Zamboanga City Hall. MindaNews file photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 04 February) — Twelve of the 25 examinees who failed to show up on the first day of the Philippine Bar Examinations at the Ateneo De Zamboanga University (ADZU) tested positive for COVID-19, Dr. Elmeir Jade Apolinario, Inter-Agency Task Force Chief Implementer said in an interview Friday.
“Of the 259 examinees, only 234 were able to take the exam as 25 of them failed to show up,” Apolinario said.
He said 12 of those who missed the first day of examinations contracted the virus, but assured that security and health responders are deployed in the area.
The examinations run from Feb. 4 to 6 and are simultaneously held in four other cities in Mindanao – Cagayan de Oro, Davao City, General Santos, and Iligan.
The pandemic made the Supreme Court decide to hold the examinations in venues outside Manila starting last year.
The examinees who are taking the examinations in Zamboanga City include graduates from ADZU, Western Mindanao State University, Andres Bonifacio College, and Jose Rizal Memorial State University.
The examinees, those who are administering the examinations, and Supreme Court personnel were required to undergo mandatory health protocols.
The examinations were originally scheduled on Jan. 16, 23, 30, and Feb. 6 but were postponed due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
“As of 11 o’clock this morning (Friday), police security containment is being observed within the perimeter of ADZU until the duration of the activity. So far, the traffic flow is smooth and manageable,” Apolinario said.
“No Entry” and “No Blowing of Horns” have been placed at certain entry points. Proctors and Supreme Court officials have designated parking areas.
City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco issued an executive order prescribing guidelines to ensure smooth flow of traffic to the venue of the examinations.
This marked the first time for Zamboanga City to host the bar examinations.
Congressman Cesar Jimenez Jr. considered it “a milestone for the legal profession and the academe.”
“This serves as a validation of the standards established by our institutions as well as the City’s ability to safeguard the welfare of the barristers, the examiners and that of the entire process itself; indicating further the recognition of Zamboanga City’s progress as one of the the country’s major cities,” he added.
“The Bar exams in Zamboanga is giving the opportunity to aspiring lawyers in the province to take the same right at the comfort of their home place without having to proceed to Manila. This will also level chances of making it good, as they have their respective families giving them moral support while undergoing the rigors of the exam,” lawyer Quirino Esguerra said.
This year’s bar examinations have been digitized, allowing the examinees to use laptops and download the questionnaire from the Internet. (Frencie Carreon/MindaNews)
