The Supreme Court announced on Friday that 10,867 law graduates are, so far, set to take the 2023 online and regionalized Bar examinations which will be administered by the Supreme Court (SC) on Sept. 17, 20, and 24.
The SC stressed that the number of examinees may decrease before the actual date of the examinations because of the pending withdrawals by those who earlier registered.
The examinations will be held in 14 local testing centers (LTCs) nationwide.
In the National Capital Region, the LTCs will be at the San Beda University, Manila; University of Santo Tomas, Manila; SBCA; University of the Philippines, Quezon City; Manila Adventist College, Pasay City; and University of the Philippines, Bonifacio Global City.
In Luzon, the LTCs will be at Saint Louis University in Baguio City; Cagayan State University, Tuguegarao City; and University of Nueva Caceres, Naga City.
In the Visayas, the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City, the University of San Carlos also in Cebu City, and Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban City will be the LTCs.
There will be two LTCs in Mindanao – one at the Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City and the other at the Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City.
The San Beda College Alabang (SBCA) in Muntinlupa City will be the SC’s national headquarters for the Bar examinations.
The 2023 Bar exams will only have six core subjects, a deviation from the previous year’s eight subjects.
“Commercials Law and Taxation Law have been conjoined to the close affinity between these two fields in legal practice, while Remedial Law and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises were fused together as these subjects complement each other in actual practice,”
Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, the 2023 Bar exams committee chairperson earlier said.
Thus, the subjects for examinations on Sept. 17, 2023 will be Political and Public International Law in the morning, and Commercial and Taxation Laws in the afternoon, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
On Sept. 20, 2023, the subjects covered are Civil Law in the morning and Labor Law and Social Legislation in the afternoon.
On Sept. 24, 2023, Criminal Law and Remedial Law will be in the morning, and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises in the afternoon.
Justice Hernando said the early release of the Bar exams results would be complementary to an early conduct of the examinations.
“We will therefore have aspirants to the profession earning their J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree, taking the Bar exams, taking the oath and signing the roll of attorneys all in the same year,” he said.
