2016 Bar exams end with lively #Salubong2016

After four weekends of test-taking, thousands of law graduates from all over the Philippines can now take a much-deserved rest as the 2016 Bar examinations cane to an end Sunday.

Over 6,800 graduates were allowed by the Supreme Court to take the Bar exams this year at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on all four Sundays of November.

Despite the rumors on social media that some questions in the exams had been leaked, the conclusion to the month-long endeavor has been nothing short of festive.

Much like the high-spirited sendoff weeks ago, several groups organized a celebration to mark the end of the Bar exams, arguably one of the toughest licensure exams in the Philippines due to its low passing rate.

Dubbed #Salubong2016, the event on the UST grounds was attended by representatives from the many schools of law in the country, including Arellano University, University of the Philippines, and San Beda College.

The Supreme Court previously denied that there was a leakage, saying that the questions from all eight subjects—Political Law, Civil Law, Taxation, Labor Law, Criminal Law, Remedial Law, Mercantile Law and Legal and Judicial Ethics—“remained confidential” before the scheduled exams on November 20.

According to Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco in a statement, "The findings show that there is no truth to any of these unsubstantiated social media rumors.”

"There is no iota of truth to these statements. These unfounded reports that are being irresponsibly circulated on social media only undermine the efforts of the Bar chairperson to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of the Bar exams," he added.

The high court also shot down reports that the justices were looking into the possibility of ordering the Bar candidates to retake certain subjects. — Bianca Rose Dabu/BM, GMA News