BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry Treñas has created a coordinating team that will establish protocols and manage this year’s Bar Examinations in this metropolis.
Treñas signed Executive Order No. 113 to create the team tasked to ensure the successful and efficient holding of the Bar exams at the Central Philippine University, one of 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.
The Supreme Court (SC) has designated CPU as a local testing center (LTC) for 2024 Bar Examinations on Sept. 8, 11, and 15.
In Bar Bulletin No. 3-B, the SC said there will be six LTCs in the National Capital Region (NCR), two in Luzon, three in the Visayas, and two 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 two other testing centers in the Visayas – University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City and Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban City.
Mayor Treñas earlier said he was glad that the Supreme Court had designated CPU as the local testing center in Iloilo City for this year’s Bar exam.
“With three law schools in the city and four more in Region VI, having a testing center here will significantly enhance convenience and reduce costs for the examinees,” said Treñas.
The mayor wrote Associate Justice Ramon Paul I. Hernando, the chief of the 2023 Bar Examinations, that Western Visayas, particularly Iloilo City, has proven its capability as testing centers when hundreds of barristers trooped CPU during the 2020-2021 Bar exam.
He noted that Western Visayas has seven law schools – Aklan College in Aklan; Colegio de La Purisima Concepcion in Capiz; University of Negros Occidental Recoletos and University of St. La Salle in Bacolod; and CPU, University of San Agustin and West Visayas State University in Iloilo City.
“Iloilo City is the home of three law schools and very accessible to the graduates of the four others in Region VI,” said Treñas.
Under Treñas’ executive order, the monitoring team will be composed of external and area security committee, traffic management and barangay coordination, health and disaster risk management, and 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
