Requirements for the Bar Examinations

Applicants for the Bar Examinations must file a verified petition in the form prescribed by the Supreme Court (available at the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) for free) from June 1 to July 15, accompanied by the following documents: A - FIRST TIMERS 1. Birth Certificate (issued by the NSO or Local Civil Registrar) - original or certified true copy - legible - In case of any discrepancy of entries between the Birth Certificate and Transcript of School Records, an affidavit of parents and/or joint-affidavit of two disinterested persons explaining the discrepancy is required. The applicant is however further required to submit a corrected birth certificate or corrected school records as the case may be. - In the absence of birth certificate - Certificate of Late Registration. 2. Marriage Certificate (original or certified true copy)- for Married females only. 3. Three (3) testimonials of good moral character each executed by a member of the Philippine Bar (form may be furnished by the OBC for free ). 4. Official Pre-Law Transcript (original or certified true copy) - In case the Rizal Course is integrated with another subject(s) appearing in the transcript, a certification from the school to that effect is required. 5. Official Law Transcript (original or certified true copy) 6. Certificate of no derogatory record. 7. Certification from CHED confirming graduation from the College of Law (C-2) - (Not applicable to graduates of UP or State Universities /Colleges governed by its own charter) 8. Three (3) copies of latest un-retouched photos wI name IMPRINTED thereon - (1 % x 1 %) 9. Self-addressed and stamped envelope B. REPEATERS (TWO-THREE TIMERS) 1. Three (3) testimonials of good moral character each executed by a member of the Philippine Bar (form may be furnished by the OBC for free). 2. Certificate of no derogatory record. 3. Three (3) copies of latest un-retouched photos w/ name IMPRINTED thereon - (1 % x 1 %) 4. Self-addressed and stamped envelope

C. REPEATERS COVERED BY SECTION 16 OF RULE 138 (Those who failed the Bar Exams for three or more times) 1. Refresher Course - Individual certification under oath by professors that the applicant passed the following subjects (indicating the grades): Civil Law Review I Civil Law Review II Political/Constitutional Review Commercial Law Review Criminal Law Review Remedial Law Review - Certification under oath by the Dean or Registrar that the professors mentioned above were bona-fide professors of the school where the refresher course was taken. 2. Pre-Bar Review Course - Certification executed under oath by the School Registrar that the applicant is enrolled in, and is regularly attending the Pre-Bar Review Course. 3. Certification of Completion of the Pre-Bar Review Course 4. All the requirements for repeaters under letter B above. D. APPLICANTS WITH: 1. PENDING CASES (civil, criminal, administrative, including cases filed with the Prosecutor's Office and Office of the Ombudsman) - Certified true copy of Complaint/Information - Certificate of pendency of the casel Certificate of status 2. DECIDED CASES (civil, criminal, administrative, including cases filed with the Prosecutor's Office and Office of the Ombudsman) - Certified true copy of Complaint/information - Certified true copy of Decision - Certificate of Finality of Decision - Clearance from the Court, Prosecutor's Office or From the Office of the Ombudsman, as the case maybe

RULES ON THE CONDUCT OF THE BAR EXAMINATIONS

1. No refund of the examination fee will be allowed, whether or not your petition to take the Bar Examinations is approved. In case you are unable to take the examinations, seventy-five percent (75%) of the said fee may be applied to a future Bar Examinations. Failure to take the test in any subject will bar you from taking the rest of the examinations. (Res., October 1, 1968) Always bring with you your Notice of Admission, which shall serve as your pass to the examination compound/room. Bringing of deadly weapons, cameras, tape recorders, cellphones, other radio or stereo equipment, communication gadgets or any other electronic device is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. You are required to come early. Gates open at 5:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M. on examination days and close at 7:30 A.M. and 1:30 P.M., afterwhich no one will be allowed to enter without permission from the Chairman. Upon arrival at the examination compound in the morning of each examination day, consult the bulletin boards along the ground corridors and on the floor to which you are assigned for your room assignment. For an easy and orderly location of your assigned building and room, you are required to wear your colorcoded Identification Card at all times. When you arrive at the examination area, you are required to proceed to your room assignment and not to wander around. Eating inside the classrooms and anywhere inside the examination buildings is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Eating is however allowed in the following areas: a) gazebo area, b) pebble wash area, and c) Chess Plaza. As mandated by the De la Salle University Administration SMOKING is STRICTLY PROHIBITED anywhere within the premises even in open spaces. You will be allowed to enter your room before the start of the examination upon submission of your Notice of Admission to the headwatcher, but you have to conduct yourself properly by avoiding loud discussions and conversations. Attend to your personal needs before the FIRST BELL. At the sound of the FIRST BELL (7:45 A.M. and 1:45 P.M.), no examinee will be allowed to leave the room. All books and notes should then be placed in front of the room. An examinee will be considered cheating if caught with notes or codigos during the examination. A name card will be given to you by the headwatcher which should be STRICTLY ACCOMPLISHED in the following manner and order: 1. PRINT your complete name as follows family name, given name and middle name on the first line; 2. Affix your CUSTOMARY SIGNATURE on the second line; 3. INDICATE THE SCHOOL where you finished your law course at the bottom of the card; 4. Affix your RIGHT THUMBMARK on the space provided therefor; 5. INSERT the name card into the envelope, which is attached to the examination notebook, after the headwatcher has signed at the back thereof ; and, 6. Ask the headwatcher to SEAL THE ENVELOPE. Only fountain pens and sign pens in permanent blue, blue-black or black ink should be used during examinations. Variation in the color of ink and the style of your handwriting should be avoided. Begin answering at the sound of the SECOND BELL (8:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M.). Anyone caught answering before the Second Bell will be dealt with accordingly. Per SC Resolution dated 3 February 2009 in Bar Matter No. 1161 (Re: Proposed Reforms in the Bar Examinations), each Bar subject is now divided into two (2) parts, namely: Part I and Part II. There will still be one (1) set of questionnaire and notebook per Bar subject but the same shall be divided into said Part I and Part II. Examinees may start writing their answers for each part beginning on the page of the notebook where the words Begin Answering on this Page appear. He/she has the discretion on which part to answer first. In correcting a mistake in your answer, simply draw a line across the word or words you want to change. DO NOT ERASE OR TEAR OFF ANY PAGE OF THE NOTEBOOK. DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME IN THE NOTEBOOK OR MAKE ANY UNNECESSARY MARKING OR USE ANY IMPERTINENT EXPRESSION which may be construed as a means of identifying your notebook. Names of persons should be represented by letters of the alphabet such as A, B, C, etc., unless particular names are called for. Write your answers on one side of the paper only on the face and not on the back page. In case all the front pages have been consumed, you may use the back pages commencing on the first leaf and so on. The THIRD BELL signifies that only five (5) minutes are left before the end of the examination.

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18. When you finish answering or at the sound of the FOURTH BELL (12:00 NOON and 5:00 P.M.), as the case may be, submit your notebook together with the questionnaire. 19. After every examination and before leaving the room, ask for your Notice of Admission from the headwatcher who shall accomplish the certification at the back thereof. 20. Your Notice of Admission will be retained by the headwatcher at the end of the last examination. i.e., Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises. 21. ANY VIOLATION OF THE FOREGOING RULES WILL BE CONSIDERED SUFFICIENT CAUSE FOR THE NULLIFICATION OF YOUR EXAMINATION AND DISQUALIFICATION FROM FUTURE BAR EXAMINATIONS.

One-Hour Extension for 2013 Bar Afternoon Exams

Posted: January 11, 2013; By Joachim Florencio Q. Corsiga

The time allotted for the afternoon subjects in the 2013 Bar Examinations shall be extended from three (3) hours to four (4) hours or from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the same allotted hours for the examinations held in the morning. In its resolution dated December 11, 2012, the Supreme Court En Banc recently approved therecommendation of the Office of the Bar Confidant for the said extension. Justice Arturo D. Brion is the Chaiperson of the 2013 Bar Examinations Committee. This years Bar Examinations shall consist of 80% essay -type questions and 20% multiple choice questions. The 2013 Bar Examinations are scheduled on the four Sundays of October: first day: Political Law (morning) and Labor and Social Legislation (afternoon); second day: Civil Law (morning) and Taxation (afternoon); third day: Mercantile Law (morning) and Criminal Law (afternoon); fourth day: Remedial Law (morning) and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises (afternoon). In determining the average, subjects in the examinations are given the following relative weights: Political and International Law, 15%; Labor and Social Legislation, 10%; Civil Law, 15%; Taxation, 10%; Mercantile Law, 15%; Criminal Law, 10%; Remedial Law, 20%; and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises, 5%, for a total of 100%.

The venue of the 2013 Bar Examinations will be the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. (BM No. 2616, In re: 2013 Bar Examinations, December 12, 2012)