Gov. Hilario Davide III signs an agreement with Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas (4th and from 5th from left) to donate a parcel of land inside the DA compound to the Department of Justice. Witnessing the ceremony are Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale and Provincial Board members and fiscals. (CDN PHOTO/RHOBIE RUAYA)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) building will soon rise inside the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) compound on M. Velez Street, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
This after Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III signed a deed of donation turning over a parcel of land inside the DA-7 compound to the DOJ-7. Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas received the donation on behalf of DOJ-7.
The deed of donation stipulates that the construction of the DOJ building should be done within three years from the signing of the deed, otherwise ownership of the lot reverts back to the provincial government.
“Ang kondisyones didto, within three years gikan sa pag-pirma, maka-construct na sila sa ilang building didto sa DA compound. Basically, mao man jud na ang donation (The condition is that the building will be constructed inside the DA compound within three years from the signing. Basically, this is what happens when it comes to donation),” the governor said.
Secretary Caparas said the construction of the proposed four-story building is set to start within this year.
“Hopefully, the four-story building is enough to accommodate all of our people at the DOJ and its agencies,” he said.
The 3,000-square meter lot within the DA-7 compound will contain the DOJ regional office and the offices of the Regional State Prosecutor, Provincial Prosecutor, Cebu City Prosecutor and Public Attorney.
Davide also asked the DOJ to allow the provincial government to use the Marcelo B. Fernan Hall of Justice located within the Capitol compound, as an extension of its executive office. The governor though is weighing whether to retrofit the Hall of Justice that was damaged by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in October 2013 or construct a new building on the site.
Caparas said he will discuss with Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno once he is back in Manila on the possible turnover of the Marcelo B. Fernan Hall of Justice to the Cebu provincial government.
At present, the DOJ does not have a permanent building after the Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan Hall of Justice inside the Capitol compound was declared unsafe by the Office of the Building Official.
In January this year, former Justice secretary and now Supreme Court Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa sent Davide a letter requesting for a lot donation from the provincial government. The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) authorized Davide to sign a deed of donation for the lot to be used by the DOJ last May 2.
Caparas said they are aiming to finish the construction by 2017.
Present at the signing were board members Alex Binghay, Christopher Baricuatro, Celestino Martinez III, Grecilda Sanchez and Jude Thaddeus Sybico; Cebu Provincial Prosecutor Pepita Jane Petralba; and Public Attorney’s Office regional director Ma. G-Ree Calinawan.