REGIONALIZATION OF THE NEXT BAR EXAMINATIONS

“B.M. No. 3490 (Regionalization of the Next Bar Examinations)

Promulgated: April 29, 2020

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, pursuant to its constitutional
authority to promulgate rules concerning the admission to the practice
of law, the Supreme Court promulgated Rule 138, Section 11^[1] of the Rules of Court, which provides that the Bar Examinations shall be held in Manila;

WHEREAS, Bar Matter No. 1142^[2]
dated August 13, 2002, which states that the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines-Cebu City Chapter had proposed Cebu City to be another site
of the Bar Examinations, manifests early on existing clamor to have a
regional site for the examinations;

WHEREAS, in Bar Matter No. 1142-A^[3]
dated March 24, 2009, there was another request, this time by the
National President of the Association of Law Schools in the Philippines,
for the Bar Examinations in Manila to be simultaneously conducted in
other sites in the Visayas and Mindanao;

WHEREAS, in Bar Matter No. 2310^[4]
dated January 11, 2011, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Talisay City and
the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Mandaue City both requested that this
Court hold the Bar Examinations for Visayas and Mindanao examinees in
Cebu City;

WHEREAS, in 2016, this Court had previously
agreed to a proposal by retired Court of Appeals Justice Portia
Hormachuelos to simultaneously hold the Bar Examinations in Manila and
Cebu City if the regional site had 1,000 Bar candidates,^[5] but later disallowed it merely because less than a thousand expressed such interest;^[6]

WHEREAS, retired Court of Appeals Justice
Portia Hormachuelos attributed the low turnout to the inadequate time to
survey all prospective examinees, as well as the distance among the
provinces that hampered the delivery of survey results;^[7]

WHEREAS, the Philippine Association of Law
Schools, through its current leadership, convened meetings with law
school deans to discuss the possibility of having a regional site for
the next Bar Examinations;

WHEREAS, the proposal to have a regional site
for the next Bar Examinations was received favorably by the law school
deans who have expressed their full support;

WHEREAS, based on a February 21, 2020^[8] survey conducted by the Philippine Association of Law Schools, 89% of the respondents^[9]
were in favor of a regional site for the next Bar Examinations,
preferably in Cebu City, with positive comments on the proposal even
from respondents in Metro Manila and Luzon schools;

WHEREAS, the social impact of providing a
regional site for the Bar Examinations cannot be overemphasized, and may
even lead to more regional sites in future examinations;

WHEREAS, the holding of the Bar Examinations
in Manila has been a continuous financial and emotional burden on Bar
candidates from the Visayas and Mindanao, who must spend inordinate sums
to sustain their stay in Manila and be separated from their loved ones
who could provide them with tangible and emotional support;

WHEREAS, this Court must be responsive to the
pleas and needs of the Bar candidates from the provinces in order to
reduce inequities;

WHEREAS, providing a regional site for the Bar
Examinations would address these inequities by allowing Bar candidates
from the Visayas and Mindanao to cut their expenses, continue with their
employment, and receive the much-needed support from their family and
friends while they review and take the examinations;

WHEREAS, recent governmental restrictions in
light of the COVID-19 pandemic has limited movement between provinces,
making regionalization more crucial than ever;

WHEREAS, a regional testing site for the next
Bar Examinations will lessen the logistical problems caused by travel
restrictions and curfew regulations that the Bar candidates will face in
the coming months;

WHEREAS, a corresponding increase in the Bar application fees is necessary to cover the additional costs of regionalization;

NOW, THEREFORE, acting on the recommendations of Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, this Court, sitting En Banc, resolves to APPROVE the following:

(a) Cebu City shall be designated as a regional site for the
next Bar Examinations. A site visit shall be conducted to find a
suitable venue for the examinations, the schedule of which shall be
determined once domestic travel restrictions have been lifted;

(b) The Bar Examinations in Manila shall be held at the
University of Santo Tomas in Manila. The final venue for the regional
Bar Examinations in Cebu City shall be announced at a later date;

(c) Law graduates from the Visayas and Mindanao shall be given
the option to take the next Bar Examinations in Manila or Cebu City.
The guidelines for applications of those who wish to take the
examinations in Cebu City will be announced later through a Bar
bulletin;

(d) The Bar application fees shall correspondingly be
increased to cover the costs of a regional examination site in Cebu
City. The Office of the Bar Confidant is directed to submit a budget
proposal taking into account social distancing measures and safety
precautions in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rule 138, Section 11 of the Rules of Court is AMENDED accordingly.”

Peralta (C.J.), Perlas-Bernabe, Leonen, Caguioa, A. Reyes,
Jr., Gesmundo, J. Reyes, Jr., Hernando, Carandang, Lazaro-Javier,
Inting, Zalameda, Lopez, Delos Santos, and Gaerlan, JJ., concur.

SECTION 11. Annual Examination. — Examinations for admission to
the bar of the Philippines shall take place annually in the City of
Manila. They shall be held in four days to be designated by the chairman
of the committee on bar examiners. The subjects shall be distributed as
follows: First day: Political and International Law (morning) and Labor
and Social Legislation (afternoon); Second day: Civil Law (morning) and
Taxation (afternoon); Third day: Mercantile Law (morning) and Criminal
Law (afternoon); Fourth day: Remedial Law (morning) and Legal Ethics and
Practical Exercises (afternoon).

^[2] Re: Resolution No. 04, series of 2002, of the Cebu City Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

^[3] Re: Resolution No. 04, Series of 2002, of the Cebu City Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines [IBP].

^[4] In Re: 4^th
SP Resolution No. 2010-84 of the City of Talisay, Cebu; Resolution No.
12-603-2010 of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, City of Mandaue, Cebu.

^[5] Gerome M.
Dalipe, Law school deans, IBP execs back efforts to hold Bar exams in
Cebu, SUNSTAR PHILIPPINES, February 24, 2016, available at <https: <https:="" www.sunstar.com.ph/article/60061> (last visited on May 26,
2020).

^[6] Michael Vyncenth
H. Braga, Law dean still hopeful for Bar’s regionalization, THE
FREEMAN, May 31, 2016, available at <https: www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2016/05/31/1588649/law-dean-­still-hopeful-bars-regionalization> ( last visited on May 26, 2020).