Supreme Court wanted to redefine the annual Philippine Bar Examinations for aspiring law students who were dreaming of entering the legal profession.
Supreme Court Associate Justice and 2019 bar exams Chairperson Estela Perlas-Bernabe said she reviewed the bar exams coverage in previous years and revised the bar exam syllabi for this year.
Bernabe assured that old topics were removed and she organized the exam’s coverage based on its importance and relevance fit for today’s needs.
She also made sure that the questions are spread out over various topics and that each question is bound to a “standard acceptable answer,” which the academic community can agree on.
Aside from this, they will also remove unfair trivia questions that will confusion to the examinees.
“The bar exams should not be made intentionally difficult for extraneous reasons. Institutional measures should be set to ensure that the Bar remains true to its purpose as the licensure exam for the legal profession. It should be a fair test of the candidate’s aptitude and readiness for actual legal practice befitting of a capable neophyte lawyer. Therefore, it is vital that the quality of questions be carefully sieved and reviewed. The examination itself is already physically and mentally taxing. As such, the preparation should not be compounded by the examinees’ fear of having to read up on every available material on every possible area of law, not to mention the vast number of laws that we have in this country,” said Bernabe.
For 2019 bar exams, SC is planning to apply the two-examiner-per-subject policy, noting the growing number of exam takers each year.
At least 9,000 examinees are expected to take the Philippine Bar Exams for 2020./with reports from Bombo Jerald B. Ulep; edited by Bombo Sol Marquez.
