MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has received 25 hectares of land from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in Bambang, Bulacan that will serve as the new site of the judicial complex.
In a media interview on Friday, Justice Jose Midas Marquez said the Bulacan property is bigger that an area in Taguig City where the SC initially planned to build the complex.
The SC is hoping to start the construction by 2025.
The property is part of the concession agreement between the government through the DOTr and San Miguel Aerocity, Inc. (SMAI), where the latter will donate 100 hectares to the government to comprise the Government Center Land Area in Bulacan.
The high court entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the DOTR and SMAI on September 19.
Under the MOA, the DOTr shall transfer the property allocated to the Supreme Court.
The state-of-the-art judicial complex will house the SC, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan and Court of Tax Appeals.
Meanwhile, Justice Jose Midas Marquez confirmed that the long-awaited Manila City Hall of Justice will start construction by the first quarter of 2025.
The multi-story edifice will house more than 80 regional trial courts and up to 30 metropolitan trial courts that are currently spread out in Manila City Hall, the old Ombudsman building, and the former Masagana Complex along Kalaw Street, also in Manila. (PNA)