MANILA – A total of 11,378 law graduates took on Friday the first of two-day Bar exams in 31 local testing sites across the country, Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said.

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“Easily, this is the largest batch of Bar examinees and it is the batch that will fulfill the lack of new lawyers that happen in the last two years because of the pandemic,” Leonen said.

He said that out of the 11,790 law graduates who paid their application fee, an estimate of 11,378 attended the first day of the Bar examinations amounting to a 96.5% turnout.

The second examination day will be on Sunday, February 6.

For the combined 2020 and 2021 batches, the Supreme Court introduced digitalized and localized Bar exams.

The examinees take the test on their laptops instead of the traditional handwritten mode of answering.

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“As soon as they enter the password for the examination questions that they downloaded…no app will be allowed by their computer. They cannot even use screenshot, they cannot even use paraphernal device connected to their laptop except of course their power adapters,” he said.

Twelve examinees requested to take the examinations in handwriting which the Supreme Court allowed. One examinee is taking the exam with the assistance of a stenographer due to a disease that prevents the examinee from using his hands.

To ensure the integrity of the exams, there are physical proctors and surveillance cameras in each room where the exams are taken, Leonen said.

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