The Supreme Court (SC) has declared that the scores of Bar examinees are sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act and cannot be disclosed without the consent of the examinees.
The declaration was contained in Bar Matter No. 4968 which approved the Guidelines on Requests for Disclosure of a Law School’s Bar Examinations Performance.
In a press briefer, the SC’s Public Information Office (SC-PIO) said “under the guidelines, the SC may approve requests from law schools for Bar exam scores, as long as these scores are aggregated, averaged, or anonymized and do not identify any individual Bar exam taker.”
The SC-PIO said “permissible data includes the number or percentage of the law school’s graduates categorized by type (new examinees, previous takers, refreshers); the number or percentage of graduates within specific score ranges; the average score of all graduates in each Bar subject; and the overall average general weighted average for law schools with multiple examinees.”
“Additionally, anonymized scores of each Bar taker, with all identifiers removed, are also permitted. This information is not considered personal information under Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and may be disclosed,” it also said.
It added: “Requests from law schools must be signed by the dean or an equivalent official, and must state a legitimate purpose, such as reviewing and improving law degree programs and performance on future Bar exams. The Office of the Bar Confidant is the office tasked to review and act upon such requests.”
Results of the 2024 online Bar examinations will be released by the SC on Friday, Dec. 13.
The SC, which is now on recess for the holiday season, will convene as a full court in a special session on Dec. 13 for the release of the Bar results.