Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a The Clerk of Court, through the Office of the Bar

resolution of the Court En Banc dated March 9, 2010 Confidant, is hereby directed to CIRCULARIZE this
resolution among all law schools in the country."
"B.M. No. 1153 (Re: Letter of Atty. Estelito P.
Mendoza Proposing Reforms in the Bar Examinations
Through Amendments to Rule 138 of the Rules of
Court). - The Court Resolved to APPROVE the
proposed amendments to Sections 5 and 6 of Rule
138, to wit:

SEC. 5.Additional Requirement for Other Applicants.

All applicants for admission other than those
referred to in the two preceding sections shall, before
being admitted to the examination, satisfactorily
show that they have successfully completed all the
prescribed courses for the degree of Bachelor of Laws
or its equivalent degree, in a law school or university
officially recognized by the Philippine Government or
by the proper authority in the foreign jurisdiction
where the degree has been granted.

No applicant who obtained the Bachelor of Laws

degree in this jurisdiction shall be admitted to the bar
examination unless he or she has satisfactorily
completed the following course in a law school or
university duly recognized by the government: civil
law, commercial law, remedial law, criminal law,
public and private international law, political law,
labor and social legislation, medical jurisprudence,
taxation and legal ethics.

A Filipino citizen who graduated from a foreign law

school shall be admitted to the bar examination only
upon submission to the Supreme Court of
certifications showing: (a) completion of all courses
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Laws or its
equivalent degree; (b) recognition or accreditation of
the law school by the proper authority; and (c)
completion of all the fourth year subjects in the
Bachelor of Laws academic program in a law school
duly recognized by the Philippine Government.

SEC. 6.Pre-Law. An applicant for admission to the

bar examination shall present a certificate issued by
the proper government agency that, before
commencing the study of law, he or she had pursued
and satisfactorily completed in an authorized and
recognized university or college, requiring for
admission thereto the completion of a four-year high
school course, the course of study prescribed therein
for a bachelor's degree in arts or sciences.

A Filipino citizen who completed and obtained his or

her Bachelor of Laws degree or its equivalent in a
foreign law school must present proof of having
completed a separate bachelor's degree course.
 Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
BAR MATTER No. 1161
RE: PROPOSED REFORMS IN THE BAR
EXAMINATIONS
RESOLUTION
ON
REFORM IN THE BAR EXAMINANTIONS
WHEREAS, pursuant to its Constitutional authority to
promulgate rules concerning the admission to the
practice of law, the Supreme Court en banc item in its
Resolution of 21 March 2000, created a "Special
Study Group on Bar Examination Reforms" to
conduct studies on steps to further safeguard the
integrity of the Bar Examinations and to make them
effective tools in measuring the adequacy of the law
curriculum and the quality of the instruction given by
law schools";
WHEREAS, the Special Study Group, with Philippine
Judicial Academy (PHILJA) Chancellor Justice
Ameurfina A. Melencio-Herrera as a chairperson and
retired Justice Jose Y. Feria and retired Justice Camilo
D. Quiason as members, submitted to the Supreme
Court its Final Report, dated 18 September 2000,
containing its findings and recommendations;
WHEREAS, on 21 August 2001, the Supreme Court en
banc referred, for further study, report and
recommendation, the Final Report of the Special
Study Group to the Committee on Legal Education
and Bar Matters (CLEBM) headed by Justice Jose C.
Vitug;
WHEREAS, in connection with the discussion on the
proposed reforms in the bar examinations, Justice
Vicente V. Mendoza, then a Member of the CLEBM,
submitted a Paper, entitled"Toward Meaningful
Reforms in the Bar Examination" with a Primer,
proposing structural and administrative reforms,
changes in the design and construction of questions,
and the methodological reforms concerning the
marking anf grading of the essay questions in the bar
examination;
WHEREAS, proposals and comments were likewise
received from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,
the Philippine Association of Law Schools, the
Philippine Association of Law Professors, the
Commission on Higher Education, the University of
the Philippines College of Law, Arellano Law
Foundation, the Philippine Lawyers Association, the
Philippine Bar Association and other prominent
personalities from the Bench and the Bar;
WHEREAS, considering her Memorandum to the
Chief Justice on "Proposed Technical Assistance
Project on Legal Education," dated 27 February 2003,
Program Director Evelyn Toledo-Dumdum of the
Program Management Office (PMO) was invited to a
meeting of the CLEBM;
WHEREAS, under the auspices of the PMO, the
CLEBM conducted fur (4) regional round-table
discussions with the law deans, professors, the
students and members of the Integrated Bar of he
Philippines for (a) the National Capital Region, at
Manila Diamond Hotel on 19 November 2003; (b)
Mindanao, at the Grand Regal Hotel Davao City on 23
January 2004; (c) the Visayas, at the Montebello
Hotel in Cebu City on January 2004; and (d) Luzon, at
the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila on 6 February 2004.
WHEREAS, in a Special Meeting of the CLEBM at the
Pan Pacific Hotel on 23 April 2004, the Committee
heard the views of Ms. Erica Moeser, the Chief
Executive Officer and President of the National
Conference of Board Examiners in the United States
of America on a number of proposed bar reforms;
WHEREAS, the CLEBM, after extensive deliberation
and consultation, has arived at certain
recommendations for consideration by the Supreme
Court and submitted its report , dated 21 May 2004,
to the Court en banc;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Court, sitting en banc,
hereby RESOLVES to approve and adopt the
following Bar Examination Reforms:
A. For implementation within one (1) up to
two (2) years:
1. Initial determination by the Chairman
of admission to the bar examinations
of candidates (on the merits of the
each case) to be passed upon by the
Court en banc.
2. Submission by law deans of a
certification that a candidate has no
derogatory record in school and, if
any, the details and status thereof.
3. Disqualification of a candidate after
failing in three(3) examinations,
provided, that he may take a fourth
and fifth examination if he successful
completes a one (1) year refresher
course for each examination;
provided, further, that upon the
effectivity of this Resolution, those
who have already failed in five(5) or
more bar examinations shall be
allowed to take only one (1) more bar
examination after copleting (1) year
refresher course.
4. Promulgation of disciplinary
measures for those involved in (a)
attempts to violate or vitiate the
integrity and confidentiality of the bar
examination process; (b) improper
conduct during the bar examination;
and (c) improper conduct of "bar
examinations."
5. Disqualification of a Bar Examination
Chairperson:
a. kinship with an examinee who
if his or her spouse or relative
within the third civil degree of
consanguinity;
b. having a member of his or her
office staff as an examinee, or
when the spouse or child of
such staff member is an
examinee; and
c. being a member of the
governing board, faculty or
administration of a law school.
6. Desirable qualifications of Examiners:
a. membership in good standing
in the Philippine Bar;
b. competence in the assigned
subject;
c. a teacher of the subject or
familiarity with the principles
of test construction; and
d. commitment to check test
papers personally and
promptly pending the creation
and organization of the
readership panels provided
for in item B(6) below
7. Disqualifications of Examiners:
a. kinship with an examinee who
is his or her spouse or relative
within the third civil degree of
consanguinity or affinity;
b. having a member of his or her
office staff as an examinee; or
when the spouse or child of
such staff member is an
examinee;
c. being a member of the
governing board, faculty or
administration of a law school
d. teaching or lecturing in any
law school, institution or
review center during the
particular semester following
the bar examinations;
e. having any interest or
involvement in any law
school, bar review center or
group; and
f. suspension or disbarment
from the practice of law or the
imposition of any other
serious disciplinary sanction.
8. Personal preparation, by handwriting
or using a typewriter, of fifty (50)
main questions, excluding
subdivisions, and their submission to
the Chairperson in sealed envelope at
least forty-five (45) days before the
schedule examination on any
particular subject; examiners should
not use computers in preparing
questions;
9. Apportionment of examination
questions among the various topics
covered by the subject;
10. Burning and shredding of rough
drafts and carbon papers used in the
preparation of questions or in any
other act connected with such
 preparation;
11. Publication of names candidates
admitted to take the bar
examinations;
12. Disqualification of a candidate who
obtains a grade below 50% in any
subject;
13. Fixing at June 30 of the immediately
preceding year as the cut-off date for
laws and Supreme Court decisions
and resolutions to be included in the
bar examinations; and
14. Consideration of suggested answers
to bar examinations questions
prepared by the U.P. Law Center and
submitted to the Chairperson.
B. For implementation within two (2) years
up to five (5) years:
1. Adoption of objective multiple-choice
questions for 30% to 40% of the total
number of questions;
2. Formulation of essay test questions
and "model answers" as part of the
calibration of test papers;
3. Introduction of performance testing
by way of revising and improving the
essay examination;1awphil.net
4. Designation of two(2) examiners per
subject depending on the number of
examinees ;
5. Appointment of a tenured Board of
Examiners with an incumbent
Supreme Court Justice as
Chairperson;
6. Creation and organization of
readership panels for each subject
area to address the issue of bias or
subjectivity and facilitate the
formulation of test questions and the
correction of examination booklets;
and
7. Adoption of the calibration method in
the corrections of essay questions to
correct variations in the level of test
standards.1awph!l.t
C. For implementation within five(5) years
and beyond is the further computerization
or automation of the bar examinations to
facilitate application, testing, and
reporting procedures.
D. Items not covered by this resolution, such
as those that pertain to a possible review
of the coverage and relative weights of the
subjects of the bar examinations, are
maintained.
E. For referral to the Legal education Boards:
1. Accreditation and supervision of law
schools.
2. Inclusion of a subject on clinical legal
education in the law curriculum,
including an apprenticeship program
in the Judiciary, prosecution service,
and law offices.
3. Imposition of sanctions on law
schools that fail to meet the standards
as may be prescribed by the Legal
Education Board.
4. Mandatory Law School Admission
Test.
This resolution shall take effect on the fifteenth day
of July 2004, and shall be published in two
newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.
Promulgated this 8th day of June 2004.
(Sgd.) HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR.
Chief. Justice