THOSE who passed the 2025 Shari’ah special bar exams (SSBE) officially became counselors-at-law after they took their oath and signed the roll last Wednesday, the Supreme Court said yesterday.
A total of 154 out of 629 examinees, or 24.48 percent, passed this year’s Shari’ah bar exams conducted on May 25 and 28 in four local testing centers at UP Diliman in Quezon City, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Ateneo de Davao, and Ateneo de Zamboanga.
Princess Jannah Saudagar Pumbaya topped this year’s SSBE with a rating of 89.96 percent.
Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr., chairperson of the 2025 SSBE, presided over the ceremony and congratulated the new counselors.
“Their admission to the Shari’ah Bar marks their solemn commitment to service: to be the voice of clarity in moments of uncertainty, the heralds of peace in times of conflict, and the guardians of fairness when rights are at stake,” Kho said.
He added that their admission as counselors comes at a pivotal time as they will now be called to serve the needs of the Muslim community not only in Mindanao but also in Luzon and the Visayas with the additional Shari’ah judicial districts as mandated by Republic Act 12018.
Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, the 2026 SSBE chairperson, also reminded the new counselors that they are now part of the group tasked with the duty of developing and applying Shari’ah law.
“Your roles are vital in ensuring the Shari’ah legal framework continues to reflect the values and traditions of the community,” Inting said.
This year’s SSBE was the first to be fully digitalized, enabling the examinees to take the test in either English or Arabic through a dedicated software application.
Additionally, it also utilized a translation software to convert English questions into Arabic and vice versa.
Among the subjects covered in the examinations are Persons, Family Relations and Property; Jurisprudence, Customary Laws, Procedure in Shari’ah Courts; and Succession, Wills and Adjudication and Settlement of Estate.
The Shari’ah Bar examinations are administered to allow Muslim professionals to qualify and practice before the Shari’ah Courts in the Philippines, constituted under Presidential Decree 1083, or the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines.
The Shari’ah courts are courts of justice that have original jurisdiction over cases involving violations of Presidential Decree 1083.
