After 11 tries, Bar taker finally succeeds

Tears flowed at the Supreme Court in Manila on Wednesday as the SC announced the results of the 2025 Bar examinations.

- By DAPHNE GALVEZ

Aside from topnotch passers, stories of second chances and an 11th retaker filled the SC courtyard.

Eduardo Rivera Regio, 59, passed the Bar exams on his 11th attempt, having first tried in 1993.

Regio said he was initially barred from taking the Bar in 2005 when the SC enforced the “five-strike” rule, which limited examinees to five attempts and required a one-year refresher course for the fourth and fifth tries.

In 2015, a year after the rule was lifted, Regio took the Bar exams again.

Asked why he kept trying, Regio said, “There is nothing to lose.”