UP’s January Sanchez topped the Bar with a score of 87.45 percent, followed closely by another UP graduate, Ronald de Vera, at 86.95 percent. Joseph Joemer Perez was eighth and Niel Simon Silva ninth, both also from State University.
A total of 1,659 out of the 5,249 examinees from 75 law schools passed the tough tests held on four Sundays last September at the De La Salle University, a ratio much higher than the two preceding years.
Coming in close to UP’s feat is San Beda College with three of its graduates also in the top ten — Charlito Martin Mendoza (third), Efren Vincent Dizon (fifth) and Maria Melissa Tan (seventh).
Ateneo de Manila University’s Michael Martin Geronimo was sixth.
The University of San Carlos produced two Bar topnotchers this year — Ma. Christina Larrobis and Ma. Melissa Jamero, fourth and 10th placers, respectively.
At a press conference held at 6:45 p.m., Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, chairman of the 2004 bar examinations committee, said that 31.61 percent of the total examinees passed the examinations.
This was a marked improvement over the passing rate in 2003 of only 20.71 percent, and the even lower passing rate in 2002 of 19.68 percent.
The 2004 Bar was the first to be held after the SC promulgated reforms in the bar examinations last July 15.
The SC website said the new rule provides that an examinee will only be allowed to take the Bar a maximum of five times. While the five-strike rule applies to the 2005 Bar, those who have exceeded this number as of last year will be allowed to take only one more exam, provided they take a one-year refresher course.
In an interview, second placer De Vera, who took the Bar with his father Rustico, 65, said that he will work for peace in the country.
De Vera’s mother, Lilia, who passed the Bar in 1999 at the age of 60, said that her son was "very hardworking and serious in his studies."
"He has no girlfriend because he broke up with her one year ago because he wants to concentrate on his studies," Lilia said.
Law graduates of the Ateneo de Manila University have topped the Bar from 1991 to 1994, but UP, its perennial rival, bounced back and started topping the Bar practically every year from 1995 up to 2001.
UP’s dominance of the Bar in the latter part of the 1990s was only broken when a graduate of the Baguio Colleges Foundation landed in first place. Last year, Arlene Maneja of the University of Sto. Tomas topped the bar exams.
One of the members of the 2004 Bar examinations committee, lawyer Ricardo Castro, managing partner of Quisumbing Torres law office and Bar examiner in taxation, said that bar examinees who were not able to express themselves very well in English either obtained low grades or failed the exam.
He said many of the examinees, however, were articulate but most were careless and missed important details in the problems. "They leave questions unanswered or skip over them. The concluding statement also often contradicts the facts or laws cited. One gets the feeling that the majority do not strive for excellence anymore," Castro said.