Capitol asks to use vacant Palace of Justice for offices

WITH Cebu City-based judges and employees moving out of the Palace of Justice, the Cebu provincial government plans to use the building and lot to expand its operations.

“The province is interested in taking over the Palace of Justice. We can have that building retrofitted or whatever. There are several offices of the Capitol that can be accommodated there,” Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said.

The governor met with Supreme Court Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco and Bienvenido Reyes in Cebu last Friday to discuss the looming transfer of judges and court employees to Qimonda IT Center in the North Reclamation Area.

The four-story Palace of Justice was deemed “unfit for occupancy” by the Office of the Building Official due to the alleged structural damage it sustained following the 7.2-magnitude earthquake last Oct. 15.

Most judges and employees opposed Supreme Court Administrator Midas Marquez’s directive to transfer, citing fears of staying inside the Qimonda building which also sustained cracks caused by the earthquake.

They are asking Marquez to reconsider the directive and address their concerns.

Davide said he told the two High Court justices about the province’s intention to use the Palace of Justice.

deed of donation

“The Palace of Justice is built on a province-owned lot and as far as the records of the Capitol is concerned, there is no Deed of Donation by the province to the judiciary. We’ve been looking for it everywhere but there is really none,” he said.

Cebu City judges claimed that the lot was already donated by the province to the Supreme Court but the judges cannot find the Deed of Donation.

The Palace of Justice is located behind the Capitol’s Executive Building where the governor holds office. Davide, son of former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., said the province is willing to provide a lot where the new Palace of Justice will be built.

DA compound lot

“We offer the province-owned lot at the Department of Agriculture compound where the judiciary can build the Cebu City Palace of Justice,” he said. However, he clarified that use of the DA lot still needs the approval of the Provincial Board.

“Whether or not the province will donate the lot at the DA compound to the Supreme Court is dependent on whatever agreements we’ll have. Of course, we can’t do anything without the approval of the PB,” Davide said.

He said the space at the DA compound was meant for the new building of the Court of Appeals in Cebu City.

But since the Cebu City government already offered a space for the appellate court’s building at the South Road Properties, Davide said the DA compound can accommodate the new Palace of Justice.

The DA compound in barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City is about 200 meters away from the Palace of Justice. The compound presently houses the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.