Cebu City Courts ‘ closed’ starting May 13

Cebu City Hall of Justice in Qimonda IT Center. (CDN DIGITAL FILE)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The courts in Cebu City will migrate all their work online as the Hall of Justice will already be physically closed effective this Wednesday, May 13, 2020.

Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Executive Judge Macaundas Hadjirasu made the announcement in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening, May 12.

“I told the guards not to allow anyone, including court staff and judges, to set foot inside the CCHJ premises, or to hand over anything to anyone,” the executive judge added in an update this morning.

Judge Hadjirasul has not provided information yet as to why the Hall of Justice will be closed. However, he said the filing of cases and urgent pleadings and other processes in the courts including the virtual hearings will still continue online.

Read: Cebu City courts start electronic filing of cases, bail application amid ECQ

Since the middle of March 2020, the Cebu City Hall of Justice at the Qimonda IT Center in the North Reclamation Area has been operating with a skeletal workforce, with only two judges present at a time amid the threat of the coronavirus disease.

Read: Cebu City courts to remain open for ‘urgent’ matters

Last April 4, Judge Hadjirasul also announced that the filing of cases and applications for bail at the Cebu City RTC will already be done online due to the mobility restrictions amid the enhanced community quarantine in the entire Cebu island.

The Cebu City courts have also started with trials through video conferencing last May 4 as the number of coronavirus disease cases in the Cebu City jails have gone over 300. / dcb