Bar exams kick off today

MANILA, Philippines - This year’s Bar exams will kick off today, with new security measures and a see-through bags rule put in place by the Supreme Court (SC).

In a memorandum released last Tuesday, the SC Bar exam committee required the 6,344 law graduates taking the grueling four-Sunday tests to use transparent bags for convenience and security. 

The exams will be held at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, chairman of the committee for the 2014 Bar exams, said the new measure was adopted to speed up the inspection of bags of the examinees.

Peralta said the policy would be implemented in succeeding Bar exams. Policemen would be deployed in the vicinity of UST during the exams.

Additional security measures were put in place after a grenade explosion marred the September 2010 Bar exams at the De La Salle University in Manila.