MANILA - Several roads and thoroughfares in Manila will be closed on all Sundays of November as 6,000 law graduates are expected to take the 2016 Bar examinations at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) this month, traffic officials said.

The westbound lane of España Boulevard from Lacson Street to P. Noval Street will be closed to traffic from 5 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on November 6, 13, 20, and 27, the Manila Police District Traffic Enforcement Unit (MPDTEU) said.

The said area will also be closed to traffic from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on November 27.

The stretch of Dapitan Street from Lacson to P.Noval will also be closed to motorists from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Aside from the no parking policy along España and Dapitan, a liquor ban will be imposed within the 100-meter radius of UST to avoid untoward incidents, officials said.

CONTINGENCY PLAN

Bad weather will not hamper this year's Bar examinations as the Supreme Court (SC) will provide "a limited number" of shuttle buses and commuter vans to usher Bar takers and personnel to and from UST "in case of heavy rain in the morning of a Bar examination day," the high court said in a statement.

Pick-up and drop off points of the SC's shuttle buses will be in the following areas:

- Quezon City Memorial Circle
- Park and Ride, Lawton, Manila
- Supreme Court Compound, Taft Avenue
- Coastal Mall Terminal, Parañaque City
- Greenbelt and Glorietta, Ayala Center, Makati
- Marikina Sports Complex

"The SC shuttle buses shall be stationed at these areas as early as 5:00 a.m. and will leave at exactly 5:30 a.m," the SC said.

In the event that the UST campus is flooded during a Bar examination day, "commuter vans of the SC shall be available to transport bar examinees and duty personnel from the UST gates to their respective examination buildings within UST," the high court added.

The venue of the annual Bar examinations was moved to UST after an explosion outside the De La Salle University (DLSU) campus in Taft Avenue, Manila left scores injured during the 2010 Bar examinations. --with reports from Zhander Cayabyab, DZMM