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The online news portal of TV5
CEBU CITY - The number of law graduates in the Visayas and Mindanao who want to take the Bar Examinations in Cebu City failed to reach the minimum 1,000 set by the Supreme Court.
But Portia Hormachuelos, retired Court of Appeals justice and University of the Visayas (UV) Law School dean, said the 514 graduates who have so far expressed preference to take the Bar in Cebu City is enough to make Cebu City a pilot venue for the regionalization of the exam.
“The law deans feel that this number is sufficient to serve as test on whether or not the holding of Bar exam in Cebu City is feasible,” Hormachuelos said.
The 2016 Bar exam committee of the Supreme Court agreed to hold the exam in Cebu if there are at least 1,000 takers.
The high tribunal came up with the requirement to compensate for the expenses on logistics, effort, and coordination that will be required in administering the exam outside Manila.
If the exam is to be held here, all courts in Cebu City will be involved in the preparation.
All judges and Court of Appeals justices in the Visayas and Mindanao will be asked to become proctors.
The University of Cebu has offered to host the exam for free, even though the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila charges the Supreme Court for serving as venue of the exam.
Hormachuelos said deans from various law schools in the country met with Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., chair of the Supreme Court 2016 Bar Exam, last Thursday.
They discussed several issues on the conduct of the exam in November, as well as its regionalization.
Hormachuelos said they informed Justice Velasco that although they were able to come up with only 514 takers, the number was feasible to make Cebu City a pilot venue.
Hormachuelos said Velasco was sticking to the requirement of 1,000 takers, but he also extended the March 31 deadline so law school deans could gather additional data.
In December 2013, the Supreme Court issued a resolution heeding the recommendation of the Office of the Bar Confidant to allow the bar exam committee to look into the proposal of the Cebu City Council to hold the exam outside Manila for the benefit of barristers in the provinces.
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