By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Two schools in Negros Island were chosen as examination centers for the upcoming 2020/2021 Bar examinations scheduled for November of this year.

The two were identified as the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City which will have 1,340 slots and the Silliman University in Dumaguete City which has 1,000 slots.

The announcement was issued via Bar Bulletin No. 23, series of 2021.

Senior Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, 2020/21 Bar Examinations Chairperson, said the local testing centers were aimed to “reduce examinees’ travel and accommodation expenses and to minimize their transit amid the coronavirus pandemic.”

It was also revealed that there are four other local testing centers being considered, three of which are located in Metro Manila and one in Central Luzon.

A total of 24 testing centers are to be opened for the examinations.

Separate memorandum of agreement was executed between the Supreme Court (SC) and the local testing centers.

All parties have also guaranteed that the required health and safety protocols shall be strictly implemented and that the community quarantine classifications per area shall be respected.

According to the SC, bar applicants will select their local testing center through the Bar PLUS (Personal Login Unified System).

To make the Bar examinations more inclusive to all examinees, venue matching will not be on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, applicants from remote areas will be prioritized.

Applicants may select their chosen local testing centers only after their applications have been approved by the SC En Banc.

The Office of the Bar Confidant will send separate emails to the approved applicants for this purpose./DGB, WDJ