By Rey Panaligan

Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta ordered on Tuesday, January 7) the suspension of work on January 9 in all courts in the City of Manila, including the Supreme Court (SC) and the Court of Appeals (CA), because of the “Translacion” of the Black Nazarene.

In suspending work, Peralta noted that thousands of devotees from all over the country will be coming to Manila and “the magnified traffic brought about by the annual event.”

“In view of the Pilgrimage of the Black Nazarene on January 9, 2020 wherein thousands of devotees from all over the country come to Manila to participate in the ‘Traslacion’ of the Black Nazarene, work in the Supreme Court, including the Philippine Judicial Academy and the Judicial and Bar Council, the Court of Appeals, the Regional Trial Courts and the Metropolitan Trial Courts in the City of Manila, is hereby suspended because of the magnified traffic brought about by the annual event affecting areas nearby, including the Supreme Court,” Peralta said in a memorandum order.

But Peralta said the judicial records office of the SC, CA, and trial courts in Manila should assign a skeletal force.

“The court employees who will render service on January 9, 2020 shall be entitled to one day compensatory time-off,” he said.

The procession of the Black Nazarene will start from the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Park at about 5:30 a.m. and will wind up at the Quiapo church.