo from ARNEL TACSON)
MANILA, Philippines — Over 10,000 law graduates showed up on the first day of this year’s Bar Examinations, the Supreme Court (SC) said on Sunday (Sept. 8).
This number is out of the 12,246 who initially registered to take the exams.
In a press conference, SC Associate Justice Mario Lopez explained that from the initial number of applicants, some did not graduate while others went through unexpected situations that made them withdraw their applications.
READ: Over 12,000 register for 2024 Bar Exams
“During the application period, many prospective examinees were still completing their final year of law school or refresher course. Unfortunately, some did not graduate and / or encountered unforeseen circumstances that led to their withdrawals,” Lopez said.
“As a result, from the initial pool of over 12,000 applicants, there are 10,483 examinees who showed up today,” he added.
5,234 of the applicants were are examinees; 4,060 are previous takers; and 1,189 are refreshers.
A total of 6,108 examinees are female, while 4,375 are male examiners.
155 of them are senior citizens, and 313 have special needs.
According to Lopez, there are 13 local centers nationwide — two in Mindanao, three in Visayas, two in Luzon, and six in the National Capital Region. ‘
Earlier SC said the digitalized Bar examinations are scheduled for three days, starting on Sunday (September 8) and continuing on September 11 and 15.
On the first day, the exams will cover Political and Public International Laws, as well as Commercial and Taxation Laws.
Civil Law, Labor Law and Social Legislations will be on September 11.
Criminal Law, Remedial Law, and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises will be on September 15.
Lopez said the exam results will be out in early December, while the oath-taking ceremony for new lawyers is scheduled on January 24, 2025.
In the 2023 Bar exams, 3,812 out of 10,387 examinees passed, registering a passing rate of 33.7 percent.