THERE were no Thomasians disqualified in the 2020/21 bar examinations, which saw some examinees excluded for violating policies set by the Office of the Bar Chairperson and the honor code.
Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, chairman of the 2020/21 bar examinations, disqualified an undisclosed number of examinees who:
- deliberately entered local testing centers without disclosing that they previously tested positive for Covid-19;
- smuggled mobile phones inside the examination rooms; and
- accessed social media during lunch break inside the premises.
“For their infractions, I am exercising my prerogative as bar chairperson to disqualify these examinees from the 2020/21 bar examinations,” Leonen said.
The disqualification is only applicable for this year’s bar examinations, Leonen said as he advised the disqualified bar takers to reflect on their actions and learn from their mistakes to “earn their honor back.”
Asked if Thomasians were among those disqualified, Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina told the Varsitarian: “We know of none.”
Bar examinees were required to sign an honor code that included a declaration that they would “not do any act that can be construed as cheating or dishonesty,” aid or tolerate anyone who would do so before, during and after the examinations, and follow all health protocols required by the bar chairperson.
Thomasian bar exam taker Gio Louis Semeniano said examinees were required to submit the document on the first day of exams and were subject to “thorough” security checks.
“We were required din to deposit our gadgets, may thorough security checks sa laptops and bags, and body searches,” Semeniano told the Varsitarian.
A total of 11,378 law graduates took the first-ever virtual bar examinations in local testing centers across the country, including UST.
