CJ Bersamin shared that the Supreme Court proposed to build several buildings on the lot, and the most important of which are alternative Halls of Justice “for when Manila will be hit by a disaster, we could come here and escape.” He also said that this Regional Center will house a fully functioning Supreme Court and each of the three-level courts would have premises of their own. Another notable feature of this Regional Center is the Archives Center, which CJ Bersamin said was something the Judiciary has needed for years. It will also be home to another training center for judges and employees.
The Chief Justice mentioned that although the Judiciary is a co-equal branch of government, it does not have as much resources as the other branches of government and thus appreciates the support and generosity from local government units and national government agencies. He thanked BCDA President and CEO “Vince” Dizon who wasted no time from their first meeting in May of this year when they first invited Supreme Court Officials to do an ocular, to breaking ground in just a matter of months. CJ Bersamin took notice of how all the plans were quickly realized and was thankful it happened weeks before his compulsory retirement.
On July 4, 2019, the Supreme Court, through Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, and BCDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the allocation of this 5.8-hectare area inside the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) in New Clark City for the use of the Judiciary.
After the groundbreaking ceremony, BCDA President and CEO Dizon gave Supreme Court officials a tour of the NGAC and the facilities to be used for the Southeast Asian Games. (Photo and caption courtesy of the Public Information Office)