11,437 examinees take Bar exams – Supreme Court

MANILA, Philippines — From ages 24 to 80 years, 11,437 aspiring lawyers took the first day of the 2025 Bar examinations yesterday, representing a turnout of 86.7 percent, the Supreme Court said. 

SC Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, chairperson of the 2025 Bar examinations, said a total of 13,193 law graduates were admitted to take the tests. 

Of the 11,437 examinees who showed up on Day 1 of the exams, 5,214 are first-time takers, 4,239 are repeaters and 1,984 are refreshers. There are 14 testing centers nationwide. 

Lazaro-Javier said 241 examinees are persons with disabilities, 206 are senior citizens, 40 are pregnant and 139 have a medical condition.

The youngest Bar taker is 24 years old. The oldest is 80.

Among the 14 testing sites, New Era University registered the most number of examinees with 1,698 followed by the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu with 1,264 and Saint Louis University in Baguio with 1,253. 

“With each question, I prayed hard for discernment and wisdom that the Lord will guide me in helping you fulfill your lifelong dream of becoming lawyers,” Lazaro-Javier told the examinees.

More female examinees again

For the second consecutive year, female examinees totaling 6,673 outnumbered their male counterparts at  4,764 for this year’s Bar exams.

Lazaro-Javier said this trend is consistent with a pattern observed across the legal profession.

“The statistics have not changed. In law school, puro babae na. Mas marami na ang babae at saka ang Bar passers natin mas marami ring babae. In the trial court, maybe 60 percent are female judges,” she said. 

In 2024, 6,108 women took the first day of the Bar exams, compared to 4,375 men. 

Lazaro-Javier also noted the trend of increasing examinees per year, saying it is expected especially when there is a “big casualty rate” in the previous year’s exams as it is “the tendency for this people to repeat the following year.”

She said her standard for drawing up the exams is “reasonableness and fairness,” adding that every subject is “equally situated with the other subjects.”

Lazaro-Javier said she thinks the 2025 Bar examinees have a “good fighting chance” of passing.

She said the exams are still digital as part of the SC’s commitment to make it “as predictable as it can be, to be fair to the Bar takers.”

She said the SC would not revert to the traditional “pen-to-paper” format.

“No new rules and innovations will be implemented in the next three years,” she said.

According to the SC, the digital and regionalized format aims to make the Bar examinations inclusive by allowing the examinees to take the test in their home regions and eliminating the burdens associated with traveling to a testing center in Metro Manila. 

Lazaro-Javier said the first day of the Bar exams was “generally peaceful” as there was no violence recorded across all 14 testing centers. 

The SC has put in place contingency measures in case of unexpected circumstances such as flooding.

 ‘Keep fighting’

Lazaro-Javier urged the aspiring lawyers not to give up, calling on the examinees she described as her “Bar babies” to “keep fighting until the end and win this challenge.”

She said she is saddened by the prospect of Bar examinees dropping out in the next two days of the exams.

“I cannot judge them for their decision because I am not in their situation,” Lazaro-Javier said.