Directive to Issue Guidelines
SECTION 1. Directive to Issue Guidelines. Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, and in order to ease the social and economic burden of community quarantine, all heads of departments, agencies, offices, and instrumentalities of the government, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and LGUs, are hereby directed, while the heads of other branches of government and independent constitutional bodies are hereby enjoined, to immediately formulate and issue rules or guidelines on the following, to be applied in areas under community quarantine or to individuals coming from such areas, as the case may be: a. Interruption of reglementary periods for the commencement of actions and claims; the filing of pleadings, appearances, motions, notices, and all other papers; and the rendition of judgments, resolutions, and orders for the duration of the community quarantine; b. Cancellation of proceedings and the rescheduling thereof after the lifting of community quarantine; c. Acceptable justifications for the failure of litigants or their counsel, as well as claimants, to comply with reglementary periods or to appear at legal proceedings, if they are coming from jurisdictions where quarantine protocols restrict their movements; d. Suspension of deadlines for the payment of monetary obligations and/or the submission of documents, for the duration of community quarantine; and e. Movement of timelines for the grant of any benefit, to allow the release thereof to individuals during community quarantine. Notwithstanding sub-paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) above, reglementary periods and proceedings for urgent cases which are necessary to enable the government to act expedttiously on matters affecting the current public health emergency shall not be interrupted or cancelled. The foregoing directive shall apply only in relation to areas where community quarantine was declared in accordance with the rules issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) or the Office of the President, until the date that the same is lifted by the same office that made the declaration, provided the lifting be also in accordance with the rules of the IATF or the Office of the President. SECTION 2. Compliance with the Directives of Higher Authorities. The heads of the above agencies shall ensure that their rules or guidelines are consistent with the directives of the IATF and the Office of the President, and are in compliance with existing laws, rules, and regulations. Such rules or guidelines shall be without prejudice t to future directives or orders to be issued by the IATF or the Office of the President pursuant to RA No. 11469. For agencies, GOCCs, GFIs and SUCs attached to or under the supervision of executive departments, their compliance with this directive shall further be subject to the supervision of such departments. LGUs shall be deemed to be under the supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government for purposes of implementing this Order.