Departmental Guidelines on the Management of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Situation

March 16, 2020

DICT DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 045-20

 

In the exigency of the service, pursuant to Joint Resolution Nos. 11 and 12, series of 2020, of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the Memorandum from the Executive Secretary on Stringent Social Distancing Measures and Further Guidelines for the Management of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation, the Presidential Proclamation No. 922 s. 2020 declaring the State of Public Health Emergency, and the provisions of existing laws, rules, and regulations, the following measures are hereby adopted:

I. COVERAGE AND SCOPE

1. These Guidelines shall cover all Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) officials, personnel, consultants, and job order workers.

2. These Guidelines shall take effect immediately in the offices of the DICT located in the National Capital Region (NCR) and shall remain in force until 00:00 a.m. of 14 April 2020, unless extended by the Secretary.

3. The DICT offices in the other areas may adopt similar measures pursuant to an issuance by the Cluster's Regional Director, subject to the approval of the Undersecretary for General Administration.

4. The DICT attached agencies may adopt measures similar to these Guidelines in preparation for possible Community Quarantine within their respective locations.

II. STRINGENT SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES

1. Community Quarantine. — All DICT personnel, workers, and consultants shall strictly comply with the conditions and restrictions of the Community Quarantine imposed under existing executive issuances under pain of applicable administrative sanctions. All DICT officials, personnel, workers, and consultants shall present their official DICT ID, or supporting DICT certification, in order to be allowed to travel when necessary in the performance of departmental services.

Those who are unable to return to work in relation to the Community Quarantine enforced within Metro Manila and other affected areas, or those observing self-quarantine procedures, must immediately inform their respective supervisors, who shall then notify their respective Supervising Assistant Secretaries or Undersecretaries. Subject to the provisions of applicable civil service, accounting, and auditing laws, rules and regulations, no deduction of salary or leave benefits shall be applied if the circumstances are found meritorious.

2. Persons prohibited from entering DICT premises. — All persons with confirmed COVID-19 infection those whose circumstances fall under suspected or probable COVID-19 cases, and those exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 infection, shall be denied entry into or prohibited from staying in the DICT premises and work spaces. The security and other concerned DICT personnel shall observe proper decorum and due respect in preventing the entry of all persons covered by this directive, or in escorting them out of the premises.

The Administrative Service and the DICT security offices shall ensure that the DICT premises and all its entrances and exits are secured, and that all security personnel on duty are provided with the proper tools and equipment to ensure strict compliance herewith.

3. Prohibition on Mass Gatherings and Non-Essential Work-Related Gatherings, Events, and Meetings. — Non-essential work-related meetings, events, and gatherings hosted or sponsored by DICT, or to be held within DICT premises, whether planned or spontaneous, as well as those with attendees in such numbers that could strain the planning and response resources of the Department, the city, or the municipality where the event will be held, shall be prohibited.

4. Work-related meetings and religious activities, when allowed. — During the period of public health emergency, the conduct of work-related meetings and religious activities within DICT premises may be allowed by the DICT Secretary or the Undersecretary for General Administration, subject to the following conditions:

a. The meeting or activity is essential.

b. No attendee falls under Items II (2) and III (1) (E) of these Guidelines.

c. All attendees shall comply with strict social distancing and maintain a distance of at least one (1) meter radius between and among the attendees during the entirety of the event.

d. Duly signed attendance sheets shall be filed for records purposes.

5. Maintaining a clean, healthy and safe working environment. — All DICT officials, personnel, workers, and consultants, and all persons within DICT premises, shall at all times practice proper hygiene, and exercise due prudence and discretion in maintaining a clean, healthy, and safe working environment.

III. WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

1. General Policy on Work Arrangements. — In view of the alarming rise in the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the affected areas of the country, the real and imminent danger posed by the COVID-19 situation upon public health and safety, and the declared existence of the state of Public Health Emergency, the Department hereby declares its full support on the imposition of Community Quarantine in the NCR and other affected areas for due compliance by all concerned department officials, personnel, job order workers, and consultants within the framework of existing laws, rules, and regulations; and adopts the general policy of discouraging their travel and physical reporting for work in the DICT premises, unless necessary.

As part of the emergency measures to protect lives and public health during the state of public health emergency, the operations of the DICT offices in NCR and other affected areas shall temporarily be governed by the following arrangements:

A. Skeleton Workforces for Other Departmental Services. — All Directors, Division Chiefs, and other Heads of DICT offices and units may form skeleton workforces, composed of personnel and workers in such minimal numbers as necessary to perform the core functions or services that require physical workplace presence in DICT premises, subject to the personnel restrictions provided in these Guidelines.

B. Full operation of Vital Frontline Services. — All DICT offices and units performing cybersecurity, emergency communications, data centers, disaster and calamity preparedness and response, postal regulation, and other vital frontline functions or services, shall continue in their full operations, subject to the personnel restrictions in these Guidelines.

C. Four (4)-day Workweek and Strategic Shifting. — In accordance with the provisions of Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 7 s. 2020, the heads of DICT offices and units involved in vital frontline services, and those operating with skeleton workforces, may utilize either or both — (a) strategic shifting arrangements, or (b) four (4)-day workweek, whereby the workweek of individuals designated to physically report for work in the DICT premises are reduced to four (4) days — while ensuring that the DICT's normal workweek is maintained 1 during the state of public health emergency.

Offices and units implementing either or both of the foregoing arrangements shall adopt mechanisms to effectively monitor due compliance with existing civil service laws, rules, and regulations.

D. Support Mechanisms. — The Administrative Service shall ensure that workers involved in vital frontline services, and those in the skeleton workforce, that are performing essential functions are provided with appropriate support mechanisms, including health interventions, stress debriefing, and appropriate tools and technologies to minimize risks of infection.

E. Personnel Restrictions. — The following departmental officials, personnel, workers, and consultants, shall neither be designated to form part of the skeleton workforce, nor shall they be required to be physically present in the DICT premises:

i. Those with suspected, probable, or confirmed COVID-19 infection.

ii. Those who exhibit symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection.

iii. Those who are at a high risk of being infected, such as but not limited to persons who are:

1. Sickly, or have pre-existing medical conditions.

2. Immuno-compromised, or with co-morbidities.

3. Elderly, or sixty (60) years old and above.

4. Pregnant, or lactating.

iv. Those who are residing in communities with suspected, probable, or confirmed COVID-19 infection.

DICT personnel not covered by the foregoing circumstances but residing outside Metro Manila and other affected areas may be required to report to work when necessary, as recommended by the Head of Office.

2. Duties and Responsibilities of DICT Officials — All DICT officials, directors and heads of offices, projects and programs are strictly mandated to manage, oversee, and account for their respective offices at all times. The respective officials shall submit a report within one (1) day from the receipt of a document or knowledge of any urgent concern in order to fully appraise and inform their duly designated Supervising Assistant Secretary, Undersecretary, and the Office of the Secretary.

All DICT officials, directors and heads of offices, projects and programs shall email the: (i) name/s; (ii) contact number/s; (iii) email address/es; and (iv) the weekly schedule of their nominated skeleton workforce, to the Office of the Undersecretary for General Administration and to the Office of the Director for Administrative Service by 12:00 n.n., 17 March 2020, and every Monday thereafter, during the period of public health emergency.

3. Use of Alternative Working Arrangements; Maintain Communication Lines Open. — All bureaus, services, divisions, offices, and units may make use of secure and available online work-from-home (WFH) and work-online (WOL) mechanisms, and other arrangements to enable the performance of needed functions and services while remaining at home; provided that, all measures for the security, accountability, and fidelity in the custody of official documents shall be strictly complied.

All DICT officials, personnel, workers, and consultants whose physical presence in the DICT premises are not required under these Guidelines shall, as far as practicable, maintain their communication lines open and make use of available channels and applications at all times. With due consideration to health issues and concerns, all DICT officials, personnel, workers, and consultants may be called upon by the DICT Secretary or his duly authorized representative, to perform their functions should exigent circumstances so require.

4. Suspension of physical in-classroom attendance; use of blended or online learning arrangements. — The suspension of physical in-classroom attendance in all levels within NCR of DICT-hosted or sponsored classes, courses, training programs, and seminars, as well those scheduled in DICT facilities and training institutions, shall continue until 14 April 2020. The ICT Literacy and Competency Development Bureau (ILCDB) and other training units of the Department shall implement adequate blended or online arrangements for the trainees and students to continue fulfilling their education and training requirements while allowing them to remain in their homes during the said period.

This Department Order takes effect immediately, and may change subject to supervening events.

For strict compliance.

(SGD.) GREGORIO B. HONASAN IISecretary

 

Footnotes

1. See Item 2.0, CSC Memorandum Circular No. 7 s. 2020.