Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) — The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) on Tuesday announced 36 of its personnel passed the Bar Examinations, which is the highest number of new lawyers in the agency’s history.
The BJMP noted the agency’s passing rate of 53.73%, achieved after a record-high 67 people from the bureau took the 2020-21 Bar exams.
“The last (record) was in 2016 with 64 Bar takers and 16 Bar passers, with an equivalent passing rate of 25%,” the agency said in a statement.
BJMP Chief Jail Director Allan Iral congratulated the successful examinees and expressed hope they will help bring swift justice, especially for those unable to pay for legal services.
The bureau said the 36 are set to take the lawyer’s oath on May 2 and will officially be added to the list of 58 other BJMP lawyers.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 Bar exams were held in a digital format set-up, a first in the country. A total of 8,241 passed out of 11,402 hopefuls, yielding a passing rate of 72.28%.
