Extending the Applicability of MC No. 87 (s. 2021) on the On-Site Capacity to be Observed by Government Agencies and Instrumentalities in the NCR for the Period of 21 to 31 August 2021

August 20, 2021

MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 88

EXTENDING THE APPLICABILITY OF MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 87 (S. 2021) ON THE ON-SITE CAPACITY TO BE OBSERVED BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND INSTRUMENTALITIES IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION FOR THE PERIOD OF 21 TO 31 AUGUST 2021

WHEREAS, as of 20 August 2021, there are a total of One Hundred Twenty Three Thousand Two Hundred Fifty One (123,251) active COVID-19 cases in the Philippines;

WHEREAS, as of 15 August 2021, the Philippines has detected a total of one hundred eighty two (182) Delta variant cases in the country, forty-two (42) of which are from the National Capital Region (NCR);

WHEREAS, after a fifteen-day period under which NCR was under an Enhanced Community Quarantine, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases placed such region under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from 21 to 31 August 2021;

WHEREAS, the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines, as amended (Omnibus Guidelines), provides for the on-site capacities of establishments, industries, and sectors, including government agencies and instrumentalities in areas under the different quarantine classifications;

WHEREAS, the Omnibus Guidelines provides that, in areas under either Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) or MECQ, agencies and instrumentalities of the government shall be fully operational, with a skeleton workforce on-site and the remainder under alternative work arrangements as approved by the head of agency, unless a greater on-site capacity is required in agencies providing health and emergency frontline services, laboratory and testing services, border control, or other critical services;

WHEREAS, for the most recent period that NCR was under ECQ, Memorandum Circular No. 87 (s. 2021) was issued, providing for a minimum on-site capacity for all government agencies and instrumentalities of the executive branch in the NCR, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), which shall not be less than 20% at any given time, with the remainder being under work-from-home arrangements;

WHEREAS, considering the COVID-19 situation in NCR, together with the need to continue delivering public services even under the more restrictive forms of community quarantine, extending the implementation of Memorandum Circular No. 87 is imperative;

NOW, THEREFORE, the following are hereby ordered:

SECTION 1. Government Remains in Full Operation. — During the period of 21 to 31 August 2021, government agencies and instrumentalities in the NCR shall remain fully operational even as the region is placed under MECQ, subject to the on-site capacity and work-from-home arrangements authorized herein.

SECTION 2. On-Site Capacity in NCR during MECQ. — Beginning 21 August 2021 until 31 August 2021, all government agencies and instrumentalities of the executive branch in the NCR, including GOCCs, shall only have a skeleton workforce on-site, the size of which shall be determined by the head of agency, taking into consideration the services that must be continuously provided by the agency even during the MECQ.

To ensure continuity of government service, the skeleton workforce shall not be less than 20% on-site capacity at any given time, with the remainder being under work-from-home arrangements. Nonetheless, agencies providing health and emergency frontline services, laboratory and testing services, border control, and other critical services shall be allowed up to full on-site capacity.

On-site capacity, as used herein, refers to the number of employees or workers who should be physically present at their designated workplaces outside of their residences, expressed as a percentage of an agency's total workforce. Skeleton workforce refers to the on-site capacity which utilizes the smallest number of people needed for a business or organization to maintain its basic functions.

SECTION 3. Duty of Head of Agency to the Department Secretary. — The head of each agency in NCR shall submit to the head of the department exercising control or supervision over it, or to which it is attached, the specific percentage of the agency's skeleton workforce, together with the arrangements to ensure continuing operation of the agency. The skeleton workforce as determined by the agency shall be immediately implemented upon the onset of MECQ, provided that the department head may, at any time, direct the modification of the submitted on-site capacity or related arrangements, as health considerations and the exigencies of the service may require.

SECTION 4. Application to Other Agencies in NCR. — The offices of the legislative and judicial branches of government, independent constitutional commissions and bodies, and local government units in the NCR are strongly urged to adopt the provisions of this Circular.

SECTION 5. Effectivity. — This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 20th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twenty-One.

 

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 117, No. 35, p. 8935 on August 30, 2021.