About 30,000 officials and employees, including co-terminus and casual workers, of the judiciary nationwide have been included in the priority population group for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination.
In a letter to all judiciary personnel dated April 5, Acting Chief Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe said the Supreme Court’s (SC) request for inclusion in the priority group of the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan, has been granted by the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF).
With the inclusion, Bernabe said “the NTF has communicated that vaccines arriving this April 2021 shall be partly allotted for the Judiciary.”
Bernabe said the SC sent a letter-request to NTF last March 31. She said the SC underscored that “justices, judges, and court personnel of the Philippine Judiciary (comprised of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and trial courts) are frontline government workers in the justice sector, whose functions are essential at all times, especially during the pandemic.”
The letter also stated that “… through its adjudicatory functions, the Judiciary is an essential institution in the justice sector that works hand-in-hand with the executive branch of government to effectively perform its task of maintaining peace and order and safeguarding public welfare in accordance with the rule of law.”
It also pointed out that “the Judiciary’s continuing in-court operations despite the existence of community quarantines run the risk of exposing its employees/personnel to COVID-19 infections, who in turn, regularly interact with other stakeholders that already fall in the priority groups of the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Vaccines.”
In her letter to all judiciary personnel, Bernabe said:
“With the NTF’s favorable action on our request, the details of implementation shall be immediately worked out in order to swiftly roll out the inoculation program soonest.
“Rest assured, the Court is actively exploring all ways and means in order to ensure the safety and well-being of all Judiciary employees as we faithfully discharge our duty to the public in this time of unparalleled crisis.”