THE SUPREME Court (SC) said it was ready for heavy rains that could bring flooding at Bar exams testing sites, as more than 11,400 law graduates took the test on Day 1.
Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, chairperson of the 2025 Bar Examinations, said the 14 testing centers were prepared to deploy buses to transport examinees.
UST, one of the local testing centers and the national headquarters of exams, is prone to flooding especially during the monsoon season.
“Covered natin ‘yan, among others, we are ready with buses to ferry our bar takers wherever they might be stranded,” Lazaro-Javier said in a press conference on Sunday, Sept. 7.
A total of 11,437 law graduates showed up to take the test out of the 13,193 admitted examinees, or 86.7%.
Of the total, 5,250 are new Bar examinees; 1,232 are previous takers; and 1,984 are “refreshers.”
This year also logged 241 persons with disabilities, 206 senior citizens, 103 examinees with medical conditions, and 41 pregnant examinees.
The testing centers and the number of examinees are as follows:
- Saint Louis University, Baguio (1,253)
- University of Nueva Caceres, Naga (600)
- University of Santo Tomas, Manila (704)
- New Era University, Quezon City (1,698)
- Manila Adventist College, Pasay (427)
- San Beda College Alabang, Muntinlupa (764)
- San Beda University, Mendiola (874)
- University of the Philippines, Bonifacio Global City (584)
- Ateneo Law School, Makati (512)
- University of San Jose Recoletos, Cebu (1,264)
- Dr. Vicente Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation, Tacloban (471)
- Central Philippine University, Iloilo (547)
- Ateneo de Davao University (1,999)
- Mindanao State University, Iligan Institute of Technology (640).
Lazaro-Javier said female takers (6,673) outnumbered male examinees (4,764).
The exams chairperson assessed the first day of the testing as “generally peaceful.”
“Wala talaga, at all, record of violence. Peaceful,” Lazaro-Javier said.
According to the magistrate, the exam would continue to be administered digitally to avoid further adjustments or confusion among Bar takers.
“No new rules, no further innovations because we want our Bar to be as predictable as it can be,” she said.
As chair of this year’s Bar exams, Lazaro-Javier said the questions crafted for the examination were standardized to be “fair” and “reasonable.”
Lazaro-Javier, the chairperson of the 2025 Bar exams, is a UST law alumna.
The 2025 Bar Examinations will resume on Sept. 10 and 14. Micah G. Pascua
