High court raises fees for PH Bar exams

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court approved a P250 increase in the examination and admission fees for the Philippine Bar, from P2,750 to P3,000, effective this examination year.

Atty. Ma. Cristina B. Layusa, Deputy Clerk of Court, and Chief of the Office of the Bar Confidant, said the high court approved the increase in fees to meet the growing cost of materials and personnel requirements of the Bar exams.

The 2011 Bar Examinations will be conducted at the University of Santo Tomas on the four Sundays of November, 2011.

Not just memory, comprehension too

This is the first time that the high court will conduct a multiple choice type of examination to specifically measure the candidate’s knowledge of and ability to recall the laws, doctrines, and principles that new lawyers need in their practice. The new test format also seeks to assess the candidate’s understanding of the meaning and significance of the laws and principles, as they apply to specific situations.

The examinations shall also include essay-type questions which will not be bar-subject specific. One such examination will require the candidate to prepare a trial memorandum. or a decision based on a documented legal dispute.

Since this is the first time that that the new format will be implemented, the answers of all candidates in the essay-type examinations will be corrected, irrespective of the results of their multiple-choice questions examinations, which are known earlier because these will be checked electronically.

Outright out

However, in future Bar exams, the Bar Chairperson shall recommend to the Court the outright disqualification of those whose grades in the multiple-choice questions are so low, it would be useless to check their essay exams.