The Supreme Court (SC) has extended until Feb. 15 the submission of the original copies of the documents required for application to the online 2020-2021 bar examinations which have been rescheduled for Feb. 4 and 6.
Also, in Bar Bulletin issued by Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen as chairman of the bar examinations committee, the SC has moved to 11:59 p.m. of Feb. 2, 2022 the deadline for bar examinees to take three sample exams.
The SC said that only 10,905 of the 11,790 law graduates who applied to take the examinations have complied with the taking of the three sample tests.
“As repeatedly stated.... all examinees are mandated to take, at least once, each of the three Sample Exams: (1) Examplify Tutorial; (2) Sample Bar Examination; and (3) Sample Bar Examination (version 2_8). Examinees who fail to do so before the first Bar day will be denied entry into the testing centers,” it said.
The SC also said:
“The e-mail address [email protected] has been created to receive concerns not within the competence of the other help desks. These concerns would typically relate to circumstances or grievances that the examinee is strongly inclined to directly inform the Bar Chairperson.
“For Examplify-related and other technical concerns, kindly address the Digital Help Desk ([email protected]). For any other concerns related to the conduct of the Bar Applications and Examinations, best contact the Office of the Bar Confidant ([email protected]).
“These changes are meant to meet the needs of Bar examinees, who will have to head for the Bar Examinations while facing circumstances far beyond their will. Though merely small modifications, we hope that they would help ease examinees’ burden, even for a tiny bit.”
Last Jan. 14, the SC decided to reset the two-day online bar examinations originally set on Jan. 23 and 25 to Feb. 4, Friday, and Feb. 6, Sunday.
In resetting the examination days, the SC noted that “16.8 percent of the 8,546 Bar examinees who have responded to an email sent by the Office of the Bar Chairperson are any of the three: positive for COVID-19; living with someone positive for COVID-19; or under quarantine due to a direct contact.”
“They are at risk of not being able to take the Bar Examinations if the original schedule of January 23 to 25, 2022 were to push through,” it said.
The SC had also decided to reduce the coverage and shorten the duration of the online bar examinations.
The two-day examinations will cover four comprehensive sets unlike the traditional eight subjects.
The four sets are: 1. The Law Pertaining to the State and Its Relationship with Its Citizens (formerly Political Law, Labor Law, and Taxation Law), 2. Criminal Law, 3. The Law Pertaining to Private Personal and Commercial Relations (formerly Civil Law and Commercial Law), and 4. Procedure and Professional Ethics (formerly Remedial Law, Legal Ethics, and Practical Exercises).
The first two sets will be taken up on the first day of the examinations, while the other two sets will be on the second day.