Leni Robredo, Supreme Court seal land donation for new Naga Hall of Justice
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo (center) leads the Supreme Court (SC) in the formal acceptance of the donation of land from the City Government of Naga during the Ceremonial Signing of the Deed of Donation held at the PAGCOR Multipurpose Event Center, Balatas Development Complex, Naga City, on October 30, 2026. With him are (from left): Executive Judge Pablo C. Formaran III of the Naga City Regional Trial Court, SC Associate Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez, SC Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, Former Vice President and Naga City Mayor Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta, and Naga City Legal Officer Atty. Angel R. Ojastro III. (Photo courtesy of the SC Communications Office)
The Supreme Court has formally accepted a 2,444-square-meter property donated by the Naga City government for the construction of a modern Hall of Justice aimed at improving access to judicial services in the city and surrounding municipalities.
Former Vice President and Naga City Mayor Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo and Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta signed the deed of donation on 30 October 2026 at the PAGCOR Multipurpose Event Center in the Balatas Development Complex.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo witnessed the signing alongside Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez, Naga City Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Pablo Formaran III and City Legal Officer Angel Ojastro III.
The donated property, located in Barangay Balatas, will serve as the site of a new Hall of Justice, replacing the existing facility within the Naga City Hall compound.
The project aims to provide improved court facilities and strengthen the delivery of judicial services to litigants in Naga City and nearby municipalities.
During the ceremony, Gesmundo emphasized that delivering justice requires cooperation among the judiciary, government institutions and communities.
He cited the Supreme Court's Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, which seeks to modernize court operations through digitalization and improved public access.
“Just a few cases in point: digital na ang case records natin, digital na rin ang pag-file ng kaso, at mas maayos na ang sistema natin para sa electronic na ebidensiya. Puwede nang i-GCash ang korte. May notaryo na sa internet. Sa tulong ng teknolohiya, mula Taft Avenue hanggang Tawi-Tawi, mas mabilis nang nakararating ang hustisya.”
Gesmundo also recognized Leonen's role in advancing judicial digitalization and Marquez's efforts to secure funding for courthouse improvements.
However, the chief justice stressed that modern facilities alone would not guarantee justice.
“Let service be the heart of all we do. Someday a Hall of Justice will stand here; but in the end it will still be only glass, and concrete, and steel. What will earn it its name is the work it will do, the kind of justice it will dispense, the quality of service it will deliver.”
Leonen, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of protecting vulnerable litigants and strengthening public confidence in the courts.
“[Public trust] belongs first to those who need the rule of law most, because they have the least: the poorest litigant in the farthest station. The measure of our courts is not whether the powerful can predict it, but whether she can rely on it.”
The new Hall of Justice forms part of the judiciary's efforts to modernize court infrastructure and make judicial services more accessible to the public.