BY REY PANALIGAN
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ALL courts in the country, except those in areas under the modified enhanced community quarantine, reopen on Monday and will be manned by skeleton staff from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays until May 29.
In a circular, Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta said inquiries on pending cases and requests for documents in areas under GCQ will be coursed and acted upon only through the hotline numbers, email addresses, or Facebook accounts of all courts posted in the Supreme Court (SC) website sc.judiciary.gov.ph.
The SC had earlier announced that courts in areas under MECQ are still physically closed until May 31.
The filing of cases and pleadings will be accepted online in MECQ areas and hearings of important and urgent cases, particularly those involving persons deprived of liberty and those related to the community quarantine – will be conducted via video conferencing.
The list of trial courts which have been authorized to conduct video conferencing can also be viewed at the SC website.
Peralta said that “no walk-in requests shall be entertained by any of the branches or offices of the courts in the GCQ areas.”
“Justices, judges, and court personnel with medical conditions making them vulnerable to be easily infected by COVID-19 may work from home, provided court personnel who will do so will have the prior approval of the justice or judge,” he said in the circular.
