A total of 11,437 examinees, or 86.7 percent of those admitted, took the 2025 Bar Examinations, said Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, who chairs the bar examinations committee.
The number of examinees who showed up for the test represents a significant portion of the 13,193 aspiring lawyers who were admitted to take the exams this year.
Lazaro-Javier provided a detailed breakdown of the examinees. Of the 11,437 who took the test, 5,215 were first-time takers, 4,239 were repeaters, and 1,984 were refreshers. She also noted specific groups among the test takers, including 241 people with disabilities, 206 senior examinees, 41 pregnant women, and 139 who had a medical condition.
Supreme Court also logged that there were 6,673 female and 4,764 male bar takers this year.
Compared to the 2024 Bar exams, more aspiring lawyers took the test this year. Last year, 10,483 examinees took the Bar exams. Lazaro-Javier attributed the yearly increase in examinees to the high number of previous failures, which leads to more repeat takers.
“I believe that’s one reason we have a higher number of examinees this year,” Lazaro-Javier said.
The 14 testing centers across the country saw varying numbers of examinees and New Era University recorded the highest number of aspiring lawyers with 1,698.
The other testing centers and their respective attendance on the first day were University of Santo Tomas (704), San Beda University-Mendiola (874), Manila Adventist College (427), San Beda College-Alabang (764), University of the Philippines-BGC (584), Ateneo de Manila University School of Law (512), Saint Louis University in Baguio (1,253), University of Nueva Caceres in Naga (600), University of San Jose-Recoletos (1,264), Dr. V Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban (471), Central Philippine University in Iloilo (547), Ateneo Davao University (1,099), and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology in Iligan (640).
The first day of the examinations proceeded without any recorded incidents of violence or serious disturbances.
Lazaro-Javier said the situation was “generally peaceful” as she also assured that every testing center had a contingency plan in place to address any potential inclement weather that could disrupt the exams.
The Bar takers are scheduled to continue taking the exams on 10 and 14 September as Lazaro-Javier urged them to “keep going,” reminding them that success is not a product of a single decision, but a series of decisions to “show up and do your best.”