SC bans Bar ops in UST next month

MANILA, Philippines -  Bar operations of fraternities, sororities and organizations will no longer be allowed near the venue of the Bar exams next month, the Supreme Court (SC) has announced.

This year’s Bar committee, chaired by Associate Justice Roberto Abad, has decided to bring traditional activities like setting up of streamers, sendoffs and cheering squads farther from the venue, the 400-year-old University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Bar Confidant and SC deputy clerk of court Ma. Cristina Layusa said this is to prevent a repeat of the grenade attack that marred the conclusion of the Bar exams in September last year that left 50 people injured.

Layusa said Abad has directed that the streets surrounding the UST campus (Dapitan, P. Noval, España Boulevard, and Lacson Avenue) remain open to traffic during all four Sundays of the Bar examinations.

To maintain peace and order during the exams, she said that the SC will be assisted by uniformed police officers and plainclothes agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.

A total of 6,200 law graduates are set to take this year’s Bar exams, which will be held during the four Sundays of November.

It will be the first time the Bar exam will feature multiple-choice questions. The list of admitted Bar applicants can be viewed at sc.judiciary.gov.ph.