REGIONAL Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes requested the Cebu provincial government’s help in securing tents where hearings will be temporarily conducted.
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale assured the trial courts of their assistance and even offered parts of the Legislative Building for the judges’ use.
“The judges are bent on continuing their duties, the most important of which is conducting trials. We can’t wait for the Supreme Court to provide a courthouse for us. We judges badly need to conduct hearings,” Paredes said.
Hearings for detention prisoners are also set to be conducted inside the jail facilities on a rotation basis.
The Supreme Court has not yet decided where the local courts shall transfer after the Palace of Justice was deemed “unfit for occupancy” due to the structural damage caused by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake last Oct. 15.
Judges are considering the Quimonda I.T. Center located along Don Sergio Osmeña at the North Reclamation Area as its temporary courthouse but no contract has been signed between the judiciary and the building owners./Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol