Valenzuela city opens new, tech-savvy courthouse

The new Hall of Justice has Wi-Fi-ready courtrooms. —PHOTO COURTESY OF VALENZUELA CITY GOV’T

The Valenzuela City government inaugurated on Monday its new three-story Hall of Justice, which boasts of Wi-Fi-ready courtrooms and a digitization room where electronic court records could be stored.

The opening of the P81-million, 3,000-sqm building placed the city’s regional trial courts among the first in the country to integrate information communication and technology in their offices.

The new hall of justice, for example, has a family court equipped with closed-circuit television cameras so that victims in sexual aggression cases need not be in the same room as the suspects.

In a statement, Valenzuela City Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian said the modern amenities in the new hall of justice were necessary for a speedy, efficient and transparent justice system for local courts.

Gatchalian also pledged to support the implementation of the e-Litigation system—an electronic case management system that organizes cases digitally, of which Singapore is a known proponent.

According to him, the local government shall complement the software of the judiciary with the necessary hardware to uphold transparency in court decisions.

Gatchalian said he hoped the new Valenzuela RTC would become a landmark for efficient judicial system among local courts.

Monday’s inauguration was graced by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.