Heavy traffic is expected with the closure of several roads in Metro Manila, particularly in the vicinity of the testing centers for this year’s bar examinations on Sept. 17, 20, and 24.
Testing venues are located the cities of Manila, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Taguig, and Quezon.
For the bar exams at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and San Beda University in Manila, streets around the University Belt will be closed to motorists from 3:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
These include Dapitan Street (from Lacson Avenue to Padre Noval Street), Legarda Street (two eastbound lanes from San Rafael to Mendiola streets), along with two lanes in both Mendiola Street (from Peace Arch to Malacañang), and Concepcion Aguila Street (from Mendiola to Jose Laurel Street).
España Boulevard (two westbound lanes from Lacson Avenue to Padre Noval Street) will also be closed starting at 2 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Quezon City government advised the public to take alternative routes in anticipation of heavy traffic at University Avenue, C.P. Garcia Avenue, Katipunan Avenue, and Commonwealth Avenue, particularly from 3:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The bar exams in the city will be held at the University of the Philippines - Diliman (UPD).
Motorists have also been advised to plan alternate routes ahead of the bar exams at the Manila Adventist College (MAC) in Pasay City.
San Juan Street (from Donada to Leveriza Street) will be closed from 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. according to the Pasay local government.
It also warned of heavy traffic around the vicinity of the MAC and Adventist Medical Center - Manila (AMCM).
Bar examinations will also be held at the University of the Philippines - Bonifacio Global City (BGC). However, the Taguig City government has yet to announce road closures and release traffic advisories for the exam dates.
In Muntinlupa City, only residents of Alabang Hills Village, bar examinees, and other authorized personnel will be allowed to pass through Don Manolo Boulevard during the exams to be held at San Beda College Alabang (SBCA).
According to the Supreme Court (SC), the SBCA will be its national headquarters for the bar examinations.
Identification cards and residence certificates will have to be presented upon entry to Alabang Hills Village.
Only five authorized tricycle drivers from the Alabang Hills Village Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA), with valid Bar IDs, will be allowed to travel within the area throughout the bar exams.
The delivery of food and non-food items to residents of the Alabang Hills Village will be allowed at 8 a.m. or until the examinees have all entered the testing center.
Moreover, the Muntinlupa local government will also impose a liquor ban within the 500-meter radius from San Beda College Alabang.
The ban will take effect from 9 p.m. on Sept. 16 to 10 p.m. on Sept. 17; 9 p.m. on Sept. 19 to 10 p.m. Sept. 20; and 9 p.m. on Sept. 23 to 10 p.m. on Sept. 24.
Around 10,867 law graduates will be taking the bar exams this year at 14 local testing centers nationwide, as per the SC.
Testing centers in the provinces include Saint Louis University (Baguio City), Cagayan State University (Tuguegarao City), and University of Nueva Caceres (Naga City) in Luzon; University of San Jose-Recoletos (Cebu City), University of San Carlos (Cebu City), and Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation (Tacloban City) in Visayas; and Ateneo de Davao University (Davao City) and Xavier University (Cagayan de Oro City) in Mindanao.