Supreme Courts close nationwide amid COVID-19 threat

In the Administrative Circular No. 32-2020 sent to all Litigants, Justices, Judges and personnel of the Judiciary, and members of the Bar, all courts must be “physically closed” nationwide and should be followed with strict compliance. (File Photo By Aerous – Own work/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta on Friday ordered all courts nationwide to close indefinitely starting Monday, March 23, amid the growing cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Philippines.

In the Administrative Circular No. 32-2020 sent to all Litigants, Justices, Judges and personnel of the Judiciary, and members of the Bar, all courts must be “physically closed” nationwide and should be followed with strict compliance.

“All courts nationwide, from the Supreme Court down to the first level courts, shall be physically closed to all court users and may be reached only through their respective hotlines, and email addresses and Facebook accounts, if available, effective 23 March 2020, Monday,” the circular signed by Peralta said.

The motion was followed in compliance with the enhanced community quarantine implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19 that continues to climb in numbers on a daily basis.

“The litigants, lawyers, prosecutors and the general public are hereby advised to first call the proper court through its hotline, or access it through its email address or Facebook account, if available, wherein it shall be determined if the matter being raised is urgent,” Peralta said.

“If urgent, only then will the justice or judge on-duty, together with the skeleton-staff, go to court to receive and act on the said urgent matter,” he added.

Call and messages to the office will only be entertained from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays.

“Accordingly, all justices and judges on-duty, together with their skeleton staff, must stay at their respective residences, and shall only go to their courts once it has been determined that an urgent matter has to be acted upon. Otherwise, they need not go to their courts,” the circular said.

Court personnel who are in charge with payments and release of salaries and allowances to the Judiciary were advised to continue to report for duty in their respective courts if they are authorized and as needed.

“Law enforcement agents are strongly advised to let our justices, judges and their respective skeleton-staff pass through checkpoints as they all likewise have a constitutional mandate to perform.”

As of writing, the Philippines has recorded a total of 230 individuals who tested positive of COVID-19 with 18 deaths and eight recoveries.