MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – The 2017 Bar Examinations recorded a passing rate of 25.55%, three Supreme Court (SC) sources told Rappler on Thursday, April 26. This was officially confirmed by the SC.

A total of 1,724 examinees made it out of the 6,748 law graduates who completed the Bar Exams at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) held during 4 Sundays of November 2017. The passing grade this year was pegged at 75%. (FULL LIST: Bar Exam 2017 passers)

Mark John Simondo of the University of St La Salle Bacolod topped the Bar with a grade of 91.05%.

The chair of the 2017 Bar Examinations was Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin who follows Bar chairman and Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. Under Velasco, the 2016 Bar Examinations reported a record-high 59.06% passing rate, attributed by law schools to the “reasonable” Bar chairman then.

The 2017 Bar Examinations had its share of controversy, after some questions in Legal Ethics were found to have been copied from past examinations.

Although Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said it was a “serious” accusation, Bersamin’s judicial staff head Pia Bersamin said it did not merit an investigation. 

The highest percentage of exam passers ever recorded was in 1954 with 75.17%, while the lowest was in 1999 with 16.59%.

Since 2000, the highest passing rate on record was in 2011 when 31.95% passed the Bar. The lowest rate also since 2000 was in 2012 when only 17.76% passed the Bar, despite the passing grade being lowered to 70%. (READ: FAST FACTS: Philippine Bar examination) – Rappler.com