ILOILO City – From today until Feb. 26, the Chief Justice Ramon Q. Avanceña Hall of Justice here is closed.
All court personnel were enjoined to – during the period of closure and work suspension – “stay at home, refrain from attending mass gatherings and participating in activities that may increase the risk of contracting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus.”
“Work is hereby suspended,” according to Executive Judge Ma. Yolanda Panaguton-Gaviño in Memorandum No. 5-2021 issued yesterday.
The reason cited: “to safeguard the health and well-being of court personnel and other court users.”
The memo did not say someone working at the Hall of Justice contracted COVID-19 but a source told Panay News “10 na ang positive cases”.
According to the source, “ang family members sang iban nga nag-positive nga employees nag-positive man.”
“All courts are directed to maintain a work-from-home arrangement and must be mindful of the existing circulars and guidelines issued by the Supreme Court,” read the memorandum.
However, all courts were directed to ensure that at least one personnel must be present to oversee the disinfection of their respective premises, should there be any scheduled, to ensure the safety of court records.
How did the fresh COVID-19 cases come about?
The source offered this theory: “Pag-extended weekend abi sang nagligad, damo nag-road trip or nagbakasyon. Mostly sa ila halin ang positive cases.”
The “extended weekend” referred to were the days of Feb. 11 (Evelio Javier Day, a local holiday), Feb. 12 (Chinese New Year, a national holiday), Feb. 13 (Saturday), and Feb. 14 (Sunday).
August last year, court hearings and other transactions at the Hall of Justice were temporarily suspended. A job hire tested positive for COVID-19.
The following month, September, the Hall of Justice was again shut down after a lawyer who attended court hearings tested positive for COVID-19.
The lawyer was a male senior citizen. He was hospitalized.
Then in November, another court officer or personnel tested positive for COVID-19, prompting another lockdown of the Hall of Justice for disinfection.
The Hall of Justice houses 18 branches of Regional Trial Court (RTC), four branches of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) of Iloilo City, the Iloilo Provincial Prosecution Offices, the Iloilo City Provincial Prosecution Offices, Office of the Regional Prosecutor, Public Attorney’s Office, and Regional Parole and Probation Offices, Offices of the Clerks of Court of RTC and MTCC, Office of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Iloilo Chapter, the Philippine Mediation Center, and RTC library./PN
