Ombudsman offices in QC, Davao City to remain closed until Jan. 28

The Office of the Ombudsman. (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman offices in Quezon City and Davao City will remain closed until Jan. 28 due to the alarming increase in COVID-19 cases.

Separate memoranda have been issued by the Office of the Ombudsman for Quezon City and Davao City employees prohibiting entry to their offices “to implement isolation and quarantine protocols order, and to arrest transmission of infection among employees in the office.”

All employees in the offices are to continue to work from home “permissible under the civil service rules.”

The filing of pleadings, motions, affidavits and other relevant documents before the offices shall be “deemed interrupted,” and the period of filing will begin again on Jan. 31, the memoranda read.

However, applicants for Ombudsman clearances may still deposit their applications at drop boxes located at the Quezon City office’s entrance gate and the Mindanao building’s back gate.

Applicants may likewise submit their applications through e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected].

The antigen testing in the Quezon City office will proceed on Jan. 18 and 19 at the auditorium.

Meanwhile, decontamination and disinfection by the Bureau of Fire Protection of the Ombudsman Mindanao building will likewise proceed on Jan. 19.