'A number' of Bar examinees disqualified for 'violating' policies, honor code -- SC

The Supreme Court (SC) said on Sunday morning, Feb. 6, “a number of examinees” violated policies and the honor code it set up for the online 2020-2021 bar examinations and disqualified them outright.
The SC also said that 219 examinees were unable to take the examinations “after having tested positive for COVID-19.”
In Bar Bulletin issued today, Feb. 6, SC Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, chairperson of the bar examinations committee, said:
“In the course of the Bar Examinations, the Office of the Bar Chairperson has received reports of examinees who deliberately entered the local testing centers without disclosing that they had previously tested positive for COVID-19; who smuggled mobile phones inside the examination rooms; and who accessed social media during lunch break inside the premises.
“For their infractions, I am exercising my prerogative as Bar Chairperson to disqualify these examinees from the 2020/21 Bar Examinations.
“I take my constant message of honor to the examinees seriously. I owe it not only to those who risked their lives just to make the 2020/21 Bar Examinations happen despite all odds, but most especially to those examinees who could have taken the Bar Examinations were it not for their positive COVID-19 test results.
“For those who have been disqualified, your disqualification applies only for the 2020/21 Bar Examinations.”
The Bar Bulletin did not disclose how many examinees were disqualified as a result of the alleged violations of the policies and the honor code.
Neither Justice Leonen nor the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) disclose how many examinees actually reported back for the tests this morning, Feb. 6, the last day of the two-day examinations in 31 testing centers nationwide.
During the morning examinations held on the first day last Feb. 4, Justice Leonen said that 11,378 out of 11,790 law graduates who paid their registration fees took the tests.
But Leonen did not release figures on how many reported back to the testing centers in the afternoon of Feb. 4 and who actually took the examinations.
During past bar examinations, the number of examinees who took the tests during the first day dwindled as some opted to not take the examinations any further for various reasons.
Today’s, Feb. 6, examinations cover “The Law Pertaining to Private Personal and Commercial Relations” (formerly Civil Law and Commercial Law) in the morning, and “Procedure and Professional Ethics” (formerly Remedial Law, Legal Ethics, and Practical Exercises) in the afternoon.