Reluctant older judges eventually agreed to get tested for COVID-19 — Peralta

Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said Thursday that Metro Manila judges who were initially reluctant to get tested for COVID-19 eventually agreed to undergo testing.

At an online press briefing, Peralta said some of those who refused to avail of free rapid testing were more senior judges whom he said may have been worried about finding out they were sick.

"Meron 'yung may edad na eh na, I do not know, baka takot malaman ang sakit, they are invoking 'we are now vulnerable,' mga 60 na sila, they are not supposed to report for work, marami silang rason eh," the chief justice said.

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen earlier said he found it a "very grave disappointment" that some judges in Metro Manila refused to get tested.

Peralta said he told Court Administrator Midas Marquez to explain to the judges the need for testing.

"Alam mo ang rason nila, takot malaman baka may sakit eh, gano'n talaga ang attitude nating mga tumatanda, medyo a little bit stubborn marahil," he said.

"But now I think they are now undergoing, they now realized that there is a need of COVID testing," he said.

Marquez said last week that the rapid testing was offered only to Metro Manila judges because the National Capital Region is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

SC employees returning to work also need to get tested for COVID-19, and Peralta said "nobody complained about it."

He said two or three employees tested positive in the rapid test but were eventually found to be negative in the confirmatory test.

The SC has more than 2,700 employees.

A staff member of Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier tested positive for COVID-19 last March. — RSJ, GMA News