Law Trivia

Kwin Loch O. Febra

1. Jose W. Diokno , a former Senator of the Philippines, was 1st placer in the 1945 bar exams and
tied with Mr. Jovito Salonga. He was under-age when he took the exam. He also placed number 1
in the 1940 CPA Board exams. This double number 1 feat may never be paralleled.
2. The President of the 1987 Constitutional Commission was Cecilia Munoz Palma.
3. The first woman to top the Bar Exam was Tecla San Andres-Ziga of the University of the Phillipines,
she placed no. 1 in the Bar exam.
4. Two bar examinees topped the bar exams without officially graduating from any Philippine law
school. The first was Jose W. Diokno. He was 1st placer in the 1945 bar exams. The second was
Carolina C. Grio-Aquino - former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. She was 1st placer in
the 1950 bar exams.
5. When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, the only divorce law adopted by the government
was the Siete Partidas of the Spanish Civil Code of 1889. This law only allowed legal separation.
When the Americans took over, they established a system of government similar to that of the
mainland. This also includes a divorce law, which was enacted by the Philippine Legislature in
1917 through ACT No. 2710. Under this ACT, divorce was allowed on grounds of adultery.
6. During the last 2013 general elections, two candidates literally tossed a coin for the mayorship of
the town of San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro after both men wound up tied in the race. While the
whole method may look whimsical, its actually covered by the Omnibus Election Code which
states that the board of canvassers shall proceed to the drawing of lots of the candidates who
have tied and shall proclaim as elected the candidates who may be favored by luck
Its also supported by Comelec Resolution No. 9648 wherein the Board immediately notify the said
candidates to appear before them for the drawing of lots to break the tie. The drawing of lots
should be conducted within one (1) hour after issuance of notice by the Board to the candidates
concerned.
Apparently, drawing of lots is not unique to our electoral systemseveral states in the US use the
method as well.

7. June 11, 1901 marks the birth of the Supreme Court. Act 136 of the Second Philippine
8.

Commission, otherwise known as the Judiciary Law, took effect on that date.
Philippine Law Schools with the most bar topnotchers or 1st placers from 1913 to 2010 are as
follows; University of the Philippines College of Law with forty-six (46) bar topnotchers, Ateneo de
Manila Law School with twenty (20) bar topnotchers and San Beda College of Law with seven (7)

bar topnotchers.
9. The 1st Aeta lawyer was Wayda Cosme (Harvardian Colleges) who passed the Bar Exam in 2001.
10. The first Bar examination was on 1901 with thirteen examinees.
11. Ranking of the top 5 scores in the history of Philippine Bar Exam
Highest Grade of All Time:
* 96.7 in the 1954 Bar Exams by Florenz Regalado of San Beda College.
2nd Highest Grade of All Time:
* 95.95 in the 1954 Bar Exams by Renato L. de la Fuente of San Beda College.
3rd Highest Grade of All Time:
* 95.85 in the 1949 Bar Exams by Anacleto C. Magaser of the Philippine Law School (PLS)
4th Highest Grade of All Time:
* 95.5 held by Manuel G. Montecillo of Far Eastern University (FEU) in the 1948 Bar Exams &
Antonio R. Quintos of Ateneo de Manila University in the 1954 Bar Exams.
5th Highest Grade of All Time:
* 95.3 in the 1944 Bar Exams held by Jovito R. Salonga of the University of the Philippines & Jose
W. Diokno, who did not finish his law studies.
12. Bar Topnotchers (1st Placers) to become Presidents of the Philippines:
* Manuel A. Roxas (University of the Philippines), 1913 Bar Exams with a grade of 92.
* Diosdado P. Macapagal of the University of Sto. Tomas, 1936 with a grade of 89.85
* Ferdinand E. Marcos of the University of the Philippines, 1939 with a grade of 92.35
13. Francisco Noel R. Fernandez (University of the Philippines) failed in the 1993 Bar Exams but
placed No. 1 in the 1994 Bar Exams with a grade of 89.2.