(Eagle News) – The raffle of newly-filed cases in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which had been suspended amid the COVID-19 emergency, will resume via videoconferencing, the Supreme Court announced via circular issued by the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) on Friday, May 8.
Under OCA Circular No. 94-2020, “all courts in areas under ECQ shall henceforth resume the raffle of newly-filed cases, including “unraffled” cases through VIDEOCONFERENCING.”
The circular noted that there has been an accumulation of “unraffled” cases in ECQ areas, which it hopes to address resulting to the expeditious termination of cases and consequent release of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs).
The raffle of cases via videoconferencing will utilize the “Teams application” of the platform Philippine Judiciary 365, which had been provided to all court stations nationwide for purposes of electronic filing and the pilot testing of videoconference hearings.
Under the circular, the raffle of cases “shall be regularly conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon every Monday and/or Thursday”, and will comply “as much as practicable” with the procedure of the raffle of cases as provided under Administrative Order No. 03-08-02-SC.
The Clerk of Court will “host” the raffle committee meeting using the Teams application, and two stenographers shall independently transcribe and sign the minutes of the raffle proceedings within 24 hours.
“After the raffle, the records of the case shall immediately be distributed to the branches where the cases were specifically raffled”, the circular read.
“[P]rivate lawyers and the general public shall be excluded (in the raffle of cases) during this period of public health emergency”, the circular read.
Eagle News Service
