SC says test run of digitalized Bar exams a success

The Supreme Court held a mock digitalized Bar examinations on Sunday, January 31. The test was conducted in four venues: Baguio, Makati, Cebu, Davao.
Screenshot from the Supreme Court Public Information Office livestream

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has conducted mock Bar examinations in preparation for the first digitalized licensure test for aspiring lawyers in November this year.

In a statement Monday, the SC Public Information Office said the high court successfully held the pilot Bar examinations on January 31, as it transitions to a “fully digital but localized bar examination.”

“This is part of the Court’s reforms to make the bar examinations more equitable and inclusive while at the same time maintaining the standards of the legal profession,” the SC PIO added.

“The Pilot/Mock Bar was conducted in order to validate the various protocols and digital standards that will be used,” the statement further read.

In a tweet on Sunday, the SC PIO said 80 law students participated in the pilot Bar exams conducted in Baguio, Makati, Cebu and Davao.

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, 2020/2021 Bar examinations chairperson, said in an earlier Bar bulletin that the grades of those who will participate in the mock exams will not be included in their actual Bar examinations nor would they incur merit or demerits.

Bar exams are traditionally held during the four Sundays of November each year at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. But the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine protocols enforced across the country to curb its spread pushed back the conduct of the exams to 2021.

This means that law graduates in 2020 and 2021 will be allowed to apply for the next batch of Bar applicants.

The pilot run of the digitalized Bar was done in cooperation with the Philippine Association of Law Schools, Saint Louis University Law School, Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, University of Cebu Law, Ateneo de Davao College of Law and the UP College of Law.

The local governments of Baguio, Makati, Quezon City, Cebu and Davao, and the Philippine National Police also helped in the conduct of the mock Bar. Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta and other SC magistrates also observed its conduct.

The SC PIO added that announcements on the modality of the next Bar examinations will be released through bulletins in the middle of this month.— Kristine Joy Patag

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