The results of the 2018 Bar Examinations held at the University of Santo Tomas on November 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2018 will be released on May 3, 2019, Friday, after approval by the Supreme Court En Banc in a special session. Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo, Chairperson of the 2018 Supreme Court Committee on Bar Examinations, will make the announcement at the SC front yard in Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila. Afterwards, an LED wall will show the list of successful Bar examinees. The total number of 2018 Bar examinees—8,155—is the highest so far in the history of the Bar exams.
The list of successful examinees will then be posted and may be viewed at the SC website http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/, the official website of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and its designated mirror sites.
The 2018 Bar Examinations are the 117th held in the Philippines. The exams were administered by the Office of the Bar Confidant under Assistant Bar Confidant Atty. Amor Entila.
A total of 8,158 Bar examinees took the Political Law and International Law and Labor Law and Social Legislation exams when the Bar exams started on November 4, 2018. This was reduced by two examinees on November 11 and 18, the second and third Bar Sundays, when the Civil Law and Taxation Law exams and the Mercantile Law and Criminal Law exams were administered, respectively. Another examinee dropped out on the last Bar Sunday, when the Remedial Law and Legal and Judicial Ethics and Practical Exercises exams were given.
The OBC, aside from being charged with administering the annual Bar examinations, is also the repository of the records and data on Bar admission. It provides these comparative statistics on the Bar examination results, from the period beginning year 2000:
Table 2: Comparative Statistics on Passers and Percentage (2000-2017) Source: Office of the Bar Confidant, Supreme Court of the Philippines
Year | Passers/Total Examinees | Passing Percentage |
2000 | 979/4,698 | 20.48% |
2001 | 1,266/3,849 | 32.98% |
2002 | 917/4,659 | 19.68% |
2003 | 1,108/5,349 | 20.71% |
2004 | 1,659/5,249 | 31.61% |
2005 | 1,526/5,607 | 27.22% |
2006 | 1,893/6,187 | 30.60% |
2007 | 1,289/5,626 | 22.91% |
2008 | 1,310/6,364 | 20.58% |
2009 | 1,451/5,903 | 24.58% |
2010 | 982/4,847 | 20.26% |
2011 | 1,913/5,987 | 31.95% |
2012 | 949/5,343 | 17.76% |
2013 | 1,174/5,292 | 22.18% |
2014 | 1,126/5,984 | 18.82% |
2015 | 1,731/6,605 | 26.21% |
2016 | 3,747/6,344 | 59.06% |
2017 | 1,724/6,748 | 25.5% |
The Bar Examinations are administered annually in the course of one month, spread over four Sundays at a designated venue under the supervision of the Supreme Court. It is the only licensure examinations not administered by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC). Due to its scope and difficulty, the Bar examinations are regarded as the most prestigious professional licensure exam in the country.##