The bar exams: Fast facts and famous first-placers

On Thursday, University of St. La Salle Bacolod law graduate Mark John Simondo learned wonderful news: he has topped the 2017 bar exams, achieving the best result in the largest field of test takers in the 117 years the examinations have been held.

Simondo's score of 91.05 puts him in rare company—the relatively few bar passers who scored 90 percent and above have included presidents, Supreme Court Justices, and other looming figures in Philippine history.

This year, only 1,724 bar exam takers—only 25.55 percent of the total—passed the grueling examinations, which took place over four Sundays in November. A record 7,227 test takers trudged to the University of Santo Tomas to grapple with questions on Political Law, Civil Law, Taxation, Labor Law, Criminal Law, Remedial Law, Mercantile Law, and Legal and Judicial Ethics, while their friends and families cheered them on outside. Of the total, 6,748 completed the exams.

See the full list of bar exams passers here.

Since the first Philippine bar exams in 1901, many topnotchers have gone on to prominence in the political and legal arenas, with several going on to becoming Presidents, Senators, and Supreme Court justices.

Below, a look at some of the notable people who have gone from making their mark at the bar exams to making a mark on the Philippines, for better or worse.

— BM, GMA News