It will be a half-day work for all courts nationwide on Wednesday, March 31, the Supreme Court (SC) announced on Monday afternoon, March 29.
Courts in National Capital Region and its adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal have been declared physically closed until March 31 and throughout the duration of the Holy Week with the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the areas.
In NCR and the four provinces, only urgent matters that need the attention of the courts would have to be attended to until noon of March 31.
While the directive issued by Acting Chief Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe did not cite the reason for the half-day work, the Supreme Court (SC) has traditionally been doing it the past many years and has incorporated it in the court’s yearly calendar.
The half-day work will allow court officials and employees to have more time to prepare for the culmination of the Holy Week celebration which, for this year, starts on April 1, Maundy Thursday, and ends on April 4, Easter Sunday.