MANILA, Philippines – Exactly 9,821 examinees are expected to flock to local testing centers nationwide on Wednesday, November 9, to take the challenge of passing the 2022 Bar Examinations.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court’s (SC) Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) said 9,821 are expected to take the exams out of 10,074 originally approved applications. The OBC added 10,006 applicants even participated in the venue selection and were assigned to local testing centers, but only over 9,000 are pushing through.

The number of 2022 takers for this year is lower compared to the previous 2020/2021 Bar Exams, which had a total of 11,402 examinees. The number is, however, higher compared to the 7,685 takers in 2019.

This year’s Bar Exams is the second to be held during the pandemic. The 2020/2021 Bar was the first and was considered “the biggest Bar ever.”

Chaired by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the previous Bar had 8,241 passers out of over 11,000 takers, with a record-breaking passing rate of 72.28%. This is considered one of the highest passing rates, although the highest in history is still the 1954 Bar Exams with 75.17%.

In 2021, the Supreme Court scrapped the traditional Top 10 ranking of examinees due to the pandemic. Instead, they recognized 761 passers with exemplary grades ranging from 85% to 90%, while 14 bar passers were on the excellent list for attaining scores higher than 90%.

The succeeding dates for the Bar Exams will take place on November 13, 16, and 20. According to the SC, 5,847 are first-timers; 3,974 will be taking the exam for the second time or more.

There are 14 local testing centers scattered across the country. Ateneo de Manila University will hold the largest number of examinees at 2,529.

Below is the full list of local testing centers and their expected number of examinees:

Metro Manila

• Ateneo de Manila University: 2,529
• De La Salle University: 794
• University of the Philippines-Bonifacio Global City: 680
• San Beda University: 600
• Manila Adventist College: 350

Luzon

• Saint Louis University: 1,000
• University of Nueva Caceres: 465
• De La Salle Lipa: 366

Visayas

• University of Cebu: 789
• University of San Carlos: 530
• Dr. Vicente Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation: 392

Mindanao

• Ateneo de Davao University: 780
• Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan: 464
• Ateneo de Zamboanga University: 267

Amid false social media posts claiming that the 2022 Bar Exams will be postponed, the SC earlier announced on November 1 that the exams will push through as scheduled.

Bar 2022 chair Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa earlier said this year’s exams will cover eight subjects and adopt a three-examiner policy.

Meanwhile, those who decided not to take the exam, but who already applied, can apply for a refund of their fees, according to the SC. They can also apply their paid fees to the next Bar in September 2023. – Rappler.com