A University of Santo Tomas (UST) alumnus topped the 2023 Bar Exam, thus making him UST’s fifth top-notcher in history.
Newly minted lawyer Ephraim Bie, a journalism graduate at UST, landed the number one spot among this year’s bar examinees with a rating of 89.625 percent.
Bie’s name was also listed among the names of board passers that the Supreme Court unveiled on Tuesday, November 5.
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Bie thus joined the ranks of prominent UST Faculty of Civil Law alumni who topped the bar examinations during their time.
They are:
- Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Roberto Concepcion (1924)
- former Senator Jose Diokno (1944)
- former President Diosdado Macapagal (1936)
- Arlene Maneja (2002)
In an interview with News5, Bie expressed how he is still on cloud nine following the achievement he reaped.
“Right now, we’re ecstatic of course, we’re praying for it syempre, especially [my] mother. Medyo culmination siya ng hard work and prayers. I just don’t know what to be, right now,” he said.
The UST Civil Law Student Council later posted its congratulatory message to him via Facebook.
“NASA ESPANYA MULI ANG KORONA!” the student council said.
“You have made the whole UST Community proud!” it added.
2019 bar top-notcher Kenneth Glenn Manuel, who became one of Bie’s professors in school, expressed how proud he is of his former student.
“Another special mention to the number 1 sa Bar na si Atty. Ephraim Bie (grabe first time kong magkaroon ng Bar topnotcher na estudyante tapos #1 pa? ganito pala feeling hahahaha) na namemerfect ng exam ko dati sa law school and the student na binigyan ko ng highest ever final grade sa teaching career ko in law school!” Manuel said.
“I say dazurv kahit lagi kang nagtatanong ng challenging questions after ng class (feeling ko ako may [recitation]),” he added.
Several Filipinos, meanwhile, expressed congratulations to the new lawyers of the country.
“Congratulations to our new lawyers! Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and we wish you all the success in your legal careers. May this achievement be the beginning of a fulfilling and impactful journey in the legal field,” an X user said.
“#Bar2023 is out CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW ROLL OF LAWYERSSS,” another X user commented.
The other nine cream-of-the-crop bar examinees are:
- Mark Josel Padua Vivit of the Ateneo de Manila University
- Frances Camille Altonaga Francisco of the San Beda University
- Nathaniel Niño Alipio Tang of the UST-Legazpi Aquinas
- David Joseph Austria Flores of the De La Salle University-Manila
- Ralph Vincent Salvador Samaniego of the University of the Philippines
- Bryan Gerard Tapnio Antonio of the Ateneo de Manila University
- Pio Vincent Roura Buencamino of the University of the Santo Tomas
- Paulo Batulan of the University of San Jose-Recoletos
- Grace Abigail Morales Bautista of the Angeles University Foundation School of Law
The SC also said that the national passing rate this year is 36.77%.
This means that 3,812 out of 10,387 takers passed the prestigious license test.
