8,241 of 11,402 takers pass 2020-21 Bar exams

A total of 8,241 of the 11,402 who took and completed the 2020-21 Bar examinations have passed, according to Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen on Tuesday.

“Of the 11,790 admitted to take the exam, 11,402 completed the examinations. Only 3.9% were unable to take or finish the bar exams. 8,241 of the 11,402 bar takers passed the bar examinations,” said Leonen, who chairs the Bar Examinations Committee, during a press conference.

These passers earned a grade of 75% and above, he said.

According to Leonen, the 8,241 Bar passers translate to a passing rate of 72.28%.

No Top 10 announcement

Leonen said the Bar Examinations Committee will not do the traditional announcement of Top 10 passers this time to avoid the idea of competition among the takers.

Instead, the committee announced passers with “excellent” performance obtaining over 90% grades and “exemplary” performance with 85% to 90% grades

"The reforms include the recalibration of the grading system to avoid unnecessary competition for an artificial top ten, recognizing that the examinations are not a competition,” Leonen said.

“The system of pass, exemplary pass, and excellent pass without any ranking already recognizes effort without encouraging needless competition among individuals.”

Leonen said only 14 or 0.17% of the passers earned recognition for “excellent” performance, while 761 or 9.23% of passers earned recognition for “exemplary” performance.

University of the Philippines (UP) has four excellent passers, while Ateneo de Manila University and University of San Carlos (USC) have two each, and one excellent passer each in Arellano University, Ateneo de Davao University, Far Eastern University, San Beda University, University of Cebu, and University of the Cordilleras.

The following are the 14 excellent passers of 2020-21 Bar examinations in alphabetical order:

• Julia Alexandra D. Chu (University of the Philippines - Diliman)
• Camille Angela S. Cruz (University of the Philippines - Diliman)
• James Louie C. Cuevas (Ateneo de Manila University)
• Chelsea Eichel R. Dauz (San Beda University)
• Stephanie Mae B. Domingo (University of the Cordilleras - formerly Baguio Colleges Foundation)
• Francis Roel L. Dulay - (Ateneo de Davao University)
• Danica Mae M. Godornes (University of the Philippines - Diliman)
• Fernando Felix L. Imperial (Arellano University)
• Geremae M. Mata (University of San Carlos)
• Jani G. Omamalin (University of San Carlos)
• John Stephen B. Pangilinan (Ateneo de Manila University)
• Mervynn Joshua A. Reyes (Far Eastern University)
• Kristel Shayne M. Sigua (University of the Philippines - Diliman)
• Sandra Jane N. Soon (University of Cebu)

UP also has the most number of exemplary passers with 147, followed by AdMU with 100, San Beda with 94, USC with 57, and Arellano with 39.

School rankings

For the ranking of law schools based on passing rates, Leonen said these academic institutions are categorized into four groups based on their number of Bar takers.

Group 1 includes law schools with more than 100 Bar takers, Group 2 with 51 to 100, Group 3 with 11 to 50, and Group 4 with 10 or fewer bar takers.

However, Leonen said they cannot rank the law schools in Group 4 and 3 as some of the schools had a 100% passing rate among their first-time takers:

Of the 27 schools under Group 4, these six earned a 100% passing rate for first-time takers:

• Abra Valley Colleges
• Batangas State University
• Rizal Memorial Colleges
• Tabaco College
• University of Makati
• Western Leyte College

Meanwhile, seven of the 61 Group 3 law schools had a 100% passing rate for first-time takers:

• Ateneo de Naga University
• Bulacan State University
• Jose Maria College
• Mariano Marcos State University
• Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
• Silliman University
• University of Asia and the Pacific

Under Group 2, these are the top 5 among the 22 law schools based on their passing rate:

• Saint Louis University - 98.6667%
• University of Cebu - 97.4026%
• Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan - 96.9388%
• Ateneo de Davao University - 96.4912%
• Lyceum of the Philippines University - 94.3396%

Meanwhile, among the 15 law schools in Group 1 category, the following are the top 5 law schools with highest passing rate:

• Ateneo de Manila University - 99.6429%
• University of the Philippines - 98.8406%
• San Beda University - 98.1061%
• University of San Carlos - 98.0000%
• University of Santo Tomas-Manila - 93.0556%

After two postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bar exams were finally held on February 4 and 6 this year.

It was the first time that the exams were held in multiple venues. It was shortened to two days instead of four, and conducted digitally, with examinees bringing their own laptops and downloading questions from a secured online application.  —KBK, GMA News