Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan on Sunday disclosed that female examinees outnumbered their male counterparts in the 2026 Bar Examinations for another consecutive year with women comprising 56% of the total examinees.
Gaerlan, chairperson of the 2026 Bar Examinations, said the higher number of female examinees was evident during his visits to testing centers at San Beda College in Manila and Manila Adventist College in Pasay City on the first day of the exams.
“I was surprised, and it was inspiring to see many women taking the Bar examinations,” Gaerlan said during a press conference.
“56 percent mga babae. 56,” he added.
Gaerlan recalled that during his time, female Bar examinees were considerably fewer compared with today.
“Samantala nung panahon namin, siguro mabibilang bilang lang ang mga babae. Pero ngayon, more than 50 percent,” he said.
Aside from the higher number of female examinees, Gaerlan also noted the presence of senior citizens among those taking the Bar.
“About senior citizens, oo, madami din mga senior citizens,” he said.
For Gaerlan, the participation of older examinees showed that the dream of becoming a lawyer can be pursued and achieved regardless of age.
“It only shows na yung pangarap sa kanila ay makamtam nila, kahit man lang papaano, masabi man lang nila na ‘attorney-at-law, attorney-at-last,’” he said.
The 2026 Bar Examinations began Sunday with aspiring lawyers taking the first of the examination days at testing centers nationwide.#