Manila to have own justice hall, finally

MANILA, Philippines - Supreme Court and Manila officials broke ground yesterday for the construction of the city’s Hall of Justice.

“Waited for four centuries before a Manila Hall of Justice could be built. It will be a hall of justice that the residents of Manila could truly be proud of,” acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said during his speech yesterday.

The location of the justice hall is at the old Government Service Insurance System building along Arroceros street, behind the city hall.

He added that the 30-story justice hall “will be an architectural landmark among the public buildings in Manila,” noting that it will be a fully equipped and modern structure. The title of the 10,880-square-meter property is now in the name of the Supreme Court, he said.

The building will house 120 courtrooms, 15 more than the current number of courts in Manila “so we have room for expansion,” Carpio said.

He said the estimated cost is P1.83 billion, financed through the savings of the Supreme Court. The money is with the Land Bank of the Philippines.

He estimated the project will be finished around two to three years, since there will still be a bidding for the engineering and design and the construction.

The Department of Public Works and Highways will handle project management and the bidding of contracts.

Carpio said this was his second groundbreaking for the Manila justice hall in seven years. He added that he learned there have been eight groundbreaking ceremonies for the justice hall.

He said that in 2005, the SC had the land, but not the money to construct the building. He discovered that the SC has a savings of over P2.5 billion and urged the high court to earmark the funds.

“The P1.83 billion is only for the cost for the construction of the building, excluding the cost of the furniture and equipment. The total would cost over P2 billion,” said Carpio. Carpio said they will ask Congress for funds for the furniture and equipment in the next two years.

Mayor Alfredo Lim said Manila was supposed to have its own justice hall at the site of the former jai-alai building in Ermita, but a legal battle started by a losing bidder stalled the project.