SC sets oathtaking, roll signing of passers in 2022 Bar exams May 2 at PICC in Pasay City

While the results of the 2022 Bar examinations have not been released, the Supreme Court (SC) announced that the passers’ oathtaking and signing of the Roll of Attorneys will be held starting at 10 a.m. on May 2, 2023 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City. The SC is expected to release the results in Baguio City during its traditional summer sessions that start on April 11. A total of 9,183 law graduates completed the four-day Bar examinations that ended on Nov. 20, 2022. The notice on the oathtaking and roll signing was posted in the SC website – sc.judiciary.gov.ph – and signed by Amor P. Entila, officer-in-charge of the SC’s Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC). The OBC said the notice “is posted ahead of the release of the results of the 2022 Bar Examinations to give the prospective successful examinees ample time to undertake the necessary preparations for the Oath Taking and Roll Signing.” It reminded that starting with the 2022 Bar passers, the SC has increased the Bar admission fee from P3,500 to P5,000. The SC said “the subject increase shall cover the imminent surge in the operation costs, particularly the cost of the venue for the oathtaking and roll signing ceremonies, and other logistical expenses, as well as the allowance of concerned personnel.” It also said the increase “is also concomitant to the innovations that will be implemented in the said Court proceedings.” Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa was the chairperson of the 2022 Bar examinations committee. The 2023, also online and regionalized, Bar examinations will be administered by the SC only for three days on Sept. 17, 20, and 24, also in various testing centers nationwide, with only six core subjects instead of eight. SC Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, chairperson of the 2023 Bar examinations committee, said: “Commercials Law and Taxation Law have been conjoined to the close affinity between these two fields in legal practice, while Remedial Law and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises were fused together as these subjects complement each other in actual practice.” Thus, the subjects for examinations on Sept. 17, 2023 will be Political and Public International Law in the morning, and Commercial and Taxation Laws in the afternoon, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Sept. 20, 2023, the subjects covered are Civil Law in the morning and Labor Law and Social Legislation in the afternoon. On Sept. 24, 2023, Criminal Law and Remedial Law will be in the morning and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises in the afternoon. Justice Hernando said the early release of the Bar exams results would be complementary to an early conduct of the examinations. “We will therefore have aspirants to the profession earning their J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree, taking the Bar exams, taking the oath and signing the roll of attorneys all in the same year,” he said.