11,437 Candidates Complete the First Day of the 2025 Bar Exams, Highest in Bar History
September 08, 2025
Bar examinees at the University of San Jose-Recoletos, Cebu City local testing center take the 2025 Bar Examinations on the first day of exams on September 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court Communications Office)
A total of 11,437 candidates took the Day 1 tests of the 2025 Bar Examinations on September 7, 2025, marking the highest first-day turnout to date.
Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Chairperson of the 2025 Bar Examinations, announced these figures during a press conference at the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building (Frassati Building) of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila.
Justice Javier shared that 13,193 hopefuls had initially applied to take this year’s qualifying exams for Philippine lawyers, but some withdrew due to various unforeseen circumstances.
This marks the highest number of admitted candidates in Bar Exam history—nearly twice the figure recorded in 2015.
Of the 11,437 examinees, 5,214 are first-time takers, 6,673 are women, 206 are senior citizens, and 241 are examinees with special needs. The youngest examinee is 24 years old, while the oldest is 80.
Justice Javier also provided the number of examinees at each of the 14 local testing centers across the country: (1) UST in Manila —704; (2) San Beda University in Manila —874; (3) New Era University in Quezon City — 1698; (4) Manila Adventist College in Pasay City — 427; (5) San Beda College Alabang in Muntinlupa City — 764; (6) University of the Philippines – BGC in Taguig City — 584; (7) Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in Makati City — 512; (8) Saint Louis University in Baguio City — 1,253; (9) University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City — 600; (10) University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City — 1,264; (11) Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban City — 471; (12) Central Philippine University in Iloilo City — 547; (13) Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City — 1,099; and (14) Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology in Iligan City — 640.
A total of 2,389 local personnel have been deployed across all 14 local testing centers to ensure the smooth conduct of the exams.
Justice Javier also offered words of encouragement to the examinees, whom she affectionately calls her Bar babies:
“With each question, I really prayed hard for discernment and wisdom that the Lord will guide me in helping you fulfill your lifelong dream of becoming lawyers. So you must believe me when I say that if I could just carry all of you towards the finish line, I would. … My thoughts, my prayers, my heart are all with you, my Bar babies. #KeepAMYingForExcellence and finish strong.”
Justice Javier thanked her highly efficient and competent team, led by Bar Head Atty. Maria Michaela M. Billones-Vitug, who accompanied her during the press conference. They were joined by SC Spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae L. Ting, who facilitated the questions from the media.
The 2025 Bar Examinations continue to be digitalized and regionalized.
The results are tentatively scheduled for release in early January 2026, followed by the oath-taking and signing of the Roll of Attorneys in February.
The Members of the Supreme Court (SC) (front row) with law school deans, SC officials and personnel during the traditional Breakfast with the Deans held on September 7, 2025 at the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. UST serves as the national headquarters of the 2025 Bar Examinations. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
During the traditional breakfast meeting with law school deans held at the Frassati Building, Justice Javier presented select questions from the morning exam on Political and Public International Law.
She also thanked the law deans for their devotion to their students.
“They watch their students grow from clueless freshmen to full-fledged lawyers in waiting. They celebrate in their students’ success and feel the pain of every student’s struggle. Indeed, nobody sees the birth of a lawyer more than a law school dean. Understandably, the journey of every law student is the journey of the dean itself, and one can only imagine what deans go through for their students. For lawyers, the nerves of the Bar come once in a lifetime, for a dean, the tension of the exams comes once every year. The legal profession cannot thank you enough for your sacrifices in raising a law student.”
2025 Bar Chairperson and Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier delivers her message during the Breakfast with the Deans at the Auditorium at the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building in the University of Santo Tomas, Manila on September 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
The 2025 Bar Chairperson also expressed her gratitude to UST, which serves as this year’s national headquarters.
Chief Justice Gesmundo gave the closing remarks at the yearly gathering with the deans, highlighting the changes in the Bar Exams in the past years as part of the goals of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI). These include digitalizing the testing process, creating local centers, and adopting problem-based questions, all of which aim to level the playing field and better assess readiness for legal practice. “Each improvement to the Bar exams supports our broader mission to deliver justice effectively and efficiently,” he said.
He also underscored the deans’ roles in determining what kind of lawyers the examinees will become:
“Indeed, the work of forming lawyers begins in the classrooms, the libraries, and the legal aid clinics where our law students confront the interplay of law and justice. This is where our responsibility as mentors and leaders of the legal community becomes most crucial. We have the responsibility to shape not only their knowledge of the law but also their understanding of its higher purpose.”
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo gives the closing remarks at the Breakfast with the Deans held on September 7, 2025, the first day of the 2025 Bar Examinations, at the Auditorium at the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. (Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court Communications Office)
Joining the Chief Justice and Justice Javier were Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen; Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Rodil V. Zalameda, Ricardo R. Rosario, Jhosep Y. Lopez, Japar B. Dimaampao, Jose Midas P. Marquez, Maria Filomena D. Singh, and Raul B. Villanueva; Clerk of Court En Banc Atty. Marife M. Lomibao-Cuevas; Chief Marshal Manuel M. Gaerlan; Assistant Court Administrator Atty. Maria Regina Adoracion Filomena M. Ignacio; SC Spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae L. Ting; Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Administrative Officer Atty. Maria Carina A. Matammu-Cunanan; Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief of the Fiscal Management and Budget Office Atty. Marilyn I. De Joya; Deputy Clerk of Court and Judicial Reform Program Administrator Atty. Laura C.H. del Rosario; Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Technology Officer Atty. Jed Sherwin G. Uy; Office of the Bar Confidant Officer-In-Charge Atty. Bettina C. Melchor; and Chief Justice Staff Head Atty. Antonio Ceasar R. Manila. The event was emceed by SC Chief Communications Officer Atty. Michael Jobert I. Navallo.
Multi-Agency Coordinating Center
For the first time in the history of the Bar Examinations, the Multi-Agency Coordinating Center (MACC) was launched as a centralized hub to improve coordination and communication between local government stakeholders and the Office of the 2025 Bar Chairperson. The MACC functions as the command center for real-time monitoring, information sharing, local government coordination, resource management, incident response, and disaster preparedness throughout the Bar Examinations.
Chief Marshal Gaerlan of the Office of the Judiciary Marshals leads the MACC operations, especially in incident response and decision-making. He is supported by the Deputy Marshals for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao; the SC Security; and authorized MACC representatives from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Office of Civil Defense, Department of Health, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
The MACC, stationed at the national headquarters, oversees all the MACCs deployed in the 14 local testing centers nationwide.
Three-Day Bar Exams Continue
This year’s Bar Exams are being held over three days: September 7, 10, and 14.
On Day 1 (September 7), the examinees took Political and Public International Law in the morning, and Commercial and Taxation Laws in the afternoon.
On Day 2 (September 10), the morning examination will cover Civil Law while the afternoon examination will be on Labor Law and Social Legislations.
On Day 3 (September 14), the morning examination will be on Criminal Law, followed by Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises in the afternoon.
All official announcements regarding the 2025 Bar Examinations are available on the Bar 2025 SC microsite. (Press release courtesy of the SC Office of the Spokesperson)
Examinees arrive as early as 5:00 am to take the 2025 Bar Examinations at the San Beda College Alabang in Muntinlupa City on September 7, 2025, the first day of the Bar Exams. (Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court Communications Office)
Examinees undergo security checks as they prepare to take the 2025 Bar Examinations at the St. Louis University local testing center in Baguio City on September 7, 2025, the first day of the Bar Exams. (Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court Communications Office)
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo observes the Operations Hall of the 2025 Bar Examinations National Headquarters at the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building of the University of Santo Tomas from the view deck of the gymnasium on September 7, 2025, the first day of the Bar Exams. (Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court Communications Office)
2025 Bar Chairperson and Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier (center) visits the local testing center in the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on September 7, 2025, the first day of the Bar Examinations. She is joined by her husband, Atty. Rolando K. Javier (leftmost) and her Bar Team, led by Bar Head Atty. Maria Michaela M. Billones-Vitug (rightmost). (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo speaks with an examinee during a break from the first day of the Bar Examinations on September 7, 2025 at the local testing center at the New Era University, Quezon City. (Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court Communications Office)
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo (standing, third from left) visits one of the exam rooms at the New Era University, Quezon City during the first day of the Bar Examinations on September 7, 2025. With him are (from his left) Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justices Rodil V. Zalameda, Ricardo R. Rosario, Jhosep Y. Lopez, Japar B. Dimaampao, and Jose Midas P. Marquez. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen observes examinees at the local testing center in the University of the Philippines – BGC, Taguig City on September 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa (center) meets with examinees as they wait to take the 2025 Bar Examinations in the University of the Philippines – BGC, Taguig City on the first day of the Bar Exams, September 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
2025 Bar Chairperson and Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier (center) visits one of the exam rooms at the local testing center in the Manila Adventist College in Pasay City on September 7, 2025, the first day of the Bar Examinations. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
An examinee with special needs arrives at the local testing center in Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology on the first day of the Bar Exams, September 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court Communications Office)
Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Chairperson of the 2025 Bar Examinations (right), shares a light moment with a pregnant examinee at the local testing center in the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, on Day 1 of the Bar Exams on September 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
2025 Bar Chairperson and Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier speaks before the media during the 2025 Bar Examinations press conference at the lobby of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building of the University of Santo Tomas on September 7, 2025. Also in photo: (From left) SC Spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae L. Ting and 2025 Bar Head Atty. Maria Michaela M. Billones-Vitug. (Photo courtesy of the SC Office of the Spokesperson)
2025 Bar Chairperson and Supreme Court (SC) Associate Amy C. Lazaro-Javier (seated, center) with members of the media during the 2025 Bar Examinations press conference at the lobby of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Building of the University of Santo Tomas on September 7, 2025. Also in photo: (From left) SC Spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae L. Ting and 2025 Bar Head Atty. Maria Michaela M. Billones-Vitug. (Photo courtesy of the SC Office of the Spokesperson)