THE UNIVERSITY hosted the Bar Examinations for the ninth straight year, opening its doors to 8,245 aspiring lawyers Sunday.
The number of registered bar examinees dropped to 8,245, from last year’s 8,701 candidates, the first time the number of takers decreased from the previous year’s number since 2014.
Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said the University sent a total of 113 examinees, down than last year’s 136.
“Compared [to previous years], less hassle ngayon [ang bar operations] kasi we have less bar candidates this year… mas nasala, kasi i-ilan lang ang naging graduates this year,” UST Bar Operations Vice Chairwoman Renzi Oloteo told the Varsitarian.
(Compared to previous years, this year’s bar operations are less of a hassle because we have fewer candidates. The candidates were filtered, since we only had a few graduates this year.)
Tight security was implemented around the University, with the presence of the UST Security Office, Manila Police District (MPD), Philippine Coast Guard, National Bureau of Investigation, Metro Manila Developmient Authority and Supreme Court security.
The MPD chief, Brig. Gen. Bernabe Balba, told the Varsitarian that almost 500 policemen were deployed to UST as early as 3 a.m., and that a civil disturbance management plan was implemented.
Balba said a liquor ban around UST will be heavily imposed during the four Sundays of November, in line with the city ordinance imposed by Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno.
Oloteo affirmed this, saying the MPD inspected each Bar Operations site more intensively, unlike in previous years.
The examinations, all essay questions, cover political law, labor law, civil law, taxation, mercantile law, criminal law, remedial law and legal and judicial ethics.
The University posted a 71.5-percent passing rate for first-time takers last year, with 90 out of 126 Thomasians making the cut.
The national passing rate in 2018 stood at 22.07 percent or 1,800 out of 8,155 examinees. with reports from Ahmed Khan H. Cayongcat
