MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday said a number of this year's Bar examinees have been disqualified for allegedly violating the Honor Code while taking the test.

In a bulletin released Sunday morning, SC Associate Justice and Bar chairperson Marvic Leonen said that in the course of the examinations, his office received reports of examinees who deliberately entered testing sites without disclosing that they had previously tested positive for COVID-19.

Moreover, there were others “who smuggled mobile phones inside the examination rooms” and “accessed social media during lunch break inside the premises.”

“For their infractions, I am exercising my prerogative as Bar Chairperson to disqualify these examinees from the 2020/21 Bar Examinations,” Leonen said.

The disqualification is only for the 2020/21 Bar Exams.

Leonen advised disqualified examinees to reflect on what they have done, learn from their mistakes, and earn their honor back.

In the same bulletin, the SC reported that around 219 examinees were unable to take the Bar exams after testing positive for COVID-19.

This is based on the SC-administered antigen tests and examinees’ disclosure after testing with Department of Health-accredited facilities.

#Bar2020_21 Update: Read BAR BULLETIN NO. 39, S. 2022
DISQUALIFICATION OF BAR EXAMINEES WHO VIOLATED THE HONOR CODE#BestBarEver2020_21 pic.twitter.com/6MBKunl9eL

— Philippine Supreme Court Public Information Office (@SCPh_PIO) February 6, 2022

• Over 11,000 examinees take first digital, localized Bar exams

A total of 11,378 law graduates took the first of two-day Bar exams in 31 local testing sites across the country on Friday, Leonen said.

The exam, which has been postponed numerous times because of the pandemic, is set to conclude at 5:50 p.m., Sunday.

• Supreme Court moves Bar exams to February 2022 as examinees catch COVID-19

For the combined 2020 and 2021 batches, the SC for the first time introduced digitalized and localized Bar exams.