All trial court judges, officials and personnel in areas under Covid-19 Alert Level 1 are mandated to report physically for work until August 15.
In areas under Alert Level 2, only 80 percent of total personnel are required to work on-site, the Supreme Court (SC) said through Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva.
In his circular authorized by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, Villanueva said that face-to-face hearings of cases should be given priority while video conferencing inside courtrooms is still allowed.
Night courts in areas under Alert Level 1 are allowed to operate and executive judges may conduct jail visitations if needed. For courts without their own facilities in areas under Alert Level 1, only 75 percent of workforce is allowed to report on-site.
Courts in areas under Alert Level 2 are not allowed to conduct night courts.
Fully-remote video conferencing hearings, regardless of the location of the judges in the country, are no longer allowed.
Also, whether under Alert Level 1 or 2, flag-raising or lowering ceremonies are not allowed.
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that the National Capital Region (NCR) remains under Alert Level 1 from August 1 to 15.
The other areas under Alert Level 1 include:
Cordillera Administrative Region: Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, and Baguio City
Region I: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, and Dagupan City
Region II: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and City of Santiago
Region III: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Angeles City, and Olongapo City
Region IV-A: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Lucena City
Region IV-B: Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, and Puerto Princesa City;
Region V: Albay, Catanduanes, Naga City, and Sorsogon
Region VI: Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo Province, Bacolod City, and Iloilo City
Region VII: Siquijor, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Mandaue City
Region VIII: Biliran, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc City, and Tacloban City
Region IX: Zamboanga City
Region X: Camiguin, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro City, and Iligan City
Region XI: Davao City and Davao Oriental
Region XII: South Cotabato and General Santos City
CARAGA: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur and Butuan City
BARMM: Cotabato City.
The following component cities and municipalities shall likewise be newly placed under Alert Level 1:
Region VI: Barbaza, Antique
Region VIII: Bato and Tabontabon, Leyte
Region IX: Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay
Region XI: Braulio E. Dujali, Davao Del Norte
Region XII: Maitum, Sarangani
CARAGA: Pilar, Surigao Del Norte
BARMM: Calanogas, Marogong and Tagoloan II, Lanao Del Sur.
Cities and municipalities previously de-escalated shall remain under Alert Level 1.
The following provinces, highly urbanized cities (HUCs), and independent component cities (ICCs) will remain under Alert Level 2, without prejudice to their respective component cities and municipalities which may be under a different alert level classification:
Cordillera Administrative Region: Benguet, Ifugao
Region IV-A: Quezon Province
Region IV-B: Occidental Mindoro and Palawan
Region V: Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Masbate
Region VI: Antique and Negros Occidental
Region VII: Bohol, Cebu, and Negros Oriental
Region VIII: Leyte, Northern Samar and Western Samar
Region IX: City of Isabela, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga Sibugay
Region X: Lanao del Norte
Region XI: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao de Oro and Davao Occidental
Region XII: North Cotabato, Sarangani, and Sultan Kudarat
CARAGA: Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte
BARMM: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.