Half-day work for all PH courts on Mar. 31–SC

The Supreme Court has ordered a half-day work schedule for all courts nationwide on Wednesday, March 31.

“Pursuant to the Supreme Court-approved Calendar for 2021. . . all courts nationwide shall observe a half-day (until 12:00 noon) work schedule on Wednesday, March 31, 2021,” Acting Chief Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe said, in a directive.

Courts in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal have been declared physically closed until March 31 and throughout the duration of the Holy Week with the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the areas.

The SC earlier ordered that in `NCR Plus’, only urgent matters that need the attention of the courts would have to be attended to until noon of March 31.

The half-day work will allow court officials and employees to have more time to prepare for the culmination of the Holy Week celebration which, for this year, starts on April 1, Maundy Thursday, and ends on April 4, Easter Sunday.