Bench & Bar (Part II)

Two of the most exciting events during the duration of the Bar exams are the send-off and the salubong. The former begins on the first Sunday morning of September, which is the first day of the exam, and takes place every Sunday morning thereafter; the latter, on the fourth Sunday afternoon, the last day of the exam, after the barristers have tackled their very last subject, Legal Ethics.

What happens during a send-off? When the barristers are lined-up along Taft Avenue to enter the exam venue, their schools send them off with as much hoopla as they can possibly manage - street dances, school bands, confetti, and the ever reliable shout-yourself-hoarse. It's one street party out there during the first Sunday, when the send-off is at its noisiest. I remember my very first send-off as a law student. It was raining then. My friends and I hailed a cab from the hotel where the barristers were billeted. By the time we got to Taft Avenue, a street party was in progress. The barristers from different law schools were lined-up already and their well-wishers were shouting their support. When we spotted our school's barristers from the entrance line, we shouted ourselves hoarse wishing them good luck. It was crazy fun that not even the rain can stop. Only when all the barristers have entered the exam venue would there be quiet. Some well-wishers would choose to stay at the 'camp' site, designated rendezvous point, for the whole day to wait on their barristers; others would while away the time by going to nearby malls, then return to the site at 5 in the afternoon; others would just go home, never to be seen for the next two Sundays, then return with a vengeance during the salubong.

What happens on a salubong? Salubong is the Filipino term for meeting someone at a certain place on a given day and time. This is what happens during the last Sunday of the bar. At 5 in the afternoon, supporters, family members and friends of the barristers gather along Taft Avenue, waiting for the examinees to emerge from the exam venue. The salubong is crazier and noisier than the send-off. It's a street party like you've never seen before. Schools would outshine one another with different gimmicks, the most rambunctious of which would be a concert right in the middle of the street. But the most watched gimmick, until the higher authorities banned it, was the 'freedom run' by members of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, wherein naked guys would run the length of Taft Avenue in the name of whatever national issue comes to mind. Imagine a packed street and guys running naked along that street. It's more like walking as these poor guys cannot find enough space for them to run. I would say spectators got an eyeful.

This year, however, the send-off was unusually quiet. In yesterday's news (The Philippine Star), it was reported that the Supreme Court "issued a guideline prohibiting the conduct of noisy activities in the perimeter" of the exam venue. I quote fully the newspaper report:

"According to the Supreme Court, the standard to be followed during the examinations will be that of a court hearing."

The news report went on further to say that the guideline shall be strictly enforced and "those who will be caught in violation could be cited for contempt of court."

This guideline did not stop the friends and families of the barristers to go to Taft Avenue and wish their barristers good luck anyway, although with lesser noise as possible. I wonder how this year's salubong would be like considering that the "prohibition will be enforced during the examination hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for four consecutive Sundays"?