Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 11) – The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it is currently in discussion with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to include Bar examinees, who are not part of the priority groups, in the national vaccination program.
“We are working with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to include in the country’s vaccination program bar applicants who do not fall under any of the above categories. We have had positive discussions with the Vaccine Czar regarding this request, Justice Marvic Leonen said in a bulletin.
The high court is encouraging examinees under A2 (senior citizens), A3 (people with comorbidities), and A4 (frontline personnel in essential sectors) priority categories to get their vaccine shots from their respective local government units.
“We strongly encourage every bar applicant who fall under the priority groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Leonen added.
The Bar examinations will be held on all Sundays of November. This will be the first time that the in-person examinations will be computerized and administered in various local test sites aside from Manila.
Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Bar exams were canceled, Law graduates who were supposed to take last year’s exams can take the Bar this year along with new graduates, making it the biggest Bar exams to date.
The Supreme Court also said it is working on possible procurement of COVID-19 testing kits for examinees.
The health protocols for the Bar exam will be announced early October, Leonen said. He added that they are also preparing for various scenarios and monitoring developments.
2020/21 Bar chair Justice Marvic Leonen says SC working with IATF to include all Bar applicants who aren’t part of the priority categories in the country’s vaccination program.
“We have had positive discussions with the Vaccine Czar regarding this request.” @cnnphilippines pic.twitter.com/DWwgqWW1j5
— Anjo Cagmat Alimario (@anjocalimario) August 11, 2021
