SC to give cash aid to judges, court personnel for COVID-19 hospital expenses

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court will be providing cash aid for judges and court personnel affected by COVID-19 that needed hospitalization.

In a circular dated April 27 signed by Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, those with mild to moderate illness will be receiving P15,000 while P30,000 is provided to those with severe to critical illness which include but not limited to acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock requiring invasive ventilation, extracorporeal oxygenation, or renal replacement therapy and the like.

On the other hand, P50,000 is given to the family of a court officer or personnel who died of COVID-19.

“With the concurrence of the members of the Court en banc, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo has approved the grant of financial assistance to judges and court personnel who contracted COVID-19 and required inpatient care or hospital confinement, depending on the extent of their illness, from March 2020 until the concurrent pandemic ends,” read the circular.

As of April 25, the Judiciary has recorded 20 deaths and 1113 confirmed cases.

To avail of the financial aid, the following requirement must be submitted to the Financial Management Office of the Court Administrator:

1) Result of RT-PCR test (positive) from March 2020 onwards;

2) Medical Certificate stating the clinical findings of the illness caused by COVID-19, including whether the illness is mild, moderate, severe or critical;

3) Death Certificate indicating that the patient died of COVID-19 or of complications due to COVID-19;

4) Disbursement Voucher and

5) Obligation Request.

“The original hard copies of the requirements must be received by the FMO-OCA before the subsidy can be released,” the circular further stated.

For faster processing of claims, the requirements may be initially emailed to [email protected]

JE