With her firm and unwavering conviction to be a lawyer, a pregnant law graduate completed her three-day Bar examinations despite her caesarian operation to deliver her baby last Sept. 13, two days before the final tests last Sept. 15.
The name of the examinee-mother was not disclosed by the Supreme Court (SC) which administered the 2024 online Bar examinations in 13 local testing centers (LTCs) nationwide.
However, a previous press briefer issued by the SC’s Public Information Office (SC-PIO) stated that Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and Associate Justice Jhoseph Y. Lopez witnessed there were “three heavily pregnant women among the Bar examinees at the Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban City.”
During the three-day exams, SC justices visited various testing centers nationwide.
The story of the new examinee-mother was shared by Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez, chairperson of the SC’s 2024 Bar Examinations Committee.
Justice Lopez said that she sought the permission of the SC to complete her examinations showing her “remarkable fortitude and perseverance.”
“We allowed her to continue with the examination under intense medical supervision of our doctors. She also signed a health liability waiver. Indeed, despite the physical toll of childbirth, she has persevered… and now stands at the finish line,” Justice Lopez said.
Also, Justice Lopez shared how the SC justices personally witnessed the courage of examinees who are persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens, one of them a 78-year-old examinee.
“Their stories are testaments to the power of the human spirit, proving that no obstacle is too great when one is driven by purpose and passion…. These individuals exemplify what it means to rise above adversity. The Bar Exams are not just a test of legal knowledge, but also of courage and the will to succeed,” he added.
A total of 10,490 Bar examinees completed the three-day tests.
Lopez had earlier said that the passers would be known before the year is over, and the oath taking the signing of the Roll of Attorneys would follow immediately thereafter.
The justice also said that “on the first Bar exam day, we initially reported that 10,483 examinees were present during our press briefing at 11:00 a.m. on Sept. 8.”
The Office of the Bar Confidant, after finalizing the attendance data, reported that “the total number of examinees for the morning session on the first bar day was confirmed to be 10,504 examinees,” he said.
“By the afternoon session of the first Bar exams day, the number slightly dropped to 10,502, as two examinees had withdrawn,” he also said.
He noted that last Sept. 11, the attendance further decreased to 10,493 and on the last day of the examinations, a total of 10,490 completed the examinations.
The chairperson for the 2025 Bar exams committee will be Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier.
During the turnover ceremony, Chief Justice Gesmundo told the Bar examinees that while passing the Bar exams is a significant milestone in a lawyer’s journey, “it marks only the beginning.”
“The ultimate measure of success lies in how lawyers champion justice, how they handle both victories and challenges with integrity, and how they remain steadfast in their ethical responsibilities. The Bar Examinations prepare the stage, but a lawyer’s real path to distinction is shaped by their contributions to the society and the nation, at large,” the Chief Justice pointed out.