BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Two schools in Negros Island and one in Panay Island are among the designated examination centers for the 2020-2021 Bar exam this November.
These are the Central Philippine University in Jaro, Iloilo City (475 slots), University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City (1,340 slots) and Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental (1,000 slots).
According to Senior Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, chairperson of the 2020-2021 Bar exam, having local testing centers would “reduce examinees’ travel and accommodation expenses and minimize their transit amid the coronavirus pandemic.”
There are four other local testing centers being considered – three in Metro Manila and one in Central Luzon.
A total of 24 testing centers are to be opened for the examinations.
Memorandums of agreement were executed by the Supreme Court (SC) and the local testing centers.
All parties guaranteed that health and safety protocols would be strictly enforced and that the community quarantine classifications per area shall be respected.
According to the SC, Bar applicants will select their local testing center through the Bar PLUS (Personal Login Unified System).
To make the Bar examinations more inclusive, venue matching will not be on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, applicants from remote areas will be prioritized.
Applicants may select their chosen local testing centers only after their applications have been approved by the SC en banc.
The Office of the Bar Confidant will send separate emails to the approved applicants for this purpose./PN
