Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan has been designated as the chair for the 2026 Bar exams.

The development was announced on Saturday by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, chair of the 2025 Bar Exams, during a talk at the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Lazaro-Javier noted that Gaerlan is a “red-blooded Bedan.”

On 8 January 2020, Gaerlan joined the Supreme Court.

Before his appointment to the high bench, Gaerlan served as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals. He had also been with the Public Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice before being appointed trial court judge.

Lazaro-Javier, on the other hand, also said UST will serve as the general headquarters of the 2025 Bar Exams.

She mentioned that she would be committing “treason” if she did not choose UST, her alma mater.

Gaerlan added, "Other schools had volunteered to be the general headquarters, but she resisted the temptation."