2010 Bar exam starts 'smoothly'

THE first day of four-Sunday Bar Examinations this month went smoothly with 5,012 examinees trooping toward De La Salle University (DLSU) in Taft Avenue, Manila for the annual test.

In an interview with Sun.Star, Court Administrator and SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said, “Everything went smoothly for the first day. We hope that the orderly conduct of the examinations will continue.”

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Marquez said that examinees and well-wishers went to the venue as early as 5 a.m. while the actual examination started around 7 a.m., with Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as the chairperson of the 2010 Bar Examinations Committee.

The SC spokesman said that the High Court received 5,038 applications but seven applications were denied while 19 have been withdrawn. The number however is lower than the 6,080 examinees last year.

In 2009, a total of 1,451 of the total number of examinees, or 24.58 percent, passed the Bar with Ateneo gaining six spots in the top 10.

Marquez said 1,200 people were enlisted to ensure the successful conduct of the exams, which include supervisors, head watchers, assistants and special assistants, among others.

Meantime, the southbound portion of Taft Avenue from Quirino Avenue to Pablo Ocampo Sr. Street (formerly Vito Cruz) were temporarily closed to vehicular traffic from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The same rule will be applied in the last three Sundays of the test.

The 2010 Bar exams marked the second time that two examiners were designated as in each of the eight Bar examination subjects. Thus, every Bar subject would be divided into two parts, with each designated examiner assigned a specific scope.

In February last year, the SC, upon the recommendation of the committee on legal education and Bar matters, approved the proposal of Deputy Clerk of Court and Bar Confidant lawyer Ma. Cristina Layusa to designate two examiners per Bar subject.

The Rules of Court provide that a “candidate may be deemed to have passed his examination successfully if he has obtained a general average of 75 percent in all subjects without failing below 50 percent in any subject.”

In determining the average, subjects in the examinations are given the following relative weights: Political and International Law, 15 percent; Labor and Social Legislation, 10 percent; Civil Law, 15 percent; Taxation, 10 percent; Mercantile Law, 15 percent; Criminal Law, 10 percent; Remedial Law, 20 percent; and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises, 5 percent.

In the last decade, the highest passing rate was posted in 2001 with 32.89 percent, while the lowest was in 2002 with 19.68 percent.

The highest passing percentage of all time though was in 1954 with 75.17 percent, while the lowest was in 1999 with 16.59 percent. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)