During the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NRC) and its four adjacent provinces, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be “very lenient on deadlines” in the filing of petitions for review from resolutions issued by city and provincial prosecutors.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Monday, April 5, said the DOJ has skeletal workforce in its frontline services to receive pleadings and other documents from litigants.
He also said that pleadings may be filed online.
On DOJ’s “leniency,” Guevarra said litigants have to file the appropriate motions if they cannot cope with the period mandated to file their appeal.
Under Department Circular No. 70, “the appeal shall be taken within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the resolution, or of the denial of the motion for reconsideration/reinvestigation if one has been filed within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the assailed resolution.”
“An aggrieved party may appeal by filing a verified petition for review with the Office of the Secretary, Department of Justice, and by furnishing copies thereof to the adverse party and the Prosecution Office issuing the appealed resolution,” the circular also stated.
ECQ in NCR and the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal has been extended until April 11 due to the rising incidents of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.
While the DOJ’s main office on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila is physically closed, its offices that render vital service are manned by skeletal workforce.
Also, all courts in the NCR and the four provinces are physically closed and only urgent cases can be tackled through videoconferencing. Filing of pleadings and other required documents can be done online.
The Supreme Court has given extensions in the filing of pleadings required by the courts between March 29 to April 11.