SC extends to Aug. 15 deadline to apply for 2022 online Bar exams set in Nov.

The Supreme Court (SC) extended to August 15 the July 15 deadline to file applications for the online and regionalized 2022 bar examinations which will be conducted in November.

In Bar Bulletin dated July 11, 2022, Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, chairperson of the 2022 bar examinations committee, said the extension was allowed after the SC was informed of “the variance in the academic calendars of the various law schools in the country.”

Justice Caguioa said the SC was told that “some law schools will close their academic year later than others and later than the close of the original application period” (from June 13 to July 15).

“In order to give all interested law graduates ample time to prepare and submit their documentary requirements, while still ensuring that the different offices of the Supreme Court will have enough time to process and verify the adequacy of the applications to be received, the application period is hereby extended to August 15, 2022,” Caguioa said.

In an earlier, Bar Bulletin, the SC said:

“Applications for the 2022 Bar Examinations will be through the Bar Personalized Login Unified System (Bar PLUS) platform, supported by the submission of additional documentary requirements. All applicants are required to accomplish the Application to Take the 2022 Bar Examinations (Application Form), which will be generated in the Bar PLUS platform.

“All applicants who have submitted their Application Forms and supporting documents, and paid the Bar application fees by July 15, 2022 (now Aug. 15, 2022) shall be deemed to have filed their applications within the deadline.

“Those whose Bar application fee payments are pending confirmation as of July 15, 2022 (now Aug. 15, 2022) are also deemed to have filed their applications on time.

“The Bar application fee for all applicants, whether new, a repeater, a refresher or a re-applicant is P10,000. The Bar application fee may be paid through the Bar PLUS platform. All payments shall be made by every applicant individually. Joint payments for more than one applicant will not be accepted.

“Once submitted, the applications will be processed and approved by batch, with each batch corresponding to each round of en banc approval of applications.

“The matter of selection assignment of an applicant’s exam venue site will be processed on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, i.e., applicants who submitted their applications earlier will be assigned to the earlier batches, and thereby processed for approval by the en banc earlier.

“The 2022 Bar Examinations will be held in November, barring unforeseen circumstances and contingencies which may necessitate a rescheduling of the same.

“Further details with respect to the exact dates of the Bar Examinations, as well as those pertaining to the Bar PLUS platform and the exam venue selections will be announced in a later bulletin.”

The first online and regionalized 2020-2021 bar examinations were held last February 4 and 6 after three postponements due to Covid-19. A total of 8,241 out of 11,402 examinees, or 72.28 percent, passed the examinations.

Due to the success of the first online bar examinations, the SC had decided to conduct the succeeding examinations online and regionalized.