(Eagle News) — The Supreme Court on Sunday, Feb. 6, announced that some bar examinees were disqualified from completing the 2020/2021 bar examinations.
In bar bulletin no. 39, s. 2022, 2020/2021 bar chair Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said based on reports he received, the disqualified examinees deliberately entered the local testing centers without disclosing that they had previously contracted the COVID-19 virus, smuggled mobile phones inside exam rooms, and checked social media during lunch break.
The chair noted that this was in violation of “clearly published policies” of the Office of the Bar Chairperson and the examinees’ Honor Code.
“For their infractions, I am exercising my prerogative as bar chairperson…,” he said.
In explaining his decision, the associate justice noted that he takes his “constant message of honor to the examinees seriously.”
“I owe it not only to those who risked their lives just to make the 2020/2021 bar examinations happen despite all odds, but most especially to those examinees who could have taken the bar examinations were it not for their positive COVID-19 test results,” he said.
According to the bar chair, there are around 219 bar examinees who belong to this category.
The 2020/2021 bar exams were held on Friday, Feb. 4, and on Sunday, Feb. 6, after they were postponed for two years due to the pandemic.