The “increasing positivity rate of Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Region” (NCR) has prompted the Supreme Court (SC) to re-enforce a reduced on-site work in its offices in Manila until July 31.

In a memorandum order, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo that in certain offices only 50 or 80 per of total personnel are allowed to report physically for work.

But 100 percent of personnel are required to report physically in the SC’s Fiscal Management and Budget Office, Office of the Bar Confidant, Office of Administrative Services, and in the maintenance, security and motorpool sections.

Eighty per cent of personnel are required to report on-site in the Docket and Receiving Section of the Judicial Records Office, procurement and property division, and in the Office of the Court Administrator engaged in processing clearances and payment of utilities.

In all other SC offices, 50 percent of personnel are required report on-site.

SC justices “shall determine the number and schedule of their staff who will be required to report for work on-site in their respective chambers,” Gesmundo said in his memorandum order.

Personnel who will not work on-site will work from home. Work from Monday to Friday starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.

Appellate courts – Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeal, and Sandiganbayan – are expected to adopt the SC’s reduced on-site work schedule.

All trial courts in the country are physically open with 50 to 75 percent of total personnel reporting physically for work in areas under Covid-19 Alert Levels 1 and 2.

Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva – whose office, the Office of the Court Administrator, supervises all trial courts for the SC – said that while in-court hearings are given priority, video conferencing hearings may be done in areas under Alert Levels 1 and 2.

In his circular, Villanueva said that there will be no flag-raising/lowering ceremonies, no Saturday duty, no night courts, and no jail visitations for courts in Alert Levels 1 and 2.

Office hours in trial courts outside the NCR (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) should be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.

Last Saturday, July 16, Malacañang said that the existing alert level classifications for different areas in the country had been extended after the government’s pandemic task force failed to declare the new status on July 15.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases would meet on Monday, July 18, to discuss the alert levels.

Also last Saturday, latest data of the Department of Health (DOH) showed that the number of active Covid-19 cases in the Philippines is now close to 19,000.

Based on the DOH’s Covid-19 tracker, the total number of patients who are still sick with Covid-19 nationwide is at 18,990.

There were 2,578 new cases recorded on Saturday. This was the third straight day that the country has been recording more than 2,000 cases daily.

Most of the new cases in the last 14 days were recorded in Metro Manila with 9,294. Calabarzon came in second with 5,057. It was followed by Central Luzon with 2,092, Western Visayas with 2,005, and Central Visayas with 863.

Since 2020, the cumulative number of cases in the Philippines is at 3,730,545. Of this figure, 3,650,914 people were able to recover, while 60,641 died.