A TOTAL of 7,227 law graduates all over the country will take the 2017 bar examinations slated for the four Sundays of this month, starting tomorrow (Nov. 5), at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin, chairman of 2017 Bar Exams Committee, said the number of examinees this year is bigger than those in 2015 and 2016 with 6,605 and 6,344 examinees, respectively.
Subjects covered in the four-Sunday tests on Nov. 5, 12, 19, and 26 include Political Law, Labor Law, Civil Law, Taxation, Mercantile Law, Criminal Law, Remedial Law, and Legal and Judicial Ethics.
“Any act that undermines the safe and orderly conduct of the bar examinations or disturbs the due decorum therefor shall be punished with direct contempt of court, and shall be dealt with summarily,” Bersamin warned, in a notice.
“The Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, the Metro Manila Development Authority, and the Coast Guard are deputized to ensure the safe and orderly conduct of the bar examinations, and their duly designated personnel are expressly authorized to prevent any violations of the orderly conduct of the bar examinations,” the magistrate said.
SC’s deputy clerk of court and bar confidant said that contingency measures during the four-Sunday examinations have been adopted.
In case of heavy rain in the morning of a bar examination day, 10 buses will be available to transport bar examinees and duty personnel to UST from the following pick-up points—Quezon City Memorial Circle (2 buses), Park and Ride, Lawton, Manila (1 bus), SC Compound, Taft Avenue (2 buses), Coastal Mall Terminal, Parañaque (2 buses for Nov. 5, 19, and 26), Edsa Magallanes Flyover (beneath the Flyover), Pasay City (2 buses on Nov. 12), Greenbelt and Glorietta, Ayala Center, Makati City (2 buses), Marikina Sports Complex (1 bus). The shuttle buses will be stationed at these areas as early as 5 a.m. and will leave at exactly 5:30 a.m. Only bar examinees and duty personnel are allowed to ride the shuttle buses. The boarding shall be made on a first come, first served basis. To avail of this service, riders must present their notice of admission, gate pass and/or ID card, as the case may be, to the bus driver.
In case of flooding inside the UST compound before the bar examinations start, commuter vans will be available to transport bar examinees and duty personnel from the UST gates to their respective examination buildings within UST.
In case flooding persists after the end of the examinations on any given examination day, the commuter vans on standby at each examination building in UST will be available to transport back bar examinees and duty personnel to the Osmeña and Arellano Drives near Gate 5 on España Boulevard, where the shuttle buses are parked. The SC shuttle buses shall then be available to transport bar examinees and duty personnel from the UST to the following drop-off areas—north-bound passengers will be transported up to QC Memorial Circle; south-bound passengers could be dropped-off at Park and Ride in Lawton, Supreme Court premises and at the Coastal Mall Terminal, Paranaque (Nov. 5, 19 and 26) and Edsa Magallanes Flyover (beneath the Flyover), Pasay City (Nov. 12); for Makati area, drop-off area will be at the Ayala Center (Glorietta and Greenbelt); and or Marikina area, the Marikina Sports Complex.
Associate Justice Marvic Leonen counseled the bar takers “to chill” and get off Twitter.
In his official Twitter account, Leonen reminded examinees to study well for the exams touted as the most difficult licensure examination in the country.
“Bar Exams test your ability to comprehend the problem, spot the issues and identify the legal provision and its basic interpretation. Chill,” Leonen said adding that “you should be studying and not reading Twitter or Facebook.”
“Saturday evening before the bar examinations: eat well, sleep well, make peace with your god or meditate. Focus on your present,” he said.
The magistrate also said the bar examinees should not be fixated on topping the examination or failing but that they should simply do their best.
More than 700 policemen will be guarding UST to protect the thousands of examinees taking the bar exams.
“We intend to keep the bar exams ‘incident-free’ just like last year so we’re not letting our guard down,” Mayor Joseph Estrada said.
