Last day of Bar Exams 2023 for more than 10,000 aspiring lawyers

The last day of the grueling Bar examinations 2023 has come on Sunday, September 24, for more than 10,000 aspiring lawyers.

Well-wishers — parents, siblings, school mates — trooped to 14 local testing centers nationwide to cheer for the Bar examinees.

At the Manila Adventist College in Pasay City, examinees began arriving before 6 a.m. for the test which was to start at 8 a.m., according to a report by Mao dela Cruz on Super Radyo dzBB.

The well-wishers brought balloons and school banners to cheer for the examinees.

San Juan Street from Donada to Leveriza Streets near the venue was closed to traffic. The Pasay local government unit (LGU) advised motorists to take alternate routes.

Meanwhile, at the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila, relatives and school mates lined up the walkway toward the gate to see the examinees enter the venue.

The last day of #Bar2023 has commenced. Examinees make their final preparations for the morning examinations. (2 of 2)#WeCanDoIt #HernanDoIt pic.twitter.com/4dMy7XBVz7

— Philippine Supreme Court Public Information Office (@SCPh_PIO) September 24, 2023

The Manila LGU earlier announced that some roads around testing venues would be closed to traffic on the days Bar exams would be held. It also imposed a liquor ban and prohibited ambulant vendors from selling items near the testing centers.

The Supreme Court (SC) said on Sunday that as of 12 noon, 10,387 examinees were taking the Bar exams 2023.

The first day of Bar exams 2023 was held on Sunday, September 17. A total of 10,400 examinees completed both tests scheduled for that day, the SC said.

The second day of the Bar exams 2023 was conducted on Wednesday, September 20, with 10,392 examinees recorded.

The SC said last Sunday it is targeting to release the results of the 2023 Bar examinations in early December.

Meanwhile, the SC condemned two social media accounts for allegedly claiming that the 2023 Bar Examinations would be "sorted, checked, and corrected by means of artificial intelligence."

SC Associate Justice and 2023 Bar Examinations Chair Ramon Paul Hernando said in an advisory that the "Office of the 2023 Bar Chair condemns these social media publications as false, baseless, irresponsible, defamatory, contumacious, detestable, and formulated with apparent intent to erode the integrity of the digitalized Bar Examinations."

Hernando emphasized that the 2023 Bar Exams would be checked by four examiners per subject, all of whom were established experts in their respective fields, and were "by no means created or powered by artificial intelligence." —KG, GMA Integrated News