More than 27 years ago Madame Justice Ameurfina Melencio-Hererra, Chairperson of the Committee on Bar Examinations submitted a report to the Philippine Supreme Court her observations on the 1980 bar exams. Her pointed remarks on how the examinees answered the 1980 bar exams could serve as a lesson for those who are aspiring to make it to the Philippine bar. The actual report is seven pages long. I have summarized the report in order to drive home the point. In order to hurdle the Philippine bar exams, examinees must have a mastery of what I call as the four “L’s.” in taking the bar exams, Language, Logic, Law and Layout. Here are the comments of Justice Herrera (In quotation) with regards to these four areas. • MASTERY IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: A.) LANGUAGE – How should you express your answer? 1.) “Only in a few instances was there a command of the English language.” 2.) ” . . . Require additional courses even in law school proper in the fields of English composition and … [Read more...]