Bar held in city; no test for Covid- afflicted takers

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Benjamin Magalong expressed his well wishes to the 2020-2021 bar examinees as St. Louis University, one of the city’s premier learning institutions served as venue for the historic bar held Feb. 4 and 6.
     “We wish all bar examinees the best.  I pray that your aspirations be fulfilled with the patience and hard work you have put in for the past two years,” he said ruing that this batch of bar takers had to put up with extra challenges outside of the usual rigors due to the pandemic.
    He said it is more saddening that there were applicants who will were not allowed to take the examinations after testing positive for Covid-19 virus which is one of the requirements for the licensure test.
    “This bar examinations is challenging not only for the examinees but also to all those involved because of the distinct dynamics brought about by the pandemic.  But as in any crisis, we do what we can to rise up and overcome these trials,” the mayor said.
     This is the first time that the bar was being conducted since the pandemic struck in 2020. 
    This is also the first time that it was held outside Metro Manila and with reduced duration and coverage.  The exams will be held only for two days, Feb. 4 and 6.
     The mayor said SLU which hosts the examinations for the first time along with other selected universities in the country planned and prepared well for the event in coordination with government offices.
     Members of the Philippine National Police were on hand to ensure order and provide security around the venue.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, a Baguio boy serves as bar examinations chairperson.
    The City Council passed a resolution Monday urging  the Supreme Court (SC), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC), and Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to allow asymptomatic Covid-19 examinees to take the Bar exams. The council resolution suggested asymptomatic examinees shall be provided separate rooms to avoid transmission of the virus to non-Covid-19 examinees, subject to conditions that may be imposed by the aforementioned agencies.
    Under the Omnibus Covid-19 Protocols for the 2020/21 Bar Examinations issued by the Supreme Court, fully vaccinated examinees are required to show a negative antigen result (for those who tested positive in the antigen test, they may take the confirmatory RT-PCR test) while the partially vaccinated and unvaccinated examinees are required to show a negative RT-PCT test result.
    According to a news report by Bombo correspondent Anselmo Banan, some 272 examinees of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan City, and Cauayan City were not allowed to enter the examination venues on Jan. 30, 2022 after their antigen tests came back positive a day before the examination. – By Aileen Refuerzo and Jordan Habbiling