99.9% hopefuls: 1 exam day more

The Supreme Court reported for the second day of the 2026 Bar Examinations, 12,017 of 12,029 examinees, or 99.9 percent of those who sat for the first day, returning to complete Wednesday’s leg of the three-day test.

Examinees spent the morning session on Civil Law and Land Titles and Deeds, worth 20 percent of the total score, before moving to Labor Law and Social Legislation in the afternoon, worth 10 percent.

Both sessions, like the rest of this year’s digitized exam, consisted of essay questions built around critical thinking and current legal issues.

Come rain or shine

Foul weather did not thin the ranks. The high court said takers across the National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao queued outside testing centers through the rain before dawn, with the exam proceeding smoothly across all 15 sites nationwide.

The University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu drew the largest crowd, with 1,326 examinees, while Cagayan State University in Tuguegarao had the smallest, with 358.

2026 Bar chairperson Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan led Supreme Court justices on field visits to monitor testing sites, while outside the gates, families and law school “Bar Ops” teams kept vigil with packed meals, encouragement, and applause for the exhausted takers.