New Iloilo Hall of Justice eyed on provincial lot

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor on Tuesday, October 21, floated the idea of relocating the Iloilo Hall of Justice to a provincial government-owned lot in New Lucena, around 20 kilometers from Iloilo City.

The governor discussed the plan with Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta and Region VI Court Manager Judge Jennie Ann Logronio, who requested assistance in identifying a suitable site for a new Hall of Justice building.

The proposed site is an eight-hectare property in Barangay Guinobatan, originally intended for the province’s new Government Center before the plan was shifted to a location in Santa Barbara.

Gomez-Estoesta earlier issued a memorandum dated October 17, implementing work-from-home and videoconferencing arrangements in courts across Iloilo City and other areas starting Monday, October 20.

The same memorandum also lifted the suspension of work at the Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branches 5 to 10 in Iloilo City, located in the Annex City Hall of Justice.

These developments and the potential relocation of the Chief Ramon Q. Avanceña Hall of Justice follow consecutive earthquakes in October with epicenters in Cebu, Davao Oriental, and Iloilo that may have compromised the building’s structural safety.

The current Hall of Justice, which opened in 1992, underwent PHP 50 million worth of retrofitting after a magnitude-5.7 earthquake on February 6, 2012, revealed structural vulnerabilities.

The retrofitting was funded through the efforts of Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon, who was also instrumental in the construction of several Halls of Justice across the country during his tenure as justice secretary under the administration of the late President Fidel V. Ramos.

Several agencies formerly housed in the Hall of Justice have already relocated, including the regional and Iloilo City District Offices 1 and 2 of the Public Attorney’s Office, now at Casa Real; the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, now based at the Iloilo Sports Complex; and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Iloilo Chapter, currently operating out of the Castle Chateau Hotel.

The Supreme Court’s Office of the Spokesperson has acknowledged Daily Guardian’s request for comment on the building’s current structural integrity but has yet to issue a formal statement.

The IBP-Iloilo was also contacted for its views on the possible transfer to New Lucena but had not responded as of this writing.