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Daphne Galvez - The Philippine Star
January 26, 2026 | 12:00am
Supreme Court and DOJ facade after the release of 2025 Bar Examination Results, January 7, 2026.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen urged the 2025 Bar passers not to be complacent and strive to become better public servants, saying his generation “did not do well” amid the country’s challenges.
“I ask you, please be better than us. Because we did not do well, as you can see from what is happening around us. Be better than us. Do not succumb to comfort,” he said during the general assembly and inauguration of the 2020-2021 Bar examinations historical marker at the University of Makati last Jan. 19.
He reminded the new lawyers of the mission to ensure equitable access to justice, especially for the marginalized, adding that excellence in the legal profession is both difficult and rare, therefore requires resisting comfort and complacency.
Leonen recounted his term as chairperson of the 2020-2021 Bar examinations, which were conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic and resulted in the first-ever fully digitalized and regionalized Bar exams in the country.
The University of Makati was among the 29 local testing centers nationwide that piloted the new format, which was later adopted and formally institutionalized by the SC under the 2025 amendments to Rule 138 of the Rules of Court.
Leonen said the SC had to constantly reimagine and revisit plans to carry out the tests in the middle of a global health crisis, a situation he described as a “blessing in disguise” that made digitalization and localization possible.
The SC senior associate justice commended the University of Makati and the Makati City government for their support and effort in accommodating examinees during the historic examinations that saw major reforms in its implementation.
He said the historical marker should serve as a reminder of what collective effort can achieve.
The event was attended by Makati Mayor Nancy Binay, former vice president Jejomar Binay, University of Makati School of Law executive dean Jose Layug Jr., associate dean Antony Parreño and Legal Education Board commissioner Salex Alibogha.
