Fire breaks out at SC Centennial Building; release of Bar results unaffected

MANILA, Philippines — A fire broke out at the Supreme Court Centennial building early Tuesday morning, the day the release of the 2020/21 Bar exams results is set later today.

SC spokesperson Brian Hosaka confirmed to reporters that a UPS in the data center caught fire.

A UPS or uninterruptible power source unit is an apparatus providing emergency power to a set of computers, servers and other devices.

“The fire is already controlled and confined only in the Data Center housed in the SC Centennial Building along Padre Faura,” Hosaka added.

But Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, 2020/21 Bar Exam chairperson, assured the public that the release of the results will proceed.

In a tweet, Leonen said: “This will NOT affect the release of the results of the bar.  We have secured the data files and our chambers and [Office of Bar Chairperson] are fully operational.”

“As has characterized our operations, we have preparations for every contingency,” he added.

The SC is set to hold a special en banc session to discuss the results of the historic 2020/21 Bar exam results later today. More than 11,000 examinees showed up in the first day of the exam held on February 4 and 6.