Supreme Court Shortens Bar Exam to 2 Days and Reduces Exam Coverage
The Supreme Court (SC) has decided to shorten the 2020/2021 Bar exams to two days and reduce the exam coverage amidst the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the effects of the Typhoon Odette.
In a press statement released by the SC on Tuesday, the examinations with the revised coverage will be held on January 23, 2022, Sunday, and January 25, 2022, Tuesday. From the usual eight subjects, the coverage has been revised into four sets of exams.
All examinees are strongly advised to self-quarantine starting January 9, 2022, or at least two weeks before the Bar Examinations.
Each examinee will undergo an antigen test at least 48 hours before the first examination. Those who will test positive under the antigen test shall immediately undergo a confirmatory RT-PCR test. Those who will test positive both under an antigen test and an RT-PCR test will not be admitted to their testing sites.
The Law Pertaining to the State and Its Relationship with Its Citizens (formerly Political Law, Labor Law, and Taxation Law)
30% (18 questions)
Afternoon exam
Criminal Law
15% (15 questions)
DAY TWO (January 25, 2022)
Morning exam
The Law Pertaining to Private Personal and Commercial Relations (formerly Civil Law and Commercial Law)
30% (18 questions)
Afternoon exam
Procedure and Professional Ethics (formerly Remedial Law, Legal Ethics, and Practical Exercises)
25% (18 questions)
Scope and Distribution of Questions
A. The Law Pertaining to the State and Its Relationship with Its Citizens – 18 questions
Constitutional Law – 11 questions
Basic principles of political law (e.g., separation of powers, sovereignty, judicial review, fundamental powers of the State, i.e., police power, eminent domain, and taxation)
Bill of Rights (due process, equal protection, freedom of expression, rights during expropriation, searches and seizures) iii. Composition and powers of the government organs
Judicial review
Supervision of courts
Powers of the Supreme Court
Qualifications, disqualifications, and selection of the president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, justices and judges, the ombudsman, and constitutional commissioners
Immunity of the president, privileges of senators and members of the House of Representatives
Structure of government (composition, functions, powers and privileges, separation of powers, and system of checks and balances)
Process of legislation
Natural resources (nationalization principle for natural resources and economic activities)
Amendment and revision of the Constitution (Article XVII)
International Law – 1 question
Sources of international law
Relationship with domestic law
Labor Law – 3 questions
Basic principles
Existence of employer-employee relationship; tests
Termination of employment
Requirements for valid labor-only contracting
Rights of employees and of labor organizations; membership in unions
Management prerogative
Illegal recruitment of overseas Filipino workers
Remedies (labor standards violations)
Taxation Law – 3 questions
Basic principles of taxation in the Constitution
Income tax
Value-added tax
Donor’s tax
Remedies (jurisdiction of courts, prescription, remedies against assessment notices)
B. Criminal Law – 15 questions
Basic principles (e.g., territoriality, actus reus, mens rea)
Justifying, exempting, mitigating, aggravating, and alternate circumstances
Application of the Indeterminate Sentence Law
Service of sentence
Effect of death of the accused
Crimes against persons
Crimes against property
Crimes against liberty
Crimes against public interest
Republic Act No. 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004)
Republic Act No. 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act)
Republic Act No. 11313 (Safe Spaces Act)
Republic Act No. 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012)
C. The Law Pertaining to Private Personal and Commercial Relations – 18 questions
Civil Law – 12 questions
Legal personality, capacity to act
Marital relationships
Property (concept of property, ownership, co-ownership, right of accession, easement, nuisance)
Obligations
Contracts (in general, loans and mortgages, interest)
Torts, Quasi-delicts
Damages
Commercial Law – 6 questions
Corporations (kinds of corporations, including corporations sole; composition of /membership in board of directors; powers, duties and prerogatives of boards of directors and stockholders; and articles of incorporation and by-laws)
Intra-corporate dispute (concept)
Intellectual property (copyright, including fair use principle and moral rights)
Insurance (what can be insured, claims for life insurance)
Republic Act No. 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012)
D. Procedure and Professional Ethics – 18 questions
Remedial Law – 12 questions
Civil Procedure
Criminal Procedure
Appeal (Rules 41, 45)
Original Cases (Rule 46)
Small Claims
Evidence
Special civil actions (expropriation, certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto)
Special proceedings (habeas corpus, habeas data, writ of amparo, Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases)
Ethics – 4 questions
Qualifications for new lawyers (includes those who reacquire citizenship)
Code of Professional Responsibility (including duties incorporated in the Lawyer’s Oath)
Disqualifications/inhibitions for judges
Direct and indirect contempt
Practical Exercises – 2 questions
Parts of conveyancing, affidavits
Parts of pleadings, motions
Bar examinees are advised to review Bar Bulletin No. 25, s. 2021 to be guided on the Bar Chairperson’s instructions to examiners for the types of questions to be asked and how answers will be checked. Examinees must also familiarize themselves with Bar Bulletin No. 30, s. 2021 to know what to expect during the Bar Examinations proper.
To emphasize, only the basic concepts of the areas mentioned in this Bar Bulletin will be covered by the examinations.