The Supreme Court (SC) has decided to adjust the required passing grade for the 2024 Bar Examinations to help address the scarcity of lawyers, particularly in the provinces, according to the Bar chairperson.

“The justices would like to have more lawyers. They don’t want just 3,000. They want more, and there are several reasons,”  Bar chairperson Associate Justice Mario Lopez said, adding that he was “prevailed upon by the generosity of the justices.”

Following the SC En Banc’s decision to lower the passing grade from 75 to 74, a total of 3,962 individuals, or 37.84 percent of examinees, passed the Bar, including 953 additional passers as a result of the adjustment.

TOPNOTCHERS

Among the bar passers, the following individuals emerged as the Top 10 passers:

1. Kyle Christian G. Tutor – University of the Philippines: 85.7700%

2. Maria Christina S. Aniceto – Ateneo de Manila University: 85.5400%

3. Gerald C. Roxas – Angeles University Foundation School of Law: 84.3550%

4. John Philippe E. Chua – University of the Philippines: 84.2800%

5. Jet Ryan P. Nicolas – University of the Philippines: 84.2650%

6. Maria Lovelyn Joyce S. Quebrar – University of the Philippines: 84.0600%

7. Kyle Andrew P. Isaguirre – Ateneo de Manila University: 83.9050%

8. Joji S. Macadine – University of Mindanao: 83.7450%

9. Gregorio Jose II S. Torres – Western Mindanao State University: 83.5900%

10. Raya B. Villacorta – San Beda University: 83.4700%

Justice Lopez congratulated the Bar passers and reminded them to remain humble.

“I commend you for your exceptional resilience in your Bar journey. Remain humble as you are not superior to those who failed. There are countless reasons why you passed the Bar exams, just as there are reasons why others did not. For those who failed, remember that failure is a temporary detour, not a fatal defeat,” he said.

TOP LAW SCHOOLS

The SC has also revealed the top-performing law schools, categorized based on the number of takers.

ADMU ranked first among the 13 law schools with more than 100 candidates, with 159 successful passers out of 165 examinees, resulting in a passing percentage of 96.36%.

Following ADMU, the top law schools with the highest passing percentages for first-time takers were the University of the Philippines (93.09%), San Beda University (91.54%), University of Santo Tomas-Manila (88.72%), and University of San Carlos (85.45%), with respective numbers of passers and examinees as follows: UP (202 passers out of 217), San Beda (119 passers out of 130), UST (118 passers out of 133), and San Carlos (94 passers out of 110).

Meanwhile, PUP topped the list among the 17 law schools with 51 to 100 candidates, with 54 passers out of 61 examinees, resulting in a passing rate of 88.52%.

PUP is followed by the University of Cebu with 45 passers out of 51 examinees (88.24%), De La Salle University – Manila with 56 passers out of 64 examinees (87.50%), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila with 45 passers out of 53 examinees (84.91%), and Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan with 55 passers out of 80 examinees (68.75%).

Among 68 schools with 11 to 50 examinees, Ateneo de Davao University ranked first with 47 passers out of 48 examinees, achieving a passing rate of 97.92%.

AdDU is followed by West Visayas State University with 12 passers out of 13 (92.31%), Bulacan State University with 10 passers out of 11 (90.91%), University of Makati with 18 passers out of 20 (90%), and Angeles University Foundation School of Law with 26 passers out of 29 (89.66%).

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