Caloocan courtrooms declared fire hazards

Justice may not be delayed in Caloocan City. But it might literally burn to the ground after local fire officials declared two buildings housing the regional trial courts (RTC) as fire hazards.

This prompted the RTC judges to express alarm over their safety as well as that of their staffs and other occupants of both Genato and Aurelio buildings along Rizal Avenue Extension.

In a letter dated August 28 to the Caloocan City Fire Department, acting RTC Executive Judge Myrna Disaranan-Vidal urged the local fire department and the City Engineer’s Office to conduct an extensive inspection of the buildings housing the 12 RTC branches.

An inspection would give the occupants "peace of mind", Vidal said, as many feared that the Manor Hotel tragedy could happen in their buildings. Vidal also expressed concern over the court records of hundreds of RTC cases.

Occupying the six-story Aurelio Building on Ninth Avenue corner Rizal Avenue Extension are the Caloocan City Prosecutor‘s Office, the office of the RTC Clerk of Court, and RTC Branches 120, 121, 122, 123, 130, and 127, where Vidal is the presiding judge.

The Genato Building on 12th Avenue corner Rizal Avenue Extension, on the other hand, houses RTC branches 124, 125, 125, 129, and 131.

The buildings are rented by the Caloocan City RTC. Dark, old, and decrepit, they have narrow hallways and reportedly lack fire exits and fire safety equipment.