TWO MMSU law graduates passed the 2014 recent bar examinations administered by the Supreme Court.

Julius Harvey P. Balbas of Badoc, Ilocos Norte and Ernielineo B. Labrador of Paoay were among the 1,126 who passed the bar exams out of 5,984 takers. They are scheduled to take their oath as lawyers on April 24.

Despite the Supreme Court deciding en banc to adjust the passing rate from 75 to 73 percent, the 2014 bar exams posted the second lowest passing rate – that is, 18.82 percent – since 2000. The passing rate, barely a fifth of the exam takers, was lower than the 2013 passing rate of 22.18 percent, or 1,174 out of 5,292 takers.

It is also second lowest in the last 15 years, next only to the worst year, 2012, where only 17.76 percent of takers passed.

This is the third consecutive year that the high court had to adjust the passing grade to make the cut following a declining percentage of successful examinees over the last decade.

Bar examination is considered the country’s most prestigious professional licensure test owing to its difficulty.