TWO universities will be conducting virtual send-off ceremonies for their Bar examinees this year instead of the traditional festive face-to-face activities to ensure protection from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Lawyer Jonathan Capanas, University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) School of Law dean, and lawyer Al-Shwaid de Leon, University of Cebu (UC) Law dean, told SunStar Cebu that they would be conducting virtual send-off ceremonies on Thursday, February 3, 2022, a day prior to the Bar examinations, which are scheduled for February 4 and February 6.
As part of the restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court, Capanas said they could not even take the examinees or bring them as a group to the three testing centers in Cebu, including the above-mentioned schools and the University of San Carlos.
"So they are on their own, because what the Supreme Court wants to prevent is, of course, the infection. As much as possible, they do not want the examinees to be exposed to people who are positive," he said.
For his part, De Leon said each UC law candidate will have a designated driver who is either an alumni-volunteer or student, but he stressed that the latter are likewise required to undergo rapid antigen tests.
USJ-R has more or less 200 candidates for the two-day Bar exams, although not everyone will be taking their exams in Cebu, while UC has a total of 90 candidates.
De Leon said the Covid-19 pandemic has entirely changed the dynamic in which they had to consider a lot of things, particularly the restrictions and limitations imposed by the Supreme Court and the Office of the Bar Chairperson.
These include the health and safety of their Bar candidates, who have been in isolation since early January.
With this, de Leon said their activities are very limited, which is why all their last-minute lectures are virtual.
The same goes for USJ-R candidates, said Capanas, who only conducted online lectures and mentoring and read all they could under the circumstances to prepare their examinees.
"We are just contacting them online. We are helping them. We are monitoring them. And also very challenging because online activities can't actually supplant face-to-face activities," he said.
But Capanas said that they are confident that many will be able to make it to this year's Bar exams, while also acknowledging that the biggest challenges the majority of the examinees are facing are psychological, emotional, and financial problems.
"Because the exams have been delayed for quite some time already. In fact, our takers, or graduates who were supposed to take in 2020, are going to take it at the same time as the 2021 candidates," he explained.
Starting Wednesday, February 2, the rapid antigen test among the around 1,200 Bar examinees has been conducted, but the two deans said that they have not yet received any reports that their candidates have tested positive for Covid-19.
But the rapid antigen testing will be conducted for two days, of which Feb. 3 is the second day.
Capanas also heard there were Bar takers in Cebu who tested positive for the virus, although he could not confirm it nor had any direct personal knowledge about it.
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, who is the deputy chief implementer of the city's Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said that the least thing they could do is to isolate those who test positive for Covid-19 since they are not allowed to divulge results.
"Re Bar candidates who tested positive for Covid, we in the LGU are not allowed to divulge the results. Prudence dictates that it is not the right thing to do. With a heavy heart, the least we could do is isolate them to a hotel facility at our expense, not the city but from well-meaning lawyer friends," he said.
Meanwhile, Capanas said they are hoping that all the examinees nationwide will be able to sustain it until the end, adding that if this year's Bar exams turn out to be successful, there could be a huge possibility that the subsequent examinations will be done at the regional level, if not the local level. (MKG)