A total of 1,893 out of the 6,187 examinees from around 100 law schools nationwide hurdled the 2006 Bar examinations held during all four Sundays of September last year at the De La Salle University in Manila. Justice Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez chaired the 2006 Committee on Bar Examinations.

Justice Gutierrez said the number of those who passed represented 30.60 percent of the total examinees. The exams were administered through Deputy Clerk of Court and Bar Confidant Atty. Ma. Cristina B. Layusa.

The top 10 Bar passers are:

Justice Gutierrez said the list of successful Bar examinees will be projected in LCD monitors to be strategically placed at the Supreme Court front yard this evening. The results can simultaneously be viewed at www.supremecourt.gov.ph, the official website of the High Court.

Oathtaking of the successful bar candidates is set at 3 p.m. on April 25, 2007, at the Philippine InternationalConvention Center.

The Bar passers may secure their clearances from the Office of the Bar Confidant during office hours, Monday to Friday, beginning April 10 to 24, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Justice Gutierrez today announced that the Bar examiners are Atty. Salvador B.  Lao (Political and International Law); Atty. Salvador C. Medialdea (Labor and Social Legislation);  retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Josue N. Bellosillo (Civil Law); Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Ernesto D. Acosta (Taxation);  Atty. Nilo B. Peña (Mercantile Law); retired Sandiganbayan Justice Romeo M. Escareal, Sr. (Criminal Law); retired Supreme Court Justice Bernardo P. Pardo (Remedial Law); and Senior Deputy Court Administrator Zenaida N. Elepaño  (Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises).

Atty. Lao finished his Bachelor of Laws cum laude and of Arts magna cum laude both at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). He is the founding partner and head of the Lao Veloso Lao Law Offices and a trustee of the UST Law Alumni Foundation, Inc. He has been a professor of law both at the UST Faculty of Civil Law and at Chang Kai Shek College. In 2006, he received The Outstanding Thomasian Alumni Award in Law.

Atty. Medialdea is a partner at De Borja Medialdea Bello Guevarra (BMBG) Law Offices. A graduate of the San Beda College of Law in 1976, he has been as a senior associate of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRA) Law Offices and a partner at Ponce Enrile Cayetano Reyes & Manalastas (Pecabar) Law Offices. From 1998 to 2000, he was concurrently Chairman of the Board of Northern Foods Corporation, Chairman of the Management Committee Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises, Member of the Board of Trustees and Member of Livelihood Cporation – KKK Processing Center Authority.

A second-time Civil Law examiner, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Bellosillo holds two Doctor of Laws degrees, honoris causa, conferred by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in 2002, and by the University of the East in 2003, respectively. He was an entrance scholar at the University of the Philippines where he finished pre-law and law. He was Chair of both the1995 and the 1999 Committees on Bar Examinations. Along with Assistant Court Administrator and SC-Public Information Office Chief Jose Midas P. Marquez and Atty. Emmanuel L. J. Mapili, he has recently authored the book Omnibus Election Code with Rules of Procedure & Jurisprudence in Election Law.

Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Acosta finished his college and law degrees from the University of the Philippines. A member of the New York Bar, USA since 1986, Justice Acosta carries with him years of experience in taxation law practice. Prior to his appointment to his present post, he was a CTA Presiding Judge, CTA Associate Judge, tax manager at the Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co, (SGV), Vice President-Legal of the Finasia Investment & Finance Corporation and Fiscal Services Assistant at the Shell Group of Companies of the Philippines. He was with the Department of Finance from 1968 to 1975 as technical assistant to the undersecretary of finance, senior tax examiner/researcher, supervising tax examiner/researcher, and assistant chief tax adviser.

Atty. Peña is likewise a second-time Bar examiner, this time in Mercantile Law. A 1959 UP Law graduate, Atty. Peña has been with the law firm Quasha Ancheta Pena & Nolasco since 1960. He is now a Senior Partner of the firm. He has handled cases on family, insurance, mining, corporate, commercial law issues, and special projects. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Luke’s Medical Center, Inc. and of the St. Luke’s College of Medicine. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Standard Chartered Bank Employees’ Retirement Fund, and Director of the SLMC Bonifacio Global City MAB Corp., the Asian Terminals, Inc., the ATI Batangas, Inc., the Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc., the Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc., and the United Distillers & Vintners Philippines,Inc.

Retired Sandiganbayan Justice Escareal is a second-time Criminal Law examiner. A graduate of the University of the Philippines in 1951, Justice Escareal joined government service in 1971 as presiding judge of the Circuit Criminal Court in Tuguegarao, Cagayan. Armed with his rich experience in private law practice from 1952 to 1971, he went on to become the Presiding Judge of the Circuit Criminal Court I Cebu-Bohol from 1975 to 1978, In December 1978, he was appointed Sandiganbayan Associate Justice. He served as Chairman of its Second Division until his retirement in February 1996. Justice Escareal was a professor of the Adamson University College of Law. He has been the recipient of the UP Law Alumni Association Award of Merit.

Retired Justice Pardo finished law at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in 1955. He was appointed to the High Court in 1998. He was a former Chairman of the Commission on Elections, Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, and Regional Trial Court Judge. He served the Office of the Solicitor General from 1962 to 1971. A fellow of the Academy and International Law, Southwestern Legal Foundation, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas, USA, he was the Political Law examiner in the 1971 Bar Examinations. He was a member of the Arbitration Panel in three cases: MWSS vs. Maynilad, Philippine International Air Terminals Co., Inc. vs. Government of the Republic of the Philippines, and Honeywell International, Inc. (USA) vs. Republic of the Philippines. He is the 1992 Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano Awardee as Most Outstanding RTC Judge.

Senior DCA Elepaño graduated from the Faculty of Civil Law cum laude and College of Liberal Arts summa cum laude at the UST. After private law practice from 1967 to 1988, she joined the Judiciary as Regional Trial Court Judge and later on was appointed Deputy Court Administrator in 1995. She was Acting Court Administrator from February to September 2001. She currently holds numerous positions in the Supreme Court, including that of Vice-Chair of the Justice on Wheels Committee, of the Department of Legal Method and Research of the Philippine Judicial Academy, and of the Selection and Promotion Board for Lowers Courts. She is principal lecturer and trainor of the Total Quality Management for Trial Courts and Caseflow Management. She is also a lecturer on Court Management Administration, Women’s and Children’s Rights, Civil Law of the Philippines, Legal and Judicial Ethics, Gender Issues, Procedural Law before Family Courts, and the  Juvenile Justice System.