Cebu City gov’t, power utilities on standby for Bar exams

Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the EOC in Cebu City.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City is fully prepared for the Bar examinations in three universities here starting tomorrow, February 4, until Sunday, February 6, 2022.

This is the first time the Bar exams will be happening in the city and other local government units (LGUs) outside the country’s capital, Manila.

Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementor of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said the Visayan Electric assured the stable power of the areas where the three universities were located including the University of San Carlos (USC) in the downtown area, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) in Barangay Basak Mambaling, and the University of Cebu (UC) in Barangay Banilad.

“I have talked with Anton Perdices of VECO and they have a standby crew in the areas of each university just in case something happens. They assured no power interruption will occur during the exams,” said Garganera.

Each university also has standby generators in case a power outage will occur.

The stability of power is essential because the exams are now digital and the candidates will be using laptops during the exams.

Garganera also notes that only authorized Supreme Court personnel and the examinees will be allowed inside the examination areas.

The police, force multipliers, and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) personnel will be manning the perimeters of the universities to prevent any crowding or entry of unauthorized personnel.

“Unlike sa una sa Manila nga naay mga send-off, naay mga drum and bugle just to motivate our examinees. Wala na ron because we are in a pandemic,” said Garganera.

(Unlike before in Manila that there is a send-off, there are drum and bugle just to motivate our examinees. That is gone now because we are in a pandemic.)

The barangays where the universities are located and even nearby barangays have also issued orders to residents to keep the noise down during the two-day exams.

The barangay residents are prohibited from playing karaoke, blasting loud music, holding loud activities, or other causes for noise during the exams.

In Barangay Banilad, the perimeters surrounding UC will be a no-horn zone for vehicles, which means they cannot blow their horns when passing by.

Garganera encouraged the public to cooperative in supporting the Bar candidates during the historic exams.

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