Heavy traffic expected as Bar takers troop to Taft

Traffic along Taft Avenue near Vito Cruz Street in front of De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila is expected to be heavy as 4,761 law students take the annual Bar today.

Today’s Bar will be the first of a series of exams for the aspiring lawyers. For the next three Sundays of the month, they will be taking the exam conducted annually by the Supreme Court.

Bar confidant Ma. Cristina Layusa said all systems are go for this year’s Bar. "We have already deployed a thousand personnel from various agencies to ensure the smooth flow of the tests."

Bomb experts from the Western Police District’s Bomb Disposal Unit have been tapped to "monitor security in the area." Five medical clinics will also be installed inside the DLSU campus.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has been asked to temporarily close the south lane of Taft Avenue from Quirino to Vito Cruz street.

Layusa reminded examinees to be prompt for the scheduled tests because the school’s entrance, or the gate near McDonald’s, will open at exactly 6 a.m. and close 15 minutes later.

"Latecomers will be barred from entering the premises after the said period," a SC press statement warned.

Cellular phones inside the examination rooms are also prohibited. All examinees and Bar watchers are required to deposit their cellphones at the gate where they can be retrieved after the exams.

The number of this year’s barristers was a significant increase from last year’s 3,849 law students. Last year, 32.8 percent, or 1,266 Bar takers, became lawyers.

Senior SC Justice Vicente Mendoza, a constitutionalist, is the chairman of the Bar committee for this year.