2024 Bar exams start with 10,483 aspiring lawyers

Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario Lopez —Photo from Supreme Court website

MANILA, Philippines — From an initial pool of over 12,000 applicants, 10,483 examinees showed up on the first day of the Bar examination on Sunday, according to Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario Lopez, this year’s Bar chair.

During the application period, Lopez said many prospective examinees were still finishing their final year in law school or taking refresher courses.

“Unfortunately, some did not graduate and/or encountered unforeseen circumstances that led to withdrawals,” he said in a press briefing at San Beda College in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Examinee profile

Of the 10,483 examinees, only half or 5,234 are new applicants, 4,060 are previous takers, and 1,189 are refreshers, or those who failed thrice in the previous exams.

The youngest examinee is 23 years old and the oldest is 78, a reflection of the “wide range of individuals aspiring to join the legal profession,” Lopez said.

Additionally, the Supreme Court accommodated 155 senior citizens and 313 examinees with special needs “to ensure that everyone has a fair opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications.”

Sunday’s exam covered political and public international law, as well as commercial and taxation laws.

The second day of examination will be on Sept. 11 when examinees will be tested on civil law, labor law, and social legislation.

‘Quite difficult’

The third and last day of the exam will be on Sept. 15 and will cover remedial law and legal and judicial ethics with practical exercises.

Asked about the difficulty of the exam compared to last year, Lopez said: “Quite difficult but we tried to [frame the questions] objectively.”

The associate justice said the Supreme Court has already noted a steady rise in the number of aspiring lawyers who seek to take the Bar exams each year, prompting them to open the application period as early as January.

“The application period spanned from January to April, providing applicants with four full months to complete their requirements and apply seamlessly,” Lopez said.

A total of 13 local testing centers across the country accommodated the Bar examinees, with San Beda University in Manila having the highest number at 1,455.