Koko commends bar passers

Re-electionist Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III today congratulated the 949 passers in last year's bar exams.

"I commend all those who passed the tough exams, led by Ignatius Michael D. Ingles, and wish you all the best as you embark on your law career," PDP Laban President Pimentel said.

Pimentel also commended Ateneo Law School graduates for their consistent excellent performance in the bar exams, saying that this reflected the institution's high standards of excellence in legal education.

Ingles, the bar topnotcher, is an Ateneo Law School graduate. This is the third consecutive year that an Ateneo Law School graduate has topped the bar exam. All the topnotchers in the last three years belonged to the same honors class at Ateneo High School.

"I understand that last year's bar exams was one of the toughest, with a mere 17.76 percent of the 5,343 examinees making it, the lowest number of passers in the last 13 years," Pimentel observed.

The lawmaker from Mindanao, who himself topped the 1990 bar examinations with a grade of 89.85 percent, said this year's batch "passed through the eye of a needle and thus deserve commendation for their achievement."

There were more bar passers in 2011, with 1,913 (31.95 percent) of the 5,987 examinees making it.

Pimentel encouraged the country's new lawyers to strive for excellence in the legal profession.

"My only piece of advice to the new lawyers is my battlecry, "Pag nasa tama ka, never give up! I have lived up to this commitment particularly in pursuing my election protest from 2007 to 2011," Pimentel said.

Pimentel is chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People's Participation and the Committee on Games and Amusement.