Manila to have ‘most modern’ courts at P2B

Manila will soon have a new Hall of Justice—“the most modern in the country”—to the tune of P2 billion, according to senior Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio.

The new building, which according to Carpio will house up to 120 court rooms, will rise on the site of the old Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building on A.J. Villegas Street (formerly Arroceros).

At present, Manila courts are scattered in various buildings near the city hall.

“The (new) Manila Hall of Justice will be the biggest, most modern and best equipped hall of justice in the country, bar none,” Carpio said in a speech Wednesday at the project’s groundbreaking rites. “It will be a hall of justice that the residents of Manila could truly be proud of.”

He said the building could be completed in two to three years, covering an area of 10,818 square meters.

Carpio noted that several groundbreaking ceremonies for the Manila Hall of Justice had been held in the past but the actual construction did not push through due to legal and funding problems, among others.

“This is my second groundbreaking here in seven years; there has been eight. There is, however, a big difference from the previous (ceremonies). The court (then) did not have either the land or the money. But today, the court has both,” Carpio said.

Carpio said the money for the construction would come from the P2.5-billion savings of the Supreme Court, “earmarked exclusively for the construction of the Manila Hall of Justice.”

The building itself would cost about P1.8 billion, while the furniture and equipment would raise the price tag to P2 billion, he added.