By Christine Fabro
A localized and online bar examination will be conducted this year in at least 16 testing centers nationwide on four Sundays in November.
Supreme Court Associate Justice and Committee on Bar Examinations Chairperson Marvic Leonen said during the high court’s Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing with Saint Louis University last Thursday (July 8) that there are already 16 local testing centers that have agreed on the template approved by the Supreme Court en banc.
He added that the Court might have a total of 25 testing sites throughout the country, as the Court is still in the process of negotiating with several large schools to accommodate more bar examinees.
An online portal for digital filing of Bar applicants called the Bar Personalized Login Unified System, or Bar PLUS, is scheduled to be launched next Thursday (July 15).
To date, these are the 16 local testing centers: Ateneo de Manila University, Manila Adventist College, Saint Louis University Baguio, Saint Louis College – La Union, Saint Mary’s University, Cagayan State University, De La Salle Lipa, University of Nueva Caceres, University of St. La Salle – Bacolod, Central Philippine University, University of Cebu – Banilad, Mindanao State University – Iligan, Mindanao State University – General Santos City, Ateneo de Davao University, Xavier University – Cagayan de Oro, and Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
According to a release from the Supreme Court Public Information Office on Friday (July 9), Justice Leonen disclosed that the Supreme Court is “ready to conduct localized Bar Examinations, with students bringing their own devices into their own classrooms,” with each classroom positioned following the guidelines of the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force. – rir
