The Supreme Court on Sunday granted litigants a three-day extension period counted from April 5 within which to file their pleadings that they previously enjoined to submit from March 29 to March 31 by various courts in the National Capital Region and in the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal—areas that Malacanang placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine from March 29 to April 4.
“Considering that the [NCR Plus] have been placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine beginning March 29 until April 4, 2021, the filing periods of pleadings and other court submissions that fall during the period from March 29 to March 31, 2021 are hereby extended for three days counted from April 5, 2021,” Acting Chief Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe said, in Administrative Circular No. 14-2021 dated March 28, 2021.
The SC however stressed that for urgent matters, lawyers and litigants may still file their pleadings/court submissions during the period of March 29 to March 31, 2021 provided that they should communicate with the judges concerned through their hotlines or email addresses listed in the SC’s website –https//sc.judiciary.gov.ph/hotlines.
“If the matter is deemed urgent, only then will the court receive the pleading/court submission and act on such urgent matter,” the Acting Chief Justice said.
The circular also pointed out that “court actions which are not urgent, such as but not limited to promulgations of judgments in civil cases, services of summons, auction sales in extrajudicial foreclosures, solemnization of marriages, etc., scheduled during the period of March 29 to March 31, 2021 are hereby suspended and shall be rescheduled.”
Bernabe took over as acting chief justice on Saturday from Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta who retired on March 27..
Under the SC’s internal rules and based on traditional practice, Bernabe as the senior
associate justice, took over as acting chief justice until such time that President Duterte has appointed Peralta’s successor.
Bernabe and Associate Justices Alexander G. Gesmundo and Ramon Paul L. Hernando have been nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council to the post of chief justice.
Last Saturday, Bernabe extended the physical closure of courts in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal due to the rising incidents of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.
But Bernabe’s directive was superceded by the President’s directive that placed NCR and its four adjacent provinces under enhanced community quarantine until April 4.
