According to a report in this newspaper, the Supreme Court has approved the conceptual design for the new Cebu City Hall of Justice, with actual construction set to begin as early as next year.
Once completed, it will house the Court of Appeals-Visayas Station as well as the first-and second-level trial courts here.
Judiciary authorities are now busy working out getting consultancy services for the architectural and engineering design of the new building.
To that we say: it’s about time. A premier city like Cebu should have its own Hall of Justice and not be renting from a structure that was designed and built for another purpose entirely. Not to mention a building that also saw damage during the recent earthquake centered in Bogo City.
As one of this newspaper’s columnists, who happens to be a lawyer, opined: “The physical environment of a court building is not merely incidental; it is a key part of the justice system itself… The principles are the same: space influences behavior, productivity, and efficiency. If this matters in corporate spaces, it matters even more in the halls of justice.”
A building intentionally designed for the administration of justice would be more suitable for the administration of justice than any other type of building. After years of being a tenant, finally having a new Hall of Justice would do the people of the legal profession here a justice
We cannot talk about the new Hall of Justice without talking about the old one. What do we do with that old building behind the Capitol?
If there is any way it can be saved then it should be. Not only is it a beautiful building in its own right, it has a lot of history behind it. Perhaps it can be turned into a museum, along the line of that discarded plan to turn the Capitol building itself into one.
But then again we might be putting our cart before the horse here. Of course, the building has to be strengthened, reinforced, and certified safe again for public use before we can even think of doing that. Then there is always the chance that that building can never be used again.