By DANIEL P. TAPAOAN, JR. 

Proving itself as one of the best law schools in the country, the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) posted an sterling performance anew in the 2019 bar examination.

Eleven out of 15 takers hurdled the test, yielding an institutional passing rate of 73.33 percent, higher than the national average at only 27.36%.

The successful examinees were among the 2,103 new lawyers in the country, out of the 7,685 examinees who took the bar exams in November 2019.

Administered by the Supreme Court (SC), results were released on the court’s website last April 29 because of the ban on mass gathering amid the current health crisis. This time, the SC en banc lowered the passing mark from 75 to 74 percent.

The bar passers are Joeshua Kaye Q. Agcaoili, Aprille S. Alviarne, Michael Justin T. Baldugo, Marvinson Mark B. Dalayap, Claudette Abigail B. De Lara, May Encarnina P. Gaoiran, Philip Victor G. Garvida, Myko F. Mendoza, John Nico R. Lucero, Von G. Pastor, and Jerry C. Villegas, Jr.

Last year, MMSU was ranked as the 10th best law school in the country based on the statistical data obtained in the 2018 bar examinations. Released by the Legal Education Board, school rankings were based on the new examinees’ passing rates. (StratCom)