Courts physically closed but criminal laws still in place -DOJ

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday said Philippine criminal laws remain in place even in times of emergency. 

"Our criminal laws are not suspended during times of emergency," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

"Law enforcement, prosecution, and court adjudication structures and procedures will just have to make the necessary adjustments, no matter how difficult it may be. Otherwise, we will have a breakdown of law and order," he said.

This was his response when asked if he would consider changing his earlier message -that violators of quarantine rules will be arrested -now that all courts will physically close starting next week and prosecutors are reportedly having difficulty going to work.

The Department of Justice is of the position that people who violate quarantine rules can be arrested for "non-cooperation" under the law on mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases even if they did not seriously disobey or resist authorities.

The National Union of Peoples' Lawyers has said the crime of "non-cooperation," as defined by Republic Act No. 11332, is vague, open to interpretation, and may give way to abuse by law enforcement.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered the physical closure of all courts nationwide starting March 23.

Court users may reach the courts through their hotline, email address, or Facebook account, if available, and judges and staff will only go to court to act on matters that, based on the calls and messages, they will consider urgent.

Matters on liberty like bail and the writ of habeas corpus, as well as scheduled promulgations of judgments on acquittals, are considered urgent.

In Manila, prosecutors have ordered the release of more than 20 people whom police arrested for allegedly violating the city's curfew ordinance.

As of Friday afternoon, health authorities have recorded 230 cases of COVID-19 cases in the country. Of this number, 18 patients have died and eight have recovered. -NB, GMA News