The Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday, March 27, extended until March 31 the physical closure of all courts in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal.
There are no offices on April 1, Thursday, and April 2, Friday, since they are holidays as part of Holy Week.
In her first directive, Acting Chief Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe said the extension was ordered “in view of the alarming surge of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) and upon consultation with the members of the Court en banc, as well as heads of the concerned offices.”
Also covered by the directive are the SC itself, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, and Sandiganbayan.
“All hearings in the aforementioned courts are temporarily suspended during this period except on urgent matters, such as but not limited to petitions, motions and pleadings in relation to bail and habeas corpus, promulgation of judgments of acquittal, reliefs for those who may be arrested and detained during the period, and other related actions that may be filed in relation to measures imposed at the local or national levels to address the declared health emergency,” Bernabe’s directive stated.
But the directive stated that “all courts and offices must continue to remain accessible to the public through their respective hotlines and email addresses as published in the Supreme Court website -- https//sc.judiciary.gov.ph/hotlines – to act on urgent matters and to address pertinent queries.”
Bernabe also said that “relative to the public health situation, further notices/guidelines will be subsequently issued in order to better address the health and safety concerns of court personnel and litigants, which must, at the same time, be delicately balanced with the Judiciary’s unwavering mandate to dispense justice to our people.”
Last week, the now retired Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta ordered the physical closure of courts in NCR and the four provinces until March 26.