1st day of Bar exams peaceful – police
This year’s Bar examinations kicked off to a peaceful and orderly start yesterday at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, police said.
No untoward incident was reported in and around the UST campus where more than 700 policemen were deployed.
A total of 7,227 law graduates were admitted to take the 116th Bar exams, according to the Supreme Court (SC)’s public information office.
The SC said 7,270 initially applied for the Bar exams. Thirteen applications were denied while 30 others withdrew their applications.
Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, who chairs the SC Bar exams committee, said the number of examinees was higher compared to the last three years.
For the first time, the high court deployed a “Justice on Wheels” bus at the venue to serve as a special trial court to hear cases against offenders caught by police disrupting the exams or violating rules around the 100-meter vicinity of the school campus.
A metropolitan trial court judge was authorized to impose on-thespot penalties of fines and imprisonment of up to 10 days or both for offenders.
Marawi Bar takers
Bar takers from Marawi said they are motivated to hurdle the exams to help in rebuilding the devastated city, which was recently freed from the hold of Maute terrorists.
“What happened in Marawi will motivate them to achieve their dream to become lawyers,” Harim Noor, a law student of the Mindanao State University (MSU) told reporters.
Noor said half of the 200 examinees from the MSU come from Marawi.
A liquor ban was imposed within the 100-meter radius of the UST.
A “no parking” policy is implemented along España and Dapitan streets during the exams.
Tents, tarpaulins and loud music are also banned around the venue.
Medical personnel are on standby for emergencies.
Because of the risk of flooding in the vicinity of UST, the high court deployed 10 buses all over Metro Manila to transport examinees and SC personnel to the venue in case of heavy rains.
The high court has lifted its five-strike rule, in which examinees who have flunked five times are disqualified from taking the Bar.
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