SC sets oral arguments on centralized law school entrance exam

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court has set for debates the petitions questioning the legality of Legal Education Board’s (LEB) policy that centralizes entrance examination in law schools.

In a resolution made public Monday, the high court announced that oral arguments on two petitions by retired Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Oscar Pimentel and a group of law students are scheduled on March 5 and 12, 2019.

The petitions are questioning the conduct of the Philippine Law School Admission Test (PhiLSAT).

The high court gave the LEB, through its chairman, Emerson Aguende, 10 days to submit its comment on the petition filed by the law students.

The two petitions will be consolidated.

The court also tapped Ateneo law dean Sedfrey Candelaria and professor Merlin Magalona as friends of the court or experts during the hearing.

The petition questioned the constitutionality of Republic Act 7662, the Legal Education Reform Act, which became the basis for the issuance of LEB Memorandum Order No. 7 for the conduct of PhiLSAT.

LEB’s Memorandum Order No. 7 dated Dec. 29, 2016 provided for the mechanisms on the one-day aptitude test that intends to measure the academic potential of an examinee who wants to pursue law.

The first PhilSAT examination was held last April 16, 2018 in seven sites across the country: Baguio City, Metro Manila, Legazpi City, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City.

According to LEB’s memorandum, while the school year 2017-2018 will be the pilot year for PhilSAT, law schools in the country will still be allowed to admit students who took the exams but did not meet the passing score of 55 percent.

LEB requires all law schools to comply with the provisions of the new regulation or they will be subjected to sanctions and a fine of up to P 10,000. / gsg