UST-Legazpi grad tops 2019 Bar exams

A graduate of the University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi topped the 2019 Bar exams, earning a rating of 91.0490%.

Mae Diane Azores of UST Legazpi, formerly Aquinas University, earned the highest overall rating among the 2,103 candidates who passed last year's licensure test for lawyers.

She was followed by Princess Fatima Parahiman of the University of the East, who got a score of 89.5230%, and Myra Baranda, also of UST-Legazpi, who got a rating of 88.8250%.

The following complete the top 10:

4th place - Dawna Fya Bandiola - San Beda College Alabang - 88.3360%
5th place - Jocelyn Fabello - Palawan State University - 88.2630%
6th place - Kenneth Glenn Manuel - University of Santo Tomas - 88.1730%
7th place - Rhowee Buergo - Jose Rizal University - 87.8710%
8th place - Anton Luis Avila - Saint Louis University - 87.5820%
9th place - Jun Dexter Rojas - Polytechnic University of the Philippines - 87.5765%
10th place - Bebelan Madera - University of St. La Salle - 87.3795%

The top 10 list was confirmed by Supreme Court spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka.

For complete list of passers, click here.

Over 2,000 passed

A total of 2,103 candidates passed the examinations, representing 27.36% of the 7,685 examinees who completed the licensure test last November, according to Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, the 2019 Bar chair.

The Bar exams cover political law, international law, labor law and social legislation, civil law, taxation law, mercantile law, criminal law, remedial law, and legal and judicial ethics and practical exercises.

Bernabe congratulated the passers, telling them that society calls on them "to not only become learned experts but more so to fight for the cause of the oppressed, to advance the pleas of the helpless, and to inspire others as a living example of integrity above all."

Traditionally displayed on a large screen at the SC's grounds in Manila to a crowd of candidates and their families and friends, the Bar exam results were posted online this year amid prevailing quarantine and social distancing measures due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The passing rate is higher than the previous year's. In the 2018 Bar exam, 1,800, or 22.07% of the 8,155 candidates passed.

In a video message, Bernabe said the passing grade of 75% was lowered to 74% "in light of, among other considerations, the discerned need for more younger and technologically adept lawyers to help different fronts of society as we meet the peculiar challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and transition to the new normal." --KBK, GMA News