Best effort! Peralta: SC did everything to protect employees from COVID-19

The Supreme Court (SC) did its best to protect those in the judiciary from the ongoing COVID-19 virus pandemic, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said on Monday (March 22).

“We, the members and officials of the Supreme Court, have done everything within our authority to address all judicial concerns and protect everyone’s well being to the best of our abilities,” he said during his last flag raising ceremony at the SC.

Peralta added that the policies and measures the SC implemented nationwide was made “not only for the safety and welfare of the Judiciary’s 29,000 Strong employees but for those of all court users as well.”

Among the measures the SC implemented, Peralta cited “the daily court operations with skeleton staffing; restricting entry in the halls of justices to only those with official business; reinforcing physical distancing within court premises; the constant sanitation of court premises and monitoring of the health of our court personnel; the restructuring of various face to face training programs and activities of the court into hybrid or blended learning platforms; and the conduct of online trials in hearings in all the courts.”

“Ito ay patunay lamang na sa gitna ng pagsubok na idinulot ng pandemyang itong ating hinaharap ang inyong kaligtasan at kapakanan ang nasa aming isip,” he said.

Peralta decided to take an early retirement on his 69th birthday this March 27, a year early his compulsory retirement.

There are three SC magistrates seeking to replace Peralta, namely, Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Alexander Gesmundo, and Ramon Paul Hernando.

President Rodrigo Duterte picked Peralta as chief justice in October 2019 to replace retired Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin.

Peralta has been a magistrate of the SC since 2009 when he got appointed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Prior this, Peralta has served as magistrate of the Sandiganbayan from 2002 to 2009.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)