A total of 10,387 or 96.26 percent of aspiring lawyers completed the three-day online Bar examinations held in the past weeks, according to the Supreme Court (SC).
“I am overwhelmed by the smooth, peaceful, and orderly turnout of the 2023 Bar Examinations. It was more than what I hoped and envisioned it would be,” Bar chairperson and Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando said, in a statement.
Hernando said a total of 10,387 out of 10,791 applicants completed the exams.
In a statement released by its Public Information Office, the SC said the 2023 Bar examinations were a testament to Hernando’s commitment to promoting accessibility and inclusivity as the Court allowed select examinees with special needs to take the examinations.
The high court said that one visually impaired examinee was allowed to take the test through a Digital Booklet Method, where a court-issued laptop with non-visual desktop access served as a booklet. The examinee completed all tests at the Ateneo de Davao University.
“While it was not the first time that an individual with visual impairment was allowed to take the Bar exams, it was the first time that the Court permitted the use of NVDA application,” Hernando said.
“There have been visually impaired Bar applicants admitted in the past years who took the tests with the assistance of a special encoder,” he added.
The SC also said the oldest examinee this year was an 86-year-old applicant while the youngest was 23 years old.
The Bar exams held in 14 local testing centers nationwide ended on Sunday, September 24.