BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry Treñas has issued an executive order prohibiting “ambient noise” around Central Philippine University (CPU) to ensure a conducive environment for the 2024 Bar examinations.
Executive Order 119 aims to minimize disturbances and maintain a quiet atmosphere during the exam period.
This noise includes sirens, horns, whistles, or other similar gadgets and explosions of firecrackers, fireworks, and other pyrotechnic devices.
In a Bar bulletin, the Supreme Court designated CPU as one of the 13 local testing centers (LTCs) for the 2024 Bar Examinations on Sept. 8, 11, and 15.
Under the executive order, business establishments within 500 radius of CPU are asked to minimize unnecessary noise during the exam.
Contractors performing preventive maintenance along the roads near the school have been requested to postpone engineering works within the same radius from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the exam dates.
The use of video machines and similar machines that tend to cause unnecessary noise and disrupt the holding of exams are prohibited during the above time and dates.
Barangay officials and members of the Iloilo City Police Office have been instructed to monitor and apprehend those who would conduct illegal gambling and similar prohibited activities.
Violators will be charged with an appropriate offense for violating the “Ordinance Regulating Noise Pollution in Iloilo City.”
Treñas earlier signed Executive Order No. 113 creating a coordinating team that will establish protocols and manage the conduct of this year’s Bar Examinations at CPU, one of the 13 testing centers across the country.
“To ensure the successful and efficient implementation of the 2024 Bar Examinations at Central Philippine University, there is a need to create the Coordinating Team for the Iloilo site,” read Treñas’ order.
In Bar Bulletin No. 3-B, SC said there will be six LTCs in the National Capital Region (NCR), 2 LTCs in Luzon, 3 LTCs in Visayas, and 2 LTCs in Mindanao.
“The social and economic benefits of providing regional sites for the examinations cannot be overemphasized. This innovation reduced the logistical, financial, and emotional burdens of bar candidates from the provinces,” said Associate Justice Mario Lopez, 2024 Bar exam chairperson, in a statement.
A total of 12,246 law graduates have applied to take three-day Bar exams in 13 local testing sites across the country.
The high court identified at least three testing centers in the Visayas – University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City, Central Philippine University in Iloilo City, and Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban City.
Under Treñas’ executive order, the monitoring team will comprise external and area security committees, traffic management and barangay coordination, health and disaster risk management, public information, and social media.
The external and area security committee will be responsible for the overall external and area security during the entire duration of the Bar examinations, including the holding of the bar operations.
The traffic management and barangay coordination team will prepare the traffic route plan around CPU relative to the road closure around the perimeter of the testing site.
The health and disaster risk management team will ensure that health protocols and policies are adopted and implemented during the Bar exams.
On the other hand, the public information and social media team ensure that information on the Bar exams as well as the specified road closures, and share relevant information from the Supreme Court relative to the development of the exams./PN
