THE UNIVERSITY welcomed more than 6,000 bar examinees as the first day of the 2016 Bar Examinations began on Nov. 6.
The total number of examinees from all over the country reached 6,831. This was 4.4 percent lower than last year’s 7,146.
UST fielded 86 first-time examinees, Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said.
The UST Main Building, along with the Benavides, San Martin de Porres and St. Raymund de Peñafort buildings were designated as testing venues for examinations to be held on four Sundays of November starting today. The Tan Yan Kee Student Center will serve as the Supreme Court’s office.
Strict security measures were implemented within and outside the campus, with personnel coming from the Supreme Court (SC) and the UST Security Office.
Personnel from the Philippine National Police, Metro Manila Development Authority, Manila Police District, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, intelligence agencies and the National Bureau of Investigation also aided in security on the first day of the exams.
UST Security Office Chief Joseph Badinas said about 340 security personnel were deployed around the campus.
Judicial Security officer Jayson Domingo said “UST is the second heavily guarded facility in Manila next to Malacañang.”
A liquor ban was implemented around UST, with beer and other alcoholic beverages prohibited between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. on examination days.
The 115th bar exams is headed by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.
