5 Bar Exam finishers 'disqualified' due to lack of documents

MANILA, Philippines — Five Bar exam takers who finished the examinations last year have been disqualified after failing to submit the necessary documents, 2025 Bar Chairperson Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier said.

The five individuals, according to the Bar chair, were “not able to comply with the requirements,” trimming the previously recorded 11,425 aspirants to 11,420.

“Documents were not submitted,” Lazaro-Javier said in a press briefing on Wednesday, January 7.

Lazaro-Javier said that they were allowed to take the examinations, but their answers were “taken but not checked” as they failed to submit the required documents for their application.

She explained that while the high court tried to be flexible with deadlines — even allowing submissions after the exam period had concluded — some candidates still failed to submit their requirements.

“Alam mo, we have to be kind to them, eh. Sometimes their problem is the time constraint. So, bibigyan mo sila ng time kahit na nag-e-exam na sila,” she explained.

(You know, we have to be kind to them. Sometimes their problem is the time constraint. So, you give them more time even while they are already taking the exam.)

The 2025 Bar Examinations were held on September 7, 10 and 14. On the first day, Lazaro-Javier said that of the 13,193 admitted examinees, only 11,437 took the exams.

RELATED: Bar chairperson: Over 11,000 hopefuls begin 2025 Bar Exams

During the last day, the Supreme Court stated that 11,425 examinees completed the three-day examinations at 14 local testing centers nationwide.

RELATED: 2025 Bar chair turns over chairmanship to Gaerlan

However, during the release of the Bar exam results, Lazaro-Javier stated that only 11,420 individuals took the examinations.