Bar examinees told: Don’t write prayers

MANILA, Philippines — Bar examinees who write down prayers on their exam papers could be accused of cheating, according to Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.

“Do not write a mantra, motto, prayer to deities, special plea addressed to the examiner or the Bar Chairperson, or any other such extraneous text. Leaving or making any distinguishing mark in any submitted answer is classified as cheating and can disqualify the examinee from the whole Bar Examinations,” said Leonen, the 2020/2021 Bar chairperson, in a 14-page Omnibus Guidelines for the Bar exams on Jan. 16, 23 and 30 and Feb. 6, 2022.

He encouraged the examinees to undergo self-quarantine beginning Jan. 2 and “avoid staying in hotels and dormitories where there is high-risk exposure to COVID-19, unless they live in areas outside where the local testing center is located.”

Bar examinees who take part in “Bar operations” activities may be barred from taking the exams, Leonen added.

The examinees would also be required to sign a waiver releasing the SC and the local testing center from any liability if they contract COVID-19 during any of the four Sundays of the Bar.

For every Bar Sunday, all the examinees would be required to present their vaccination cards and COVID-19 test results upon entry.

For fully vaccinated examinees, they shall be required to present their vaccination cards and antigen test results, administered within 48 hours before the start of the examinations.

Examinees who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated shall be required to present their saliva or nasal RT-PCR test results, administered by an accredited Department of Health testing facility within 72 hours before the start of the examinations. The cost of the RT-PCR test shall be shouldered by the examinee.

Examinees who test positive for COVID-19 before the first Bar Sunday would not be allowed to take the examinations and would be marked “did not finish.”

The only allowed face masks during the exams are the triple-layered cloth mask, surgical mask under cloth mask, N95 mask or KF94 mask. Copper masks, masks with valves, masks using Bluetooth, WiFi, NFC or other similar data-sharing technology, and poorly fitted masks shall not be allowed.