The Supreme Court (SC) said on Monday that the Bar examination scores cannot be disclosed without the prior consent of the examinees as these are sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act.
The results of the 2024 Bar Examinations are set to be released on Friday, December 13.
In Bar Matter No. 4968, the SC En Banc approved the Guidelines on Requests for Disclosure of a Law School’s Bar Examination Performance (Guidelines).
Under the Guidelines, the High Tribunal may approve requests from law schools for Bar exam scores as long as it was aggregated, averaged, or anonymized and does not identify the examinee.
Permissible data includes the number of the law school’s graduates, number or percentage of graduates within specific score ranges, average score of all graduates in each subject, and overall average general weighted average for law schools with multiple examinees.
These information are not considered personal information and may be disclosed, according to the SC.
Meanwhile, requests from law schools must be signed by the dean or an equivalent official, and must state a legitimate purpose such as reviewing and improving law degree programs and performance on future Bar exams.
SC noted that the Office of the Bar Confidant is tasked to review and act upon such requests.