ILOILO City – A surge in prosecutors and long-running structural concerns at Iloilo’s decades-old Hall of Justice have given fresh urgency to the establishment of a new integrated justice complex, with the city government now providing more than 7,000 square meters of prime land for the project.
The development could finally provide a permanent solution to Iloilo’s fragmented justice offices, many of which were forced to relocate amid safety concerns over the Chief Justice Ramon Q. Avanceña Hall of Justice in the City Proper.
The Iloilo City Government formally donated a property in Barangay San Pedro, Molo district to the Supreme Court and Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday, August 25, clearing the way for a new Hall of Justice and centralized Prosecution Complex.
Under the agreement, the Supreme Court will receive 4,000 square meters for a new Hall of Justice, while the DOJ will utilize the remaining 3,000 square meters for a centralized hub housing the Regional, Provincial and City Prosecutors’ Offices.
The project comes as Iloilo’s justice system grapples with two pressing challenges: accommodating a substantially expanded prosecutorial workforce and providing safe, adequate facilities for courts and justice personnel.
Justice Secretary Frederick Vida disclosed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed 33 new prosecutors to Western Visayas over the past year — a dramatic turnaround from 2016 to 2022, when no new prosecutors were appointed to Region 6.
“Approximately half of those 33 appointed prosecutors are assigned to our Iloilo City Prosecution Office or Iloilo Provincial Prosecution Office,” Vida pointed out.
“This substantial augmentation of prosecutorial manpower reflects the administration’s continuing commitment to strengthening the justice system and ensuring its machinery remains responsive to the needs of our constituents,” he added.
But the additional manpower has intensified the need for proper working space.
“With this welcoming increase in personnel comes an equally pressing need for adequate, dignified, and functional spaces. Where prosecutors and justice personnel can perform their duties. The necessity for additional office and facilities, therefore, could not be emphasized further,” Vida added.
LINGERING SAFETY ISSUE
The need for a new justice complex has become more pronounced because of continuing structural concerns surrounding the existing Hall of Justice, completed in 1992 at a cost of P200 million.
Questions over the building’s structural integrity are not new. Cracks appeared after a magnitude-5.7 earthquake on February 6, 2012, prompting judges, lawyers and court employees at the time to call for the construction of a new Hall of Justice instead of merely repairing the existing structure.
The building was subsequently retrofitted.
Safety concerns resurfaced following a series of strong earthquakes last year, prompting most courts to move out of the building as a precaution.
Fourteen Regional Trial Court (RTC) offices are currently operating at the New Castle Hotel across the Hall of Justice, while six Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) offices are housed in a nearby Annex Building. Another MTCC is temporarily based at the hotel.
The Public Attorney’s Office Regional Office and Iloilo City District Offices 1 and 2 transferred to the Casa Real de Iloilo, while the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office relocated to the Iloilo Sports Complex.
Only five RTCs, three MTCCs and the DOJ were reported to remain on four floors of the old Hall of Justice earlier this year.
After a magnitude-4.8 earthquake on March 2, an internal inspection found no additional damage, although the building’s management also sought a separate structural assessment from the Department of Public Works and Highways Regional Office 6.
The structural concerns have compounded operational problems confronting prosecutors, who have also been dealing with heavy caseloads, cramped offices and limited resources. The DOJ earlier identified inadequate facilities as a potential obstacle to efforts to reduce case backlogs and strengthen prosecution capacity.
JUSTICE UNDER ONE ROOF
The San Pedro, Molo complex would therefore do more than replace aging facilities. It would bring judicial and prosecution offices closer together after years of operating from scattered locations.
Iloilo City’s Mayor Raisa Treñas led the signing of the Deed of Donation and Memorandum of Agreement with Vida and Supreme Court Court Administrator Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta yesterday.
Vida said the project represents a major step toward making the justice system more accessible and efficient.
“We gratefully accept this donation, not only as a valuable contribution of land but as a profound expression of the city’s commitment to the rule of law, bringing justice closer to the people,” Vida said.
“We envision the Iloilo Justice Complex as more than a collection of offices. It represents our shared aspiration to create a better, accessible, and integrated environment where multiple institutions can work together efficiently, and where the public can obtain justice with greater ease and confidence,” he added.
Vida described the city’s donation as a “vault of confidence” in the DOJ and the men and women working in the justice system.
“This donation demonstrates that the pursuit of justice is not the responsibility of one institution alone. It is a shared undertaking that calls for the cooperation of the national government, the LGUs, the judiciary, the prosecution, the legal profession, and ultimately, the community,” he added.
Treñas said providing a permanent home for the city’s justice institutions was among the decisions she was proud of.
“Justice may be invisible but it is very essential. You cannot touch justice. You cannot hold it in your hands. But it is the invisible concrete upon which every stable society is built. Without justice, even the grandest infrastructure will eventually crumble. Without justice, economic growth is just a hollow promise if it leaves the vulnerable behind. And so it is clear to me, that our decision and choice to give you a permanent space in our City is one of the decisions I am proud of,” said Mayor Treñas.
“Today, we are not simply signing a Deed of Donation, but to affirm a shared commitment to strengthening the institutions that safeguard justice, uphold the rule of law, and serve the Filipino people. The City Government is proud to donate a total of 7,000 square meters of city-owned property in Barangay San Pedro, Molo, which will become the site of the new Hall of Justice and the Prosecution Complex,” Treñas added.
The signing was witnessed by former mayor Jerry Treñas, Region 6 Court Manager Judge Jennie Ann T. Logronio, Regional State Prosecutor Louie L. Doligosa, Senior Assistant Regional Prosecutor Cedric Jaranilla, City Legal Officer Atty. Joseph Edward P. Areño, City Administrator Melchour Tan, department heads and other guests./PN
