COVID-19 updates (SyCipLaw Bulletin # 15): Reopening Of Courts In GCQ Areas; Bayanihan Act IRRs

May 14, 2020

The following updates, among others, were covered by SyCipLaw’s bulletin to its clients:

A. Supreme Court Administrative Circular No. 36-2020 (directs the opening of all court branches in areas covered by the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) beginning May 4, 2020, but they “shall function only with a skeleton-staff to assist the judge, and shall act only on urgent matters.”

High-risk areas, which include Metro Manila, are under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) until May 15, 2020 and courts in such places continue to be physically closed.

B. The Supreme Court has allowed the reduction of bail and the release of indigent detainees on their own recognizance by issuing SC Administrative Circular No. 38-2020. The SC cited the urgent need to decongest the detention facilities and the promotion of social and restorative justice.

The full text of the bulletin can be found at (https://mailchi.mp/0189bf483c2f/reopening-of-courts-in-gcq-areas-bayanihan-act-irrs)

The bulletin was prepared by SyCipLaw partner John Christian Joy A. Regalado, with the assistance of legal assistants Severino Miguel B. Sanchez and Kathleen Mae L. Nieto.