A total of 5,012 law graduates are set to take the 2010 Bar examinations to be held on all four Sundays of September (September 5, 12, 19, and 26) at the De La Salle University (DLSU) in Taft Avenue, Manila. SC Justice Conchita Carpio Morales is the Chairperson of the 2010 Bar Examinations Committee. Deputy Clerk of Court and Bar Confidant Atty. Ma. Cristina B. Layusa said of the total 5,038 petitions to take the Bar exams, seven had been denied,and 19 have been withdrawn, reducing the number of Bar examinees to 5,012 as of press time. Atty. Layusa added that the Supreme Court has tasked around 1,200 personnel, including building coordinators, superintendents, supervisors, headwatchers, watchers, Bar assistants, and special assistants to help ensure the successful conduct of the exams. Operatives of the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Western Police District Office from its traffic, area security, bomb disposal and mobile units, as well as medical and dental personnel will also be deployed in the area during all four Sundays. Atty. Layusa urged the examinees to come early this coming Sunday since the annual Alay Lakad along Roxas Boulevard may affect the traffic situation on that day. DLSU gates will open as early as 5 a.m. during the Bar exam dates. The southbound portion of Taft Avenue from Quirino Avenue to Pablo Ocampo Sr. Street (formerly Vito Cruz) will also be temporarily closed to vehicular traffic from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. on all Bar exam dates. Atty. Layusa also called on personnel serving in the Bar exams to enter the DLSU through its south gate, or the one near McDonalds. A total of 121 rooms distributed in six buildings inside DLSU – St. La Salle Hall, Yuchengco Hall, St. Joseph Hall, St. Miguel Hall, Gokongwei Hall, Velasco Hall -- will be used in the four-Sunday exams. Because of the higher number of examinees last year, 147 rooms were used in seven DLSU buildings.
This year’s Bar exams mark the second time that two examiners would be designated as examiners in each of the eight Bar examination subjects. Thus, every Bar subject would be divided into two parts, with each designated examiner assigned a specific scope. Examinees would thus use two exam notebooks per Bar subject. In February 2009, the SC, upon the recommendation of the Committee on Legal Education and Bar Matters, approved the proposal of Atty. Layusa to designate two examiners per Bar subject, pursuant to Paragraph 4, Part B of Bar Matter No. 1161. The said number of examinees this year is lower compared to the 6,080 who took the Bar tests last year. A total of 1,451 out of the 5,903 examinees, or 24.58%, from 118 law schools nationwide passed the 2009 Bar examinations. A total of 1,310 out of the 6,364 examinees, representing 20.58% of the total number of examinees from 108 law schools nationwide, hurdled the 2008 Bar tests.
The Court conducts the Bar examinations pursuant to Article VIII, Sec. 5 of the Constitution which provides that it shall have the power to promulgate rules governing the admission to the practice of law. The Rules of Court provide that “a candidate may be deemed to have passed his examination successfully if he has obtained a general average of 75% in all subjects without falling below 50% in any subject.” In determining the average, subjects in the examinations are given the following relative weights: Political and International Law, 15%; Labor and Social Legislation, 10%; Civil Law, 15%; Taxation, 10%; Mercantile Law, 15%; Criminal Law, 10%; Remedial Law, 20%; and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises, 5%, for a total of 100%. The first Bar exams were held in 1901, with 13 examinees. | 
