Source: Manila Bulletin
For the first time in 42 years, a law graduate from the San Beda College (SBC) topped the Bar examinations.
Reinier Paul R. Yebra emerged on top of the 1,451 examinees who passed the 2009 Bar exams. He got 84.8 percent.
Yebra was followed by another Bedan, Charlene Mae C. Tapic, with 84.6 percent.
The names of Yebra and Tapic, along with eight others who made it to the top 10, were announced by Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, chairman of the 2009 Committee on Bar Examinations. Nachura himself is an alumnus of SBC.
By coincidence, Nachura was among the examinees in 1967 Bar exams where Rodolfo D. Robles was the topnotcher with a score of 89.6 percent. Nachura was the sixth placer then.
Since 1967, SBC always figured out in the top 10 and has the highest passing rate among law schools in the country.
“I think finally, the law of average caught up with San Beda. Kasi matagal nang walang nagta-topnotcher,” Nachura told reporters in an interview.
The third placer is John Paul T. Lim of the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) with 84.5 percent; followed by Caroline P. Lagos of the University of the Philippines (UP), 84.4 percent; Eric David C. Tan of AdMU, 84.05 percent; and Yves-Randolph P. Gonzalez of AdMU, 83.9 percent.
Joan Mae S. To of AdMU is the seventh placer with 83.65 percent, followed by Herminio C. Bagro III of UP with 83.4 percent and Timothy Joseph N. Lumauig of AdMU with 83.2 percent.
Naealla Rose M. Bainto and Shiela Abigail O. Go, both from AdMU are tied in the tenth place with 83.1 percent.
The passing rate of 24.58 percent for 2009 was higher than the previous year’s 20.58 percent. A total of 5,903 examinees from 108 law schools took the test in September and October 2009.
Justice Nachura announced that the passing grade for last year’s exams was lowered from 75 percent to 71 percent.
He also said that the disqualification grade in Taxation has been lowered from 49 percent to 45 percent.
The examiners in the 2009 Bar exams are lawyers Sixto Brillantes Jr. and Jeremy Gatdula (Political and International Law); Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Vicente S.E. Veloso and lawyer Pablo Cruz (Labor and Social Legislation); retired Justice Alicia Sempio-Diy and former Court Administrator Zenaida Elepaño (Civil Law; Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Ernesto Acosta and lawyer Edwin Abella (Taxation);
CA Justice Ramon Paul Hernando and lawyer Hector Danny Uy (Mercantile Law); Sandiganbayan Senior Associate Justice Edilberto Sandoval and CA Justice Mario Lopez (Criminal Law); Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo and CA Associate Justice Magdangal De Leon (Remedial Law); and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Samuel Martires and CA Associate Justice Noel Tijam (Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises).
It was the first time since 1901 that the Bar had two examiners for each of the eight subjects. Each subject was divided into two parts with each designated examiner assigned a specific scope.
The recent Bar exams were administered through Deputy Clerk of Court and Bar Confidant Ma. Cristina Layusa.
The High Court annually conducts the Bar exams pursuant to its constitutional mandate to promulgate rules governing, among others, the admission to the practice of law.
The exams are traditionally held in four consecutive Sundays of September but the court had to reset to October 4, 2009 the last examination week due to the widespread flooding brought about by Typhoon Ondoy.
The Rules of Court provide that “a candidate may be deemed to have passed his examination successfully if he has obtained a general average of 75 percent in all subjects without falling below 50 percent in any subject.”
In determining the average, subjects in the exams are given the following relative weights: Political and International Law, 15 percent; Labor and Social Legislation, 10 percent; Civil Law, 15 percent; Taxation, 10 percent; Mercantile Law, 15 percent; Criminal Law, 10 percent; Remedial Law, 20 percent; and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises, five percent, for a total of 100 percent.
The 2009 Bar exams were held on September 6, 13 and 20, and October 4, 2009 at the De La Salle University on Taft Avenue in Manila.
The first Bar exams were held in 1901, with 13 examinees.
Please click on the links to see the list of successful examinees of the 2009 bar examinations:
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