Article by:
Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has extended work suspension in its offices until January 8 to allow testing of its personnel.
In Memorandum Order 3-2022 released on Wednesday, the high court said this is to pave the way for massive antigen testing and contact tracing.
Citing the latest report of its Medical and Dental Services, the SC said antigen testing on all court personnel, as well as employees of its service providers, has not yet been completed and that there is a high positivity rate among those already tested.
Personnel of the Office of the Bar Chair and Office of the Bar Confidant involved in the 2020/2021 Bar examination and personnel of the Judicial Records Office involved in e-filing are still required to report on-site, the court said.
The court earlier ordered a three-day work suspension from Monday to Wednesday, except for key personnel and those taking part in the vaccination booster program on Monday and the en banc session on Tuesday.
In a separate memorandum, the Office of the Court Administrator announced a new work arrangement in the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal after these provinces were also placed under Alert Level 3.
From January 5 to 15, courts and judicial offices in these provinces shall maintain a skeleton workforce of at least 30 percent to a maximum of 50 percent.
Regular office hours, meanwhile, will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Saturday duty suspended. (PNA)
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