BACOLOD City Representative Greg Gasataya filed a resolution congratulating and commending lawyer Mark John Simondo for obtaining the highest rating in the 2017 Philippine Bar Examination.
Gasataya said on April 26, 2018, Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, Chairperson of the 2017 Bar Examination, announced that Simondo, a graduate of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City and a registered nurse, obtained the highest rating in the examination with a rating of 91.05 percent.
"The Bar Examination is regarded as one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, licensure examinations in the Philippines," he said.
The Philippine Bar Examination is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines exclusively administered by the Supreme Court through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee.
A total of 1,724 law graduates, constituting 25.55 percent of the 6,748 total examinees, passed the Bar Examination held at the University of Sto. Tomas in November 2017.
Gasataya said that Simondo is the first examinee since the year 2002 to breach the 90 percent mark in the Bar Examination.
"Simondo had distinguished himself from all the examinees, thus, deserve to be recognized and applauded. He serves as a beacon of hope for better and admirable practice of the legal profession in the Philippines and a role model for the youth in pursuing their aspirations with utmost honor and excellence," he said.
