From altar to court: Sorsogon priest passes 2024 Bar exams

MANILA, Philippines — A priest from Sorsogon is now eligible to be a member of the Philippine Bar after passing the 2024 Bar Examinations.

The Diocese of Sorsogon announced this in a Facebook post on Friday afternoon, December 13, saying that one of their priests, Dean Simon Peña, had passed the examinations.

Philstar.com has reached out to the Diocese of Sorsogon for further details but has yet to receive a response. A request for a statement was also sent to Peña but he has not replied.

On Friday, the Supreme Court released the results of the 2024 Bar Examinations where 3,962 aspirants out of 10,490 takers passed yielding a passing rate of 37.84%.

Ateneo de Manila University stood out as the top-performing law school in the country for this year’s exams, followed by the University of the Philippines. 

The third installment of the digital Bar examinations was conducted on September 8, 11, and 15 across 13 testing centers nationwide.

On the first day, 10,504 candidates began the exams, but two withdrew by the afternoon, bringing the number down to 10,493 on the second day. 

By the final day, the total number of examinees had slightly decreased to 10,490.

The oath-taking and the signing of the roll of attorneys will take place on Jan. 24, 2025.