After the Supreme Court revealed the top passers of the recent 2016 Bar Licensure Examination, the president of the University of the Philippines (UP) reacted of not having a UP College of Law student in the top 10 passers.
According to UP President Danilo Concepcion, it is about making good lawyers and teaching grand manner and not about making top notchers in the bar exam.
“The business of a law school is to teach law in the grand manner and to make great lawyers; it doesn’t say to make Bar topnotchers,” said Concepcion as quoted by the Philippine Law Register last Wednesday, while talking in front of the successful UP Bar passers, as reported by abscbn.com online.
Concepcion is the dean of UP College of Law and the top examinee of the 1983 bar exam. Be believes that law schools must not think of producing Bar top examinees alone.
The recent list of the top 10 Bar Passers does not include a law school from Metro Manila and this is the first time after almost decades in the bar examination in the Philippines.
This year, the 2016 bar topnotcher came from the University of San Carlos in Cebu and she is Karen Mae Calam.
Despite not having a top examinee from the bar exam, the Philippine Law Register revealed that the 97.89% overall passing rate of UP in the recent 2016 Bar exams is still a remarkable achievement. This is the highest obtained passing since 1970, as detailed by the news.
As for Paolo Tamase, the most important thing is that UP was able to achieve its highest passing score and not about having a top 10 passer.
“We would rather have a batch with a passing rate of 100 percent than a batch with just 10 topnotchers…Passing the bar is only the minimum requirement of law practice. This is only the beginning,” said Tamase during Wednesday’s testimonial dinner, as quoted by the Philippine Law Register.
Tamase is UP College of Law Class 2016 valedictorian.
Credit image: Rappler