Legal Education Board: PhiLSAT to push through on April 7

MANILA, Philippines — The Legal Education Board on Tuesday announced that the centralized law admissions examination would push through on April 7.

In a memorandum circular dated March 19, the LEB said: “The administration of the Philippine Law School Admission Test on April 7, 2019 has not been restrained and will proceed as scheduled.”

The memorandum was signed by LEB Chairman Emerson Aquende and was posted on his Facebook account.

The announcement came following the Supreme Court issuing a temporary restraining order against a directive from the board on acceptance of law students.

The SC made the en banc resolution on the TRO only on Monday.

The tribunal, however, issued the halt order specifically against LEB Memorandum No. 18 that removed the conditional enrolment of law students.

The Legal Education Board, in its latest memo, said that in compliance with the SC order, the following may be conditionally admitted and enrolled as freshmen law students in the coming semester, “under the same terms as LEB Memorandum Order No. 11”:

• Those who have not taken the PhiLSAT
• Those who have taken the PhiLSAT but did not pass
• Those who have passed the PhiLSAT but have expired Certificates of Eligibility
• College honor graduates without certificate of exemption
• College honor graduates with expired Certificates of exemption

LEB Memorandum No. 11, however, states that students who have yet to pass the PhiLSAT may conditionally enroll in law schools provided that they take the next scheduled admission test.

The LEB also stressed: “If the student fails to take the next scheduled PhiLSAT for any reason, his/her conditional enrolment in the law school shall be automatically revoked and barred from enrolling in the following semester.”

The halt order emanated from two petitions challenging the constitutionality of the PhiLSAT.

They are questioning Republic Act 7662 or the Legal Education Reform Act that was the basis of the memorandum that ordered the conduct of PhiLSAT.

During the oral argument, justices quizzed the petitioners and respondents on whether the conduct of a centralized law admissions exam violates a citizen’s right to knowledge and academic freedom. — Kristine Joy Patag