Kokobar alumni snag top spots in bar exam

Three students who took the KOKObar Lectures, a series of last-minute free lecture for those taking the bar exam grabbed three spots in the top 20 of those who passed the 2017 bar exams.

Christianne Mae Balili of the University of San Carlos, Rhea Doll Gonzalo of Xavier University Zamboanga, and Ella Mae Mendoza of the University of Cebu placed 2nd, 15th, and 17th, respectively, in the results released by the Supreme Court.

"Congratulations to all those who passed the 2017 bar exam! I look forward to seeing all of you uphold justice and the rule of law in the practice of our noble profession", said Pimentel.

Pimentel, who topped the bar in 1990, first organized KOKOBar in 2007 to help improve passing rates in the exam.

The free lecture series feature the country's top practitioners as lecturers.

In the 2016 bar exams, two of those in the top 10 and 422 of the passers took the review offered by the Senate President.

This year, 229 of the 1,724 passers attended the Senate President's review program.

With a total of 681 attendees, the KOKOBar review program has a passing rate of 33.6%, higher than the 25.5% national passing rate in the 2017 bar exams.

Pimentel said, "I am very happy that the program helps in increasing the number of lawyers available to defend those who need legal assistance. We will redouble our efforts in the future to increase the passing rate further."