07 October 2012, 8:36 p.m. – AUTHORITIES enforced stricter security in the University as 5,686 Bar examinees trooped to the campus for the first day of examinations earlier today.
Two-hundred fifty security personnel were deployed for the first day of the examination, officials said.
The Supreme Court Security Division led security operations while the Philippine National Police (PNP) explosives and counter-terrorism divisions patrolled the vicinity of UST. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Court of Appeals, the UST Security Office, and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group took charge inside the campus.
Traffic aides from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau were tapped to supervise traffic flow around UST. Last Friday, the MMDA advised motorists to expect heavy traffic on Espana Boulevard, Lacson Avenue, and Dapitan and P. Noval streets today at around 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Ambulance and fire trucks were on standby inside the campus and on P. Noval street for emergencies.
Like last year’s protocols, the traditional “Bar operations,” which involved rallies and cheering squads, were prohibited by the Supreme Court.
Manila Police Department Station 3 Chief Supt. James Afalla said there was a minor problem with crowd control.
“By next Sunday, we will put a rope so the supporters do not block the gates and roads,” Afalla told the Varsitarian.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, meanwhile, issued Executive Order No. 32 ordering a liquor ban around the University on the four Sundays of October.
“No store, restaurant, eatery, café shall be allowed to sell, peddle or offer for drink to any person intoxicating beverages between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. within 200 meters from the perimeter walls of UST,” the order stated.
The penalty for violations is a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or imprisonment of not more than six months, or both, depending on the discretion of the court.
UST Secretary General Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P. issued a memorandum closing the Tan Yan Kee Student Center on all Saturdays and Sundays of October for the exclusive use of Bar examiners and supervisors.
The Main Building, Benavides Park, UST High School Building, Health Service, Thomas Aquinas Research Complex, and Quezon Drive were barricaded. Classrooms at the Main Building, St. Martin de Porres Building, St. Raymund’s Building, and Benavides Building were used for this year’s examination.
Only the P. Noval and Lacson gates were opened to allow the public to go to the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church and UST Hospital.
The number of examinees this year was 8.29 percent lower compared with last year’s 6,200. Political Law and Labor and Social Legislation were the subjects covered by today’s exams.
According to the Supreme Court website, the exams followed the original schedule of two subjects per day. Last year, the coverage of the examinations was scheduled by topics and sub-topics, instead of by subject. Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela
