Court operations suspended for Bar exams

MANILA, Philippines — Operations in courts in Metro Manila and in cities hosting the 2023 Bar examinations on Sept. 20 will be suspended, the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) announced on Friday.

According to a circular dated Sept. 8, Court Administrator Raul Villanueva said the suspension covers all first and second level courts.

Officials, personnel and employees who will be deployed as Bar personnel will be considered to be on official business.

The Bar examinations are set to be held on Sept. 17, 20 and 24. This is the first time that the Bar examinations will be held for only three days from its usual four-day schedule.

The exams will be divided into six core subjects distributed in three days. Two subjects will be taken up per day – one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

There are a total of 14 local testing centers nationwide: six in Metro Manila, three each in Luzon and the Visayas and two in Mindanao.

San Beda College in Alabang was chosen as the national headquarters for the 2023 Bar examinations, where the Supreme Court will supervise the operations of other local testing centers.

According to the Office of the 2023 Bar Chair, examinees will not be required to present negative COVID-19 tests prior to their entries in testing sites but they are highly encouraged to be vaccinated against the disease.

Examinees who exhibit symptoms during the security process or during examinations will be assessed by medical staff. They may be placed in isolated testing rooms where they will be allowed to continue taking the exam.

In Bar Bulletin No. 8 released on Friday, Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando encouraged examinees to remember the reason that pushed them to take up law.

“If you find yourself struggling to continue this journey, remember your ‘why.’ Your ‘why’ is your beginning, your end, your core, and your North Star. Think of the reason you started in the very first place and why you held on for so long,” he said.

He encouraged them to believe in their own power and resolve and stressed that reaching the Bar exams is a commendable feat.

“Do not lose hope. Maybe rest, but do not stop. We want you to succeed,” he said.

In the 2022 Bar examinations, 3,992 out of 9,183 examinees passed.