MANILA, Philippines—Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen is advising aspiring takers of the next Bar examination to use the time given by the exam’s postponement for their review as he admits uncertainty of the next schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SC, in a recently released bulletin signed by Leonen, announced the postponement of the 2020 Bar exam “in view of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country, as well as the social and economic disruption caused by the pandemic and the resulting Enhanced Community Quarantine.”
“We decided, this is extraordinary. I think, if my recollection serves me correctly, only during World War II was the Bar postponed, and I think the pandemic has the same disruption – degree of disruption – as a world war. There are a lot of people that have been infected and a lot of people are casualties in this pandemic,” Leonen, the chairperson for the next Bar exam said in a virtual forum on Saturday.
“So, we decided, in order to protect not only the Bar applicants but also those that will participate in the
logistical preparations, to postpone the Bar,” he added.
On why the schedule is yet to be announced, Leonen noted that the Bar court “is very aware of the uncertainty out there” as they do not know when a vaccine will come or if the Bar and other professional exams can be done physically.
“But let me say this for the Bar applicants: First, keep your family and your supporters close, take care of them; second, take care of yourself; third, this gives you an opportunity to study more and study well so that we will top the best Bar ever conducted by the Bar chair for the next Bar exam,” Leonen said.
The Associate Justice also noted that they do not want “to give false hopes and actually state the date when we are going to hold the next Bar exam.”
“So we set the date only for the announcement, which will be June of 2020. We are waiting and seeing how science and technology progresses. How pharmacological solutions to these problems are evolved, whether there will be a remedy,” he said.
The SC previously announced that the Bar exam will be held in two venues: Manila and Cebu City. This will be the first time the bar exams will be conducted in two venues.