All courts at the Hall of Justice in Bacolod City resumed operations Monday, April 19, at reduced capacity, Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier said.
The Hall of Justice was closed for disinfection last week after five of its staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Deputy Court Administrator Jenny Lind Aldecoa-Delorino of the Supreme Court, in a memorandum issued Sunday, April 18, directed the reduction of the workforce in all first and second level courts in Western and Central Visayas in the light of the unabated spread of COVID-19 in both areas.
All first and second level courts in Region 6 and 7, including the offices of the clerk of court, are authorized to maintain a skeleton force of not less than 30 percent of the total staff from April 19 to 30, she said.
“Those who are not reporting in-court shall work from home, subject to the submission of accomplishment reports,” she added.
Judges may conduct fully-remote videoconference hearings within the court’s judicial region from April 19 to 30, without prior permission from the Office of the Court Administrator, Aldecoa-Delorino said.*