The results of the 2023 Bar exams were released last Tuesday, and we have 3,812 new lawyers with a passing rate of 36.77 percent. The Supreme Court did an excellent job administering an efficient exam that took advantage of technology without any hiccup, at least that was visible to the public.
Kudos to Bar chairman Justice Ramon Paul Hernando and Chief Justice Alex Gesmundo for the monumental feat that had a lot of "firsts" for an examination long considered traditional, nearing archaic, but which continues to inspire the legal profession.
For the first time in recent memory, the Bar exam results were released in the same year and on the exact date and time they were scheduled to be released. I cannot recall results released in only three short months, maybe in the early years of the Bar exams when only a few hundred were taking it. Now that the examinees are in the thousands, checking all the papers usually takes six months.
We can attribute this to the four examiners assigned to check the papers of 10,300 examinees for each subject. I was proud to see some friends and former professors, especially my fraternity brods from Utopia Ateneo Law — Atty. Tranquil Salvador and Dean Cesar Villanueva. And for the first time, a Supreme Court staffer was an examiner, opening the door to others to be part of the honorable roll of esteemed examiners. The track of having multiple examiners has been tried numerous times before, but only now has it proven very effective.
The results were also streamed online on multiple platforms, making them accessible to everyone using a device. The names were scrolled in three columns. Although the program started understandably late, it was short yet entertaining, and the audio was clear. Chairman Justice Hernando delivered a warm speech. The Supreme Court did not miss a single detail.
I have personal knowledge of all this since my family was awaiting the results of my brother, who thankfully passed. We had followed the entire process, from his actual taking of the exam on the UP Diliman campus to his organized and peaceful "salubong" and now the release of the results.
Notably, the Bar exams were conducted three days within a week. Next will be another "first"— the oath-taking and signing of the roll that will be held on the same day at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
The top 20 examinees were honored, with a graduate from UST Law taking the top spot, giving much pride to Dean Nilo Divina. The law schools with the highest passing percentages were likewise shown, categorized by the number of examinees. My alma mater, Ateneo de Manila Law School, had the highest rate of Bar passers at 94.08 percent. Congratulations to all the Bar passers and the law schools.
All told, this traditional exercise has taken a turn toward the future and has given hope to all of us lawyers who have gotten used to the "old ways." This Bar exam should be a case study for digital innovation and must be a topic in business schools and public governance courses.
My heartfelt congratulations to the Supreme Court, which, under the leadership of CJ Gesmundo, has progressed by leaps and bounds. Hail to the Chief!
For comments, email him at darren.dejesus@gmail.com.