The 2025 Shari’ah Special Bar Examinations (SSBE) passers were officially inducted as Shari’ah counselors-at-law during an oath-taking and roll-signing ceremony held Wednesday at The Manila Hotel.

The milestone event marked the culmination of the first fully digitalized SSBE, conducted during a special En Banc session of the Supreme Court. This year’s exams posted a 24.48 percent passing rate, with 629 examinees taking the test across four local testing centers on 25 and 28 May.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho Jr., Chairperson of the 2025 SSBE, presided over the ceremony and congratulated the new Shari’ah counselors.

“Their admission to the Shari’ah Bar marks their solemn commitment to service: to be the voice of clarity in moments of uncertainty, the heralds of peace in times of conflict, and the guardians of fairness when rights are at stake,” Justice Kho said in his remarks.

He emphasized the timeliness of their admission, following the recent passage of Republic Act No. 12018, which created additional Shari’ah judicial districts.

Kho said the recent reforms in the SSBE were guided by the principle of building a more inclusive judiciary.

He also recognized the efforts of the four examiners and a team of translators who used specialized software to ensure accurate translations of Arabic responses.

Justice Kho likewise extended his gratitude to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and the Philippine Judicial Academy for their expertise and support throughout the process.