Court hearings suspended in quake-damaged building

Hearings of regional and city trial courts here have been suspended since Thursday after structural experts declared the four-story Ramon Q. Avanceña Hall of Justice unsafe due to damage inflicted by the February 6 earthquake.

“We cannot guarantee the safety of the building, especially if an earthquake happens,” Evelyn Barroso, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), told the Inquirer in a phone interview yesterday.

The courts, as well as offices under the regional state prosecutor, were scheduled to be transferred to various areas yesterday, but this was postponed as details had yet to be finalized.

Regional State Prosecutor Domingo Laurea said the relocation of the courts and offices would affect the litigation of cases. “It would be more difficult compared to [the situation] when we were all under one roof, but we have no choice. Litigants will have to spend more time going to the various offices,” he told the Inquirer.

Following an agreement reached during a meeting of judges and prosecutors with Deputy Supreme Court Administrator Rene Villanueva on Friday, the 18 Regional Trial Court (RTC) branches will move to De Paul College while four Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) branches will go to the Iloilo Terminal Market.

Laurea said his office and that of the provincial prosecutor would be transferred to the Iloilo Sports Complex while the Iloilo City Prosecutor’s Office was also bound for the Iloilo Terminal Market.

An initial assessment by DPWH structural engineers showed that the 20-year-old Hall of Justice building had suffered cracks and other damage following the earthquake, Barroso said. The department recommended the immediate clearing of the building and further evaluation.

In an earlier interview, RTC Executive Judge Danilo Galvez said the building needed major rehabilitation due to cracks and dislodgement in the flooring and beams caused by the 6.9-magnitude temblor. Rehabilitation and repair were estimated to cost P10 million to P20 million.