Nov. 27, 10:37 p.m. – THE LAST day of the bar examinations ended peacefully today as the crowd swelled outside the campus for the so-called bar operations.
Security officials said an estimated 5,000 supporters—mostly in groups that put up streamers and formed cheering squads—trooped to the University.
Manila Police District Station 4 Commander Supt. Rolando Balasabas said nearly 200 policemen were deployed to different areas outside the campus to maintain peace and order.
“It’s still peaceful. We did not encounter any violent incident,” Balasbas said this afternoon.
Supporters were not allowed to assemble on sidewalks and at the overpass in front of the campus, and were instructed to transfer to the opposite sidewalk. But the crowd got close to the gates when the examinees came out at 4:45 p.m.
“Hindi naman kasi makikita [‘yung paglabas ng mga examinees] ‘pag dun sa kabila,” supporter Ronn Robby Rosales said.
Balasbas, on the other hand, said: “Hindi naman natin ‘yan (bar operations) mapipigilan, kaya full-force kami dito para maging maayos lahat.”
No untoward incidents were reported during the last three Sundays of the bar exams, he said.
The Supreme Court earlier said there would be no bar operations this year, as a safety precaution following last year’s grenade blast.
Meanwhile, security personnel from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, National Bureau of Investigation, Police Security Protection Group, Emilio Aguinaldo College-Police Community Precinct, and the UST Security Office took charge within the campus.
An estimated 100 personnel from the Metropolitan Manila Development Autority’s Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group assisted the police for crowd control and traffic supervision, said field operations officer Pitus Borromeo.
Fire rescue and medical aid volunteers from Pasig, Quezon City, and Manila assembled at nearby streets, while officers from other barangays were also deployed around the campus to help in crowd and traffic supervision.
Traffic became heavy at around 5 p.m. This was aggravated by the double-parking of vehicles—many of which were bus services of different law schools—on streets surrounding the campus.
Bar exams coordinator May Rachel Nolasco said the results of exams are expected to be released on the last week of February 2012.
Last year, 47 people were injured after a bomb explosion on the final day of the bar examinations at De La Salle University. Raissa Laurel, a law student from San Sebastian College-Recolletos, lost both legs, while Joanna Ledda of San Beda College lost her left leg. Rafael L. Antonio
