Do you want to know who are the 2009 Philippine Bar Exam Top Notchers? A total of 1,451 out of the 5,903 examinees from 108 law schools nationwide passed the 2009 Philippine Bar examinations.
Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, chair of the 2009 Committee on Bar Examinations, disclosed that the number of those who passed represented 24.58 percent of the total examinees.
Nachura said the passing rate was lowered from 75 percent to 71 percent, while the disqualification grade in Taxation has been lowered from 49 percent to 45 percent.
The 2009 Philippines Bar exams marked the first time that not one but two examiners were designated as examiners in each of the eight Bar examination subjects.
Thus, every Bar subject were divided into two parts, with each designated examiner assigned a specific scope.
The examiners were Atty. Sixto S. Brillantes Jr. and Atty. Jeremy I. Gatdula for Political and International Law; Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Vicente S.E. Veloso and Atty. Pablo R. Cruz for Labor and Social Legislation;
Justice Alicia V. Sempio-Diy (ret.) and Court Administrator Zenaida N. Elepaño (ret.) for Civil Law; Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Ernesto D. Acosta and Atty. Edwin R. Abella (Taxation); CA Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando and Atty. Hector Danny D. Uy (Mercantile Law);
Sandiganbayan Justice Edilberto G. Sandoval and CA Justice Mario V. Lopez (Criminal Law); Sandiganbayan Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and CA Justice Magdangal M. De Leon (Remedial Law); and Sandiganbayan Justice Samuel R. Martires and CA Justice Noel G. Tijam (Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises).
In February 2009, the SC, upon the recommendation of the Committee on Legal Education and Bar Matters, decided to implement the two-examiners per subject policy.
The Bar exams are traditionally held in four consecutive Sundays of September but the High Court had to reset to Oct. 4, 2009 the last exam week due to the widespread flooding brought about by Typhoon Ondoy.