Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila

EN BANC

Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of the Court En Banc dated 29 SEPTEMBER 2003

In its resolution, dated 23 September 2003, the Court, acting on the report and recommendation by the Chairman of the 2003 Bar Examinations Committee concerning the examination conducted on the morning of September 21, 2003 on the subject of Mercantile Law, resolved to: (a) NULLIFY the examination on this subject, in view of the Court's findings which affect the integrity of the examination in Mercantile Law; (b) HOLD another examination in Mercantile Law on Saturday October 4, 2003, at eight o'clock in the evening (being the earliest available time and date), at the same venue (De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila.)

Before the Court are the following:

The Court has observed that although petitioners/movants have agreed to the nullification of the bar examinations in Mercantile Law, they, however, have expressed strong reservations against the holding of another examination on the subject. Various reasons have been advanced, viz:

• "It cannot be denied that there are thousands of bar examinees who come from Visayas and Mindanao and other far flung areas of the Philippines. These bar examinees were prepared physically, emotionally, and financially to stay in the City of Manila only for four weeks."
• "To extend the examinations for another week will not only drain the bar examinees physically and emotionally but will cause them and their families undue financial hardship in maintaining themselves in the City of Manila for board and lodging and other expenses attendant thereto."
• "The leakage in Mercantile Law, in all probability, could have benefited only a few of the bar examinees, considering that only a few schools were perceived to have been in possession of the leaked bar examinations questions."
• "It is the considered opinion of the petitioners/movants that the bar examinations in the seven subjects excluding Mercantile Law) will suffice to test the competence and probity of the bar examinees to become bona fide members of the bar."
• "In a meeting/referendum held by the Philippine Association of Law Schools, where the subject of this petition/motion was voted upon by the Deans of law schools present, the results of the voting were as follows:

As an alternative solution to the problem, it has been proposed that:

Acting on the foregoing and finding merit in the above submissions, the Court, after deliberations, resolved to grant the various petitions seeking to cancel the scheduled bar examination for Mercantile Law on October 4, 2003 and, in lieu thereof, to allocate among the seven other subjects in the Bar Examinations the fifteen percent weight of Mercantile Law.

WHEREFORE, the Court RESOLVED to cancel the holding of the scheduled examination in Mercantile Law on October 4, 2003 as ordered in the Resolution of September 23, 2003 and to allocate the fifteen percentage points for Mercantile Law among the remaining seven (7) bar examination subjects.

The Court further RESOLVED to create a Committee composed of three retired members of the Court that shall conduct a thorough investigation on the incident subject of the September 23, 2003 resolution. The Committee shall submit its report and recommendation not later than December 15, 2003.

Corona and Azcuna, JJ., on leave.