The Supreme Court has ordered a five-day suspension of work in select courts in Iloilo City, Cebu City, Bogo City, and Roxas City from October 6 to 10 to allow structural and electrical engineers to inspect the Halls of Justice following last week’s 6.9-magnitude earthquake.
Under OCA Circular No. 291-2025, issued on October 4 by Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta, the suspension covers all first- and second-level courts in the affected areas. Acting Chief Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen authorized the measure after the tremor damaged parts of Cebu province and was felt across the Visayas.
During the suspension, courts will remain available on an on-call basis for urgent judicial action such as bail applications, release orders, petitions for habeas corpus, and marriage solemnization. Judges were also encouraged to conduct videoconferencing for time-sensitive proceedings such as arraignments and pre-trials to prevent delays. Executive and presiding judges were instructed to find alternative hearing venues and coordinate with their respective regional court managers.
Although Iloilo did not sustain major physical destruction reports comparable to Cebu, the knock-on effects-power outages, infrastructure stress, and concern over structural integrity-appear to have motivated precautionary action from the judiciary to protect court personnel and litigants.
The suspension of court work allows structural and electrical engineers to assess the safety of court buildings in Iloilo and other affected jurisdictions before normal operations resume. As of now, no reports have surfaced of major damage to court buildings in Iloilo City directly attributable to the quake. But the judicial branch’s move reflects a more conservative posture in response to regional seismic risk and the potential for latent structural vulnerabilities.
The September 30 earthquake killed at least 70 people, mostly in northern Cebu, and injured hundreds, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Hospitals in Cebu City were forced to evacuate patients to open grounds, while widespread brownouts hit Iloilo City shortly after the tremor struck. INQ