BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The recent Bar examinations at the University of St. La Salle (USLS) was uneventful and there were no security threats, according to the commander of Bacolod City Police Office’s (BCPO) Police Station 4.
Police Major Ritchie Gohee said they started deploying personnel at the USLS early Saturday morning (Feb. 5).
Cops guarded not just the examinees but also the parents anxiously waiting outside USLS.
The first law graduate who completed the Bar exams exited the venue at around 4 p.m., and by the time the examinations were over the cops had not encountered problems.
Bacolod City Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier, meanwhile, revealed they did not record any violations among the 143 exam goers at the USLS.
Javier’s statement was in response to the announcement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen that some of the examinees have been disqualified for breaking the honor code after it was found out they smuggled mobile phones in the examination venues, accessed social media during lunch break, and deliberately took the exams even though they have previously tested positive for COVID-19.
A prominent lawyer here, Atty. Jomax Ortiz, expressed hope that a substantial number of examinees would pass, pointing out the country desperately needs new lawyers.
This year’s Bar marked the first time that it was held in multiple venues, shortened to two days instead of the usual four, and conducted digitally with examinees bringing their own laptops and downloading questions from a secured online application./PN
