Bar Reforms in the Philippine Legal System

8/13/2019 Bar Reforms in the Philippine Legal System

1/32

DEFININGTHEGRAVAMEN: THEBARREFORM MOVEMENT

By

CESARL. VILLANUEVA, B.S.C., LL.B., LL.M.

There has been of-late a rush of activities, a quickening of movement,towards effecting reforms in the admission process of the Philippine Bar, moreparticularly in proposing fundamental changes to the Bar Examinations The!upreme "ourt has spearheaded roundtable discussions around the country onreforms to the Bar Examinations#and belatedly began to constitute the $egalEducation Board %hile this paper was being finali&ed, the author obtained acopy of the 'Report on the Assessment/Visitation Activity Conducted by theTechnical Panel on Legal Education on all the Law Schools,( submitted formally

by the COMMISSIONONHIGHEREDUCATION)CHED* to the !upreme "ourt on #+anuary ..+,which generally reflects an unsavory image of the law schoolsystem in the country

$ikewise at the time of writing, the !upreme "ourt issued its /esolution,dated .+ 0ebruary ..+, concerning the leakage of the questions in 1ercantile$aw sub2ect in the ..3 Bar Examinations ) n re !ar "atter #o$ %&&&*, whichsaw the nullification of the bar examination on the sub2ect and the formal conductof investigation by an 4nvestigating "ommittee The /esolution, adopting thefindings of the 4nvestigating "ommittee, decreed the disbarment of the associatelawyer of the examiner in 1ercantile $aw, whose act of downloading the

questions from the computer of his superior )the examiner* and leaking them tofriends was deemed to constitute 'a criminal act of larceny( The "ourt alsoreprimanded the examiner with a requirement 'to make a written 5P6$678 tothe "ourt for the public scandal he brought upon it as a result of his negligenceand lack of due care in preparing and safeguarding his proposed test questionsin mercantile law,( and withheld the payment of any honorarium

The ob2ective of this paper is to evaluate the leading articles, papers andreports that have been submitted or published on reforms in the admissionprocess in the Bar, to flesh out the main or essential direction that the movementis taking, and to evaluate on whether such direction is compatible with theunderlying Philippine situation

THEBARANDITSSOCIALROLE

# The conferences are held under the theme 'E'amining the !ar E'aminations( Roundtable)iscussion on the !ar E'amination Re*orms$+ The $u&on "onference was held on .90ebruary ..+ at the Pan Pacific :otel, Ermita, 1anila

The formal Turn-6ver "eremony to the !upreme "ourt was held on #+ anuary ..+, at The1anila :otel "entennial Pavilion


2/32

;nless there is a more fundamental movement towards changing the roleof the Bar in the context of Philippine society )and the position is that there is nosuch call at present*, any reform in Bar admissions process must be consistentwith the mandated role of 0ilipino lawyers in society !uccinctly, under the CODEOFPROFESSIONALRESPONSIBILITY,3every licensed lawyer has the solemn duty to., the !upreme "ourt adopted theRules on "andatory Continuing Legal Education *or "embers o* the ntegrated !ar o* thePhilippines )1"$E /ules* in order that throughout the carrer of lawyers in the country 'theykeep abreast with law and 2urisprudence, maintain the ethics of the profession and enhancethe standards of the practice of law( 5dministrative 6rder Do ##3-..3 established the1andatory "ontinuing $egal Education 6ffice )effective #> 5ugust ..3*

#. 5/E$$5D6$5%5DCP6$4"8/EG4E%, Golume +, Dumber #, uly ..3 )hereinafter referred toas '"agsalin(*


4/32

profession This will unclog the law curriculum of so many coresub2ects that should otherwise be considered as electives as theypertain to speciali&ed fields This will also effectively return thecurriculum making functions to law schools to which it rightfullybelongs 5fter all, institutions of higher learning are supposed toen2oy academic freedom, which includes the right to determine

'what may be taught(##

This tail-wagging-the-dog position has often led to the wrong assumptionthat reforming the Bar Examination system would be the key to effecting a reformof the Philippine legal education system

THEBAREXAMINATIONSREFORMMOVEMENT

4n order to arrive at a proper synthesis chore of this paper, it is importantto properly evaluate the ma2or papers that have been published and havebecome the basis of reactions and roundtable discussions on Bar Examinations

reforms This paper will focus on the following papers3 P:4$ $ #3. )#@A*#3 "ortes, at p #3.#+ "ortes, at pp #3+-#3>


5/32

:er critique in #@A of the Bar Examinations showed that the system thenfollowed did not live-up to such 'avowed ob2ectives( in thatI, and introducing PracticalExercises at +I*

restructuring the exams to allow automated or mechanical

corrections of answers

3 Re*orms *or Law Schools< mandatory $aw !chool 5dmission test

accreditation and supervision of $aw !chools by the !upreme

"ourt

suspensionJcancellation of authority to operate law school for

failure to produce a successful Bar examinee for three )3*consecutive years

penali&ing unethical and undesirable practices )e$g$, 'Bar

6perations(, attempts to vitiate the integrity and

confidentiality of the Bar Examination process, boisterousand unruly conduct in the immediate vicinity of the BarExaminations*

+ Proposal 'that the results of the Bar Examinations take the formof KPass? or K0ail? for all examinees 6nly the names of thosewho passed shall be officially released for publication(


9/32

The !!7 0inal /eport points to what it terms as the 'paradoxical situation(between legal education and the Bar Examinations process, thusCean 5ndres CBautista, reacting for P5$!, relates< '6n a personal note however, 4 took themultiple choice exam when 4 sat for the Dew 8ork !tate bar and found the samechallenging, thought provoking and fair(39 The author, in his classes at the

5teneo has experienced over the years that when multiple-choice questions aregiven, the scores have tended to be much lower than in essay type problems Byand large, the 1endo&a /eforms do not intend to make the Bar Examinations amuch easier task for candidates, but rather to make the results more reliable,consistent from year-to-year, and to facilitate the whole process of testing,grading and reporting the results

There is also a universal condemnation at any attempt or activity to'cheapen( the results of the Bar Examinations The Pangalangan memo points tothe danger of leakages and corruption of having tenured examiners and readers.I* in any sub2ect, recommending the suspension or cancellation of theauthority of law schools that fail to produce a successful Bar examinee for three)3* consecutive years, promulgations of guidelines to penali&e 'bar operations(and attempts to vitiate the integrity and confidentiality of the Bar Examinationsprocess

6nly recently, in its /esolution in Re( &;;- !ar E'aminations

indicators o* the success o* the candidate and his law school should bedownplayed+. toF do away with the practice o* determining the bar

3@ The memo describes the rational behind the solitary bar e'aminer system)whose identity iskep secret for the year*< )a* The need for confidentiality of exam questions, given the historyof bar exam scandals, leakages and favoritism= )b* The need for uniformity of standards ingrading the answers

3A P5$P 1emo3 PB5 Dewsletter, 0ebruary ..++. 1agsalin, at p >3


18/32

>topnotchers: and replace it with pass/*ail mar7s and that theF proposal couldhelp in de-emphasi&ing and de-glamori&ing the bar examinations and in bringingback the stress in legal education to preparing students for law practice and themany responsibilities it entails(+#To the same effect is the recommendation inthe !!7 0inal /eport to adopt the 'passJfail( grading system in determining who

are the successful candidates in Bar ExaminationThe problem with all of this effort is the failure to address the real market

'need( that must find its 'supply( There is a need for the !upreme "ourt tomaintain the prestige and integrity of the Bar Examinations to ensure that onlythe truly qualified candidates )as by definition they are supposed to be a selectfew*, should be admitted to the practice of law There is a need for the market tobe able to gauge on a year-to-year basis who among the recent crops representthe best and brightest so that appropriate 'prices( for their talents and potentialscan be fixed The results of the Bar Examinations, competitive and reliable,provide each year, the more reliable test of technical competence and potentialfor successful practice

0or example, if the 'passJfail( grading system is adopted so that therewould be no 'top-ten( category, then the market will seek some other way tointerpret the Bar results that fit their needs, such as the media seeking out andpublishing who among the law schools have the highest passing average, whichwould then indicate the 'best( batch among the recent candidates 4n a free-market system, 'competition(, as the Bar Examinations are, promotes the bestinterests of the consuming public

The only way to de-glamori&e the Bar Examinations, is to make themirrelevant or to cheapen them The !upreme "ourt could make the bar questionsvery easy so that passing percentage becomes consistently high every year= or

they 2ust set arbitrarily the passing percentage to accommodate an pre-determined number of successful candidates )say #,.. every year* That is thequickest way to de-glamori&e the Bar Examinations and beat the market?sinsatiable appetite of treating the Bar Examinations as though they were a beautycontest But Philippine society then runs the risk of having an abundance ofincompetent lawyers lurking in every nook and corner of each community, doingmore folly than good "onsider this< even today society complains of the moralandJor intellectual unfitness of many practicing lawyers, who are all 'successfulpassers( of concededly the most difficult set of government examinations= whatgreater disservice to society can happen if we further weaken )'de-glomori&e(and 'de-emphasi&e(* the Bar Examinations 4t is then worth repeating what Cr

Pangalangan stated in his memo< '%e therefore need a qualifying exam toprotect the public from the incompetent, and to ensure that only the fit are able tooffer legal services The bar exam, in order to serve its purpose, must identifyand measure the core knowledge and skills required of any person admitted intothe practice of law(

+# 1agsalin, at p >>


19/32

4n other words, the very role of the Bar Examinations in the system ofadmission to the Bar, essentially makes it 'glamorous( )as all other licensureexams given by the P/" are*, and every reform pursued to make them 'a morereliable, equitable, and reasonable measure of legal competency,( +adds to theirmystique This is the consequence that inheres in the market= the harder it is to

obtain )i$e$, passing the Bar Examinations*, the higher the price and prestige thatis associated with obtaining it

The real issue therefore is whether the Bar Examination systems, and theglamour and mystique that inheres in it, has really done harm to Philippine legaleducationM This is the main issue that this paper seeks to address, since it goesinto the very 'integrity( of the Bar Examinations system

TESTINGTHETHESIS

Perhaps it is the height of irony that we primarily measure the'effectiveness( and 'ranking( of law schools in the Philippines by how well their

law graduates have performed in the Bar Examinations

"onsider what Cean 1agsalin writes,+>3 in #93 followed by +,9A in ... and+,9> in .. 0rom the listing of schools whose graduates tookthe bar examination from # to . and the number of theirgraduates who passed the bar examinations, it can be easily seenthat there are many schools that have dismally failed to preparetheir students for these examinations Twenty-six of seventy-fivelaw schools had a &ero passing average at least twice, with twoschools having &ero average at least eight times, during the ##-year period 6nly around fifteen schools have managed toconsistently produce annually at least #> new lawyers with sevenschools having at least 3> new lawyers a year+3

4n the reaction letter of ":EC to the 1endo&a /eforms, it confirms thatlaw schools in the Philippines 'number a little over #.. to date( 5nd yet the!tatistical Cata sheets published each year by the !upreme "ourt on the resultsof the Bar Examination, from ## to .. show that only the following numberof schools are able to 'send( candidates to take the Bar Examinations, thus L%< S+$//74

4n his article, Cean 1agsalin decries that 'The principal yardstic7 used tomeasure the success o* law schools in the Philippines is the per*ormance o* itsgraduates in the bar e'amination$ All other *actors that ma7e *or a 6ualityeducational institution0 are practically brushed aside$(++

:e then cites the practice in the ;nited !tates, where 'at least four entitiesthat rank the performance of accredited law schools,( of which the ;! Dews is'the most popular among the rankings,( and uses a variation of criteria, such areputation among academics, reputation among lawyers and 2udges, $!5T scoreand ;7P5 statistics, expenditures per student for instructions, library, andsupporting student services, expenditures per student on financial aid, indirectcosts, and overhead, total number of volumes, microfilm, microfiche, and titles inthe law library, students-to-faculty ration, percentage of employed nine monthslater= and bar passage rate+>

Devertheless, the good dean does not say 'who( brushes aside 'aFll other*actors that ma7e *or a 6uality educational institution,( and further concludes that'A continuing adherence to the bar1oriented approach has only served to

promote the status 6uo0 *avoring certain institutions but stunting the growth anddevelopment o* other law schools and Philippine legal education0 as a whole (+9

:e goes on to write 1agsaling, at p "iting

wwwusnewcomJusnewsJeduJgradJrankingsJlawJbriefJlawrankNbriefphp+9 1agsalin, at p >.
http://www.usnew.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.phphttp://www.usnew.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php


21/32

The present bar examinations system has been with thePhilippines for almost a century Cespite its obvious shortcomings,reforms have come few and far in between 2or the past *ortyyears0 it is an established *act that only three law schools !igThree: ?Ateneo de "anila0 @niversity o* the Philippines0 and San!eda College= have dominated the bar e'aminations in both bar

passing average and number o* bar topnotchers$ * no drasticre*orms are initiated0 it is to be e'pected that the same three lawschools will continue to be considered as the >best: in the countryeven i* they not necessarily measure up to the standards used by

@$S$ #ews in ran7ing the top law schools0 as discussed earlier+@

The foregoing statements, which alludes to the 5teneo, is quite a seriouspropositions, and we thank the good dean for having been candid to state them,perhaps bringing to fore what has been 'common consensus( among many otherleading minds in our society The thesis seems to us quite clear< that the BigThree law schools, have done well in the Bar Examinations the past four

decades, and will continue to be considered the 'best( law schools on the basisof their Bar performance, even if they do 'not necessarily measure up to thestandards used by ;! Dews in ranking the top law schools( The clearpresumption also is that there are other Philippine law schools, who domeasureup to the standards used by ;! Dews standards, who nevertheless do notperform well in the Bar Examinations, but are better than the Big Three, but willnever be recogni&ed as such

%e doubt whether the Bar performance, although certainly a big factor in2udging the performance of law schools )as it should be, for lack of better gauge*is the only factor 'to the e'clusion o* all other *actors ,( in 2udging the 'success o*law schools( in the Philippines 4n a developing country like ours, one o* the

primary measures o* successof a law school can truly be the success of itsgraduates and the contribution that they do to society 0irst and foremost, lawgraduates must be able to hurdle the Bar Examinations in order to get a licenseto practice law and serve society as lawyers Do amount of compliance by a lawschool with the other factors in the ;! Dews standards would amount toanything, if its graduates cannot even pass the Bar Examinations and becomelicensed lawyers

!econdly, good or stupendous results in Bar Examinations can only go acertain length, because in the end the market will be able to 2udge whether thegraduates of a law school do have the competence and the skill to be reasonablygood lawyers 4f the law graduates of 5teneo, ;P and !an Beda continue to bethe preferred candidates for hiring by law firms, multinational companies,government agencies )which is an important factor in the ;! Dews standards*,and thereby dominate the legal service for leading pro2ects and legal cases inPhilippine society, it is because over the years, the steady stream of qualifiedgraduates who day-in-day-out render competent service have validated suchreputation among academics, lawyers and 2udges )which also happen to be

+@ 1agsalin, at p >. Emphasis supplied


22/32

important factors under the ;! Dews standards* 4n other words, if good Barperformance is all that the Big Three law schools had going for them, then all the'other law schools( who are really better would have dominated the market forlawyers, simply because the market must continue to depend on realcompetence to handle real and serious pro2ects and cases That is not what

seems to be what the market says%e nevertheless commend Cean 1agsalin?s observations and

recommend them to the PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION OF LAW SCHOOLS )P5$!* tocome-up with its own criteria to properly rank its law school members in order toallow a system by which it is not only the performance in the Bar Examinationsthat the market and the public can reliably 2udge and rank the various lawschools operating in the country

2. W$%& A'( &$( P'/?(' C/?/3(3& /0 % =G//9> L(6%7 E95+%&/3Sy&(4

0or the Philippine setting, the realistic measure of a good law school iswhat is spelled out in the recommended reforms categori&e as 'what systemshould be found in the law school operations(

The "ortes /ecommendations include a system of accreditation of lawschools consistently maintaining minimum standards of adequate legal training=annual examinations for every level of law classes= and a system ofapprenticehip or practical training degree could be conferred There will likewisebe a rating of performance for the practicum !he also add< '5ll components thatmake up the law school will need to be geared to accelerated needsHfaculty,curriculum, library, methods of instruction, and facilities 5 selective process foradmission of students will have to be adopted, as well( +A

The !!7 0inal /eport also has the practically allied recommendations tothose of the "ortes /ecommendations, thus3

%e place the 5$! system and experience on the discussion table todebunk the thesis

THEATENEOSITUATION

Based on our experience at the ATENEODEMANILALAWSCHOOL )ALS*,the author has come to the following propositions>>. 1agsalin, at pp >3->+># Emphasis supplied> 1agsalin, at p >3>3 "ortes, at pp #++-#+>


24/32

)b* The Bar Examinations have not caused such deterioration, butrather the results do indicate that not complying with the lawschools? true missions has caused such deterioration, and it isreflected in the results of the Bar Examinations= and

)c* %hen law schools remain faithful to their mission and primary

ob2ectives of training their students to become lawyers,advocates and leaders, it is more likely that their graduatesperform well in the Bar Examinations

Even before the 1agsalin article was published, it has been the standardfare to accuse 5$! as one of the leading law schools that over-emphasi&es thetaking of Bar Examinations %hen an institution of learning and training has as itsmain clientele law students who would be future applicants for a governmentlicensure examination, it is sheer irresponsibility if that institution?s students arenot even fit to pass the very licensure examination meant to determine whowould be authori&ed and qualified to exercise such profession !uch an

irresponsible institution deserves no less that being closed down 5$!, as aresponsible law school, takes the prospects of its graduates taking the BarExamination seriously, as any responsible law school should= but never to theexclusion of other primary responsibilities "onsider the ALS M/3* and thehighest legislative assembly of the esuit 6rder The 3+th 7eneral "ongregationplaced all esuit institutions within the framework of the "hurchs overall mission ofevangeli&ation understood not only as proclamation of the "hristian faith but also aslife witness especially to a faith that accomplishes 2ustice

5s a school of law, the 5teneo $aw !chools mission is the formation of men and womennot only skilled in the science and art of the law but also imbued with a burningpassion for 2ustice and the fervent desire to serve others

Towards the accomplishment of its mission as a school in the service of the legalprofession, the 5teneo $aw !chool insists on intellectual rigor in the tradition of esuiteducation 4ntellectual rigor demands, inter alia, a thorough grasp of the nature and

ends of law, the ability to express legal conviction in forceful oral and writtencommunication, and sensitivity to the role of law as an instrument of service towardsindividuals and of social engineering

Towards the accomplishment of its "atholic and esuit mission, the $aw !choolintegrates into its program opportunities for the deepening and maturing of "hristiancommitment and for participation in social mobili&ation for the creation of a more 2ustsocial order

>> !ince .., a 2oint >-year CJ1B5 program has been offered by 0E; and Ce $as !alle;niversity


26/32

)a* 6n average, after only the first semester in 0irst 8ear, aboutfifty )>.* students would not qualify to proceed to secondsemester studies=

)b* 6n average, of the original >. 0reshman students, onlyabout #>. to #A. students would proceed to !econd 8ear

level )roughly + sections*=

)c* 6n average, only about #.. to ##. students graduate withthe C degree to qualify them to take the Bar Examinations

The C Program requires that for a student to graduate, he mustI #, , +, >, @, #.

3,3+A ;P - 9333I @>

1@@ #+. ##A A+I !B" - 93AI #9>I #, 3, >, A, #.

3,33@ !B" - A#9.I #,.3. , >, 9, @,

1@@" ## #.9 A.AI ;P - @>AI 3.A@I A, , #., #.

3,#+ !B" - A#+I 9@

1@@ #A ### A9@I ;P - A.#+I 3.AI 9

3,.. !B" - A9A#I #,#@

1@@ #3+ #A >>I ;P - A@@9I 3##I , 3, >

3,# ;P - @>93I @#.

1@@ # #.3 @A+I2 !B" - A333I2 #A##I +, 9, A

3,9@ !B" - +>#I2 #,+9>

1@@ #+@ #3. AA++I2 ;P - @>I 393I 9, , #.

3,@A


28/32

!B" - A@I 99.1@@@ ##> A9.I ;P - @>@I #9>I #, , 3, +, @, #.

+,9A !B" - A>@#I @

2 A . #A+I ;P - @3++I .A+I 3,

3,A+ !B" - .9I #,99

21 ##. #.@ @@I ;P - AA.@I 3AI , 3, >,

+,9> !B" - A333I #@

22 ##@ #.3 AA.3I ;P - A.9@I #9AI , +, +, >, @, #.

SBC .1

12YEARAVERAGES ." UP ." 2".

NOTES:

# The column on Dational 0igures indicate the following in succession< the total numberof candidates who took the Bar Examinations for that year= the number of candidateswho passed= and the national passing average for that year

Except for 8ears #@ and #A, ATENEODEMANILALAWSCHOOL )5$!* has lead inaverage passing of candidates for the covered period of twelve )#* years

3 6ver the last twelve )#* years, the national passing average is at +@3I, while thatof the 5$! has been at A@+#I

0or the each of the past twelve )#* years since ##, 5$! candidatesgarnered top-ten placers in each year, with Dumber # placing in four )+* yearsI,and UP COLLEGE OF LAW, with an average passing of @9+@I, and oneconsiders as well that 5$! candidates over the past twelve years have had totake the Bar Examinations only after earning a C Cegree, requiring a thoroughresearch, preparation and defense of a thesis on a ma2or issue in law and +.hours of apprenticeship work )while much of the same time is spent by studentsof other law schools to concentrate on review courses*, then the figurescontravene the thesis that a responsible and serious preparation of students for


29/32


30/32

passing percentage in the Bar Examination by lawgraduates=

)@* 4nsufficient library facilities in most law schools=

)A* 4ndifference of school administrators and their non-

responsive attitudes to the requirements of their law schools=)* Part-time service of ma2ority of law school Ceans, no hands-

on policy and leave the running of the law school to theiradministrative staff and not even to a "ollege !ecretary or0aculty member=

)#.* $ack of funding resources to undertake developmentpro2ects for the law school= in most cases, running a lawschool is a losing business enterprise

The /eport also considered the factors of what constitute 'good( lawschools@ Taken from 1agsalin, at p >>>A Taken from 1agsalin, at p >.> 1agsalin at p >.

Documents

Bar Reforms in the Philippine Legal System