The Supreme Court (SC) is expected to release on Tuesday, April 12, the results of the 2020-2021 first ever digitalized and regionalized bar examinations.
In a press statement, the SC’s public information office (PIO) said that the report on the bar examinations by Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, chairperson of the bar examinations committee, will be talked during the April 12 full court session.
Like in previous years, the release of the bar examinations needs authority from the SC as a full court.
The PIO said the date of the oath taking of the successful bar examinees has been set for May 2. But it said the time, venue and other details will be announced later.
After several postponements due to the effects of Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020-2021 online bar examinations were finally administered by the SC last Feb. 4 and 6 in various testing centers nationwide.
The SC did not release the actual number examinees who hurdled the two-day examinations.
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.
There was no announcement on how many bar examinees took the tests last Feb. 6.
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.
Leonen also said last Feb. 6 that “a number of examinees” violated the policies and the honor code it set up for the online 2020-2021 bar examinations and disqualified them outright.
“For those who have been disqualified, your disqualification applies only for the 2020/21 Bar Examinations,” he said.
He did not disclose how many examinees were disqualified as a result of the alleged violations of the policies and the honor code.
The SC also said that 219 examinees were unable to take the examinations “after having tested positive for Covid-19.”