Baguio City, Philippines – Aspiring lawyers from the Cordillera and neighboring provinces will once again be able to take the country's toughest licensure examination closer to home after the Supreme Court designated Saint Louis University (SLU)-Baguio as Northern Luzon's only Local Testing Center (LTC) for the 2026 Bar Examinations.
The designation was announced on July 8 through Bar Bulletin No. 3, issued by the Office of the 2026 Bar Chairperson.
With its inclusion, SLU-Baguio remains the only Bar examination venue in Northern Luzon and one of only 15 testing centers nationwide selected by the Supreme Court.
The university has served as a Local Testing Center since the Supreme Court introduced the localized Bar examination system during the 2020/2021 Bar Examinations, which were conducted in February 2022 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, SLU has consistently been chosen to host the Bar examinations, making legal licensure more accessible to examinees from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Cagayan Valley, the Ilocos Region, and other nearby areas.
Its continued designation allows aspiring lawyers to take the examinations closer to their home provinces, sparing them the financial and logistical burden of traveling to Metro Manila while enabling them to stay near their families throughout the examination period.
Notably, SLU-Baguio is one of only three Local Testing Centers in Luzon outside the National Capital Region (NCR), alongside Cagayan State University (CSU)-Carig Campus in Tuguegarao City and the University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City.
The other testing centers designated by the Supreme Court are New Era University in Quezon City, Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in Makati City, Manila Adventist College in Pasay City, University of the Philippines Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, San Beda College Alabang in Muntinlupa City, San Beda University-Manila, University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban City, University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City, Central Philippine University in Iloilo City, Ateneo de Davao University, and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.
According to the Supreme Court, the Local Testing Centers were selected based on the geographic distribution of Bar applicants and each institution's capability to meet the operational and technical requirements of the examinations.
“In designating the venues, the Court considered the geographic distribution of applicants and the suitability of prospective LTCs to meet the operational and technical requirements of the examinations. On this basis, the 2026 Bar Examinations shall be administered in 15 LTCs—seven in the National Capital Region (NCR), three in Luzon, three in Visayas, and two in Mindanao,” the bulletin stated.
The High Court added that the continued implementation of the Local Testing Center system reflects its commitment to making the Bar examinations more inclusive, accessible, and efficient, reducing the financial and logistical burdens traditionally faced by examinees.
The 2026 Bar Examinations are scheduled to be held in September.
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