Guidelines on Requests for Disclosure of a Law School's Bar Examinations Performance

Salient points of Bar Matter No. 4968 of the Supreme Court of the Philippines: Guidelines on Requests for Disclosure of a Law School's Bar Examinations Performance:

• The Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a resolution on August 20, 2024, regarding disclosing individual Bar takers' scores.
• Dean Darlene Marie B. Berberabe of UP College of Law requested the scores of UP Law graduates for each Bar subject during the 2023 Bar Examinations to improve their performance.
• Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, the 2023 Bar Examinations Chairperson, emphasized compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
• The Judiciary's Data Protection Officer recommended denying requests for individual scores without consent and suggested issuing guidelines for the Office of the Bar Confidant.
• The Supreme Court approved the request for average scores per Bar subject for UP Law graduates, subject to new guidelines.
• The guidelines cover requests for law school performance data, ensuring compliance with the Data Privacy Act.
• Individual Bar takers' scores are considered sensitive personal information and cannot be disclosed without consent.
• Aggregated, averaged, or anonymized data can be disclosed to law schools.
• Requests must be signed by a high-ranking law school official with a legitimate purpose.
• The Office of the Bar Confidant will handle and review such requests, preparing reports with aggregated data if the request complies with the guidelines.