1,289 pass bar exams; 4 from Ateneo, 3 from UP are on top

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court on Saturday announced that out of the 5,626 law graduates who took the Bar examinations last year only 1,289 or 22.91 percent passed. Three of the topnotchers are from the Ateneo de Manila University, one from Ateneo de Davao, while three are from the University of the Philippines. The complete list of the successful examinees are available here. Mercedita L. Ona, a graduate of the Ateneo topped the exam with a rating of 83.55 percent, followed by Jennifer T. Ong of UP with 83.35 percent. Another Atenean, Yvanna DL Maalat placed third (82.75%). Fourth was Jennie C. Aclan of of University of San Carlos (82.10%), while fifth was John Michael S. Galauran of University of Nueva Caceres (81.60%). Sixth to the 10th placers are: Karen S. Canullas of the San Sebastian College (81.40%); Cecille L. Mejia of Ateneo and Sheryl Ann D. Tizon of UP who tied in the seventh place (81.35%); Marforth T. Fua of San Beda College (81.20%); Ruby M. Luy of Ateneo de Davao University (81.15%); and Christian B. Llido of the University of Cebu and Vivian Tan of UP who tied in the 10th place (80.90%). According to data from the high court's Office of the Bar Confidant, 5,626 out of 5,799 law graduates from 109 law schools nationwide completed the four-Sunday examination at the De La Salle University on Taft Avenue, Manila. The 22.91 percent of passage in the 2007 bar exam was the fourth lowest result in the last eight years. The lowest percentage for the said period was in 2002, where only 19.68 percent of examinees passed the bar. The second lowest was in 2003 with 20.17 percent, while the third was in 2000 with 20.84 percent. The 2003 bar exam was marred by controversy when the Court ordered a retake of the Mercantile law due to alleged questionnaire leakage. The first bar exam was held in 1901, with 13 examinees, while the 2007 bar examination held last September was the 107th. The 2001 bar exam had the highest number of passers - 1,266 out of 3,849 examinees, or 32.89%, while the 2006 exam had the highest examinees - 6,187. Just want to pass Ona, who now works as a legal associate at the Sycip Law office, told GMANews.TV she just wanted to pass the Bar. “Basta gusto ko lang pumasa. Sobrang hirap yung six months preparation. Mahirap 'yong buong bar experience," she said. She said she will now become an associate in her office after successfully passing the examinations. She earlier said that she would not go the Supreme Court to check the result. “Nakakakaba kasi e. Baka yung family ko pumunta," she said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. A bar candidate must meet the following academic qualifications to take the exam: * Holder of a professional degree in law from a recognized law school in the Philippines * Holder of a bachelor's degree with academic credits in certain required subjects from a recognized college or university in the Philippines or abroad * He should also meet certain non-academic requisites: * A Filipino citizen * At least 21 years of age * A resident of the Philippines * Satisfactory evidence of good moral character * No charges involving moral turpitude have been filed against the candidate or are pending in any court in the Philippines Candidates who meet all the admission requirements usually enroll in special review classes after graduating from law school. These programs are held from April to September in law schools, colleges, universities, and review centers. Program schedule, content, and delivery differ from one review program to another. Lecturers in these programs are called bar reviewers. They are usually full-time professors and part-time professorial lecturers in law schools and universities. Most review programs invite incumbent and retired justices and high ranking public officials both as a marketing tool and as a program innovation. The examinations are held during the four Sundays of September of every year in the campus of De La Salle University-Manila in Taft Avenue, Manila. The Supreme Court appoints members in the Committee of Bar Examiners, the official task force for formulating bar exam questions, instituting policy directives, executing procedures, grading bar examination papers, and releasing the results of the annual bar examination. The committee is chaired by an incumbent Justice of the Supreme Court, who is designated by the Supreme Court to serve for a term of one year. The members of the committee includes eight members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, who also hold office for a term of one year. While the Justice who shall act as chairman is immediately known, committee members must exert every effort to conceal their identities until the oath-taking of the successful bar examinees, approximately six months after the bar exam. - AR Sabangan, Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV with additional data from wikipedia