Marawi courts bar walk-in inquiries

NO ENTRY Facade of the Hall of Justice in Marawi City that will not allow entry of walk-in visitors starting on Monday. —PHOTO COURTESY OF WENIDA PAPANDAYAN

ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — After closing its offices for days to conduct disinfection, the Hall of Justice (HOJ) in Marawi City will implement more stringent health protocols once it opens on Monday, Aug. 10, due to the alarming increase in the number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the city.

Executive Judge Wenida Papandayan, said the HOJ would cease to receive walk-in inquiries, requests and transactions starting on Monday, pursuant to the Supreme Court Administrative Circular No. 41-2020 issued on May 29.

Entry slip

Visitors and other court users who have queries, requests and transactions will have to call the hotline numbers of the offices they are transacting with or connect to the email addresses of the concerned courts or offices before they will be guided with what steps they needed to take to get an approved entry slip.

Papandayan urged all courts and offices to post their hotline numbers and email addresses outside the HOJ building for the public to see.

“Should there be a need to go inside the court of office, the visitors or court users should first secure an approved entry slip. Without an approved entry slip, they would be denied entry,” Papandayan said.

“All courts and offices are encouraged to constantly monitor their phones, hotline numbers and email addresses,” she added.

She also said the HOJ would require the wearing of face masks among those allowed to enter the building.

HOJ closed all courts and offices for four days last week for disinfection after the husband of a staff at the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) tested positive for COVID-19.

The 64-year-old husband was a regular dialysis patient at Amai Pakpak Medical Center, when he got exposed to a COVID-19 patient inside the hospital, said Marawi City Health Officer Dr. Ali Dalidig.

Results of his reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests came out on Aug. 3, confirming him to be the 41st COVID-19 case in the city.

Dalidig said the PAO staff, who tested negative for the RT-PCR test, had exposed herself to 13 other employees who, except for one who was showed positive for immunoglobulin G (IfG), all tested negative for the rapid antibody tests but were still advised to complete the 14-day quarantine.

—Divina Suson