12 new halls of justice to rise next year

MANILA, Philippines - Twelve new halls of justice will be constructed all over the country next year as part of the modernization of the judiciary, Supreme Court officials bared.

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno bared this in her recent Meet the Press forum, revealing that two of the new halls of justice will rise in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro Cities.

“Twelve projects for the construction of new halls of justice buildings are the priorities in 2016, including the design phase for the halls of justice of Cebu City and Cagayan de Oro and the construction of 10 smaller halls of justice,” Sereno said.

The new building in Cebu City will replace the 23-year-old Palace of Justice, which was damaged by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol in 2013, while the one in Cagayan de Oro will replace the Hall of Justice building that was razed by fire last January.

The 10 other halls of justice will be constructed in Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Lal-lo, Cagayan; Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya; Tagkawayan, Quezon; Leyte; Kapatagan in Lanao del Norte; Jimenez and Salay in Misamis Oriental, Kumalarang in Zamboanga del Sur and at the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte.

Sereno said that as of August this year, they were able to complete the repair and rehabilitation of 23 halls of justice while repair works are ongoing for 10 more buildings.

“The SC is also set to award the contracts for the repair of 19 more halls of justice, while the bidding for the rehabilitation of 23 halls of justice is ongoing,” she said.

The Supreme Court chief also said that the construction of the new Manila hall of justice will start in 2017 and will be completed by 2019.

“The bidding process for the detailed architectural and engineering design is almost complete, and the actual design is expected to be finished in the third quarter of 2016,” she added.