Thursday, May 21, 2015

Poor condition of the hall of justice of Pasay city; suggestions.




LAS PINAS  CITY BAR ASSOCIATION
Unit 15, Star Arcade, C.V. Starr Avenue, Philamlife Village
Las Pinas City 1740 Philippines
Tel/Fax: (63 2) 8725443 & 8462539; Mobile: (63) 943 3425978
Email: lcmlaw@gmail.com; cc: mjlasernajr@gmail.com
URL: http://lcmlaw1.blogspot.com; http://www.twitter.com/lcmlaw_ph;
http://www.facebook.com/lasernacuevamercaderlawoffices


May 2,1 2015
Registered Mail

HON. ANTONIO CALIXTO
City Mayor – Pasay City
City Hall, Harrison St.
Pasay City

RE    :        
OBSERVATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS RE: THE 
POOR CONDITION OF THE PASAY CITY HALL OF JUSTICE

MABUHAY:

Greetings of peace!

May respectfully I offer my personal observations about the poor physical condition of your Hall of Justice, as a senior citizen-trial lawyer who practices law in your city:

1.      At the outset, we praise your leadership for completing the renovation of the 1st floor of your Hall of Justice.

2.    The poor physical condition of the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice aggravates the poor health, old age, chronic diseases and/or disabilities of senior citizens, pregnant women, children, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and other citizens doing legal business in your Hall of Justice.

3.    Your Hall of Justice has no elevator, even on a temporary or provisional basis to lessen the chronic health condition of Seniors, PWDs, et. al. visiting your Hall of Justice.

4.    The corridors of the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice are:



4.1.        Dark, dirty, crowded, stinky, dusty, inhabited by mites and insects (allergens to people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], like me), and
4.2.      Filled with old, dirty and broken materials, furniture, fixtures, and equipment which are spread in disarray.

5.     There are no electric fans on the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice, even on a temporary or provisional basis, to help the senior citizens (like me), PWDs, children, and pregnant women doing business in your Hall of Justice to breath well and comfortably.

5.1.        They grasp for precious oxygen while waiting outside the courts to attend the trials/follow-ups of their pending cases or clearances and other judicial transactions.

6.    The corridors on the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice have no ventilation at all which exacerbate the chronic respiratory diseases of  senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women, and other citizens doing business in your Hall of Justice.

7.     There are no sufficient lights on the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice, even on temporary or provisional basis, to illuminate the poor vision of the senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women, and other citizens doing business in your Hall of Justice, i.e., reading the trial calendars, reviewing their personal case records outside the courtrooms prior to the hearings, and the like.

8.    There are no decent benches at the main lobby of your Hall of Justice where the senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women, and other citizens can comfortably sit, wait and relax during 12:00 Pm–1:00 PM lunch break at your Hall of Justice while waiting for the 1:00 PM signal of the guards to be allowed to come up to the courts using the steep, dirty, dusty and old stairs of the Hall of Justice.

May I respectfully pray the you swiftly remedy the foregoing issues/concerns of the senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women and ordinary citizens doing business in your Hall of Justice by taking the following urgent/provisional/interim actions/measures while the much-delayed complete renovation of your Hall of Justice is still pending/unfunded:

1.      Immediate installation of a provisional/temporary ELEVATOR for the convenience and protection of the senior citizens, PWDs, children, and pregnant women doing business in your Hall of Justice.

2.    Daily VACUUM CLEANING of the corridors on the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice to remove the allergens, dusts, mites, and other dangerous and unseen insects that endanger the lungs and hearts of the senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women, and other citizens doing business in your Hall of Justice.

3.    Daily washing, mopping, cleaning and polishing with floor wax and deodorant liquids of the dark, dirty, stinky, and dusty floors and walls of the corridors of the 2nd and 3rd floors  of your Hall of Justice.

4.    Immediate removal and transfer of the useless, broken, unused and unserviceable materials, furniture, fixtures, and equipment stored along the dark, dusty and dirty corridors of the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice to your external/sub-contracted warehouses/storage buildings.

5.     Weekly spray of insecticides on the dirty, stinky and dusty corridors of the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice.

6.    Installation of a sufficient number high-capacity provisional/temporary EXHAUST FANS that will suck out the bad, dead and sickly air from the dirty and dusty corridors of the 2nd and 3rd floors of your Hall of Justice to protect the lungs of the senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women, and other citizens doing business in your Hall of Justice.

7.     Creation of a task force/committee composed of your planning, engineering, and finance personnel (and representatives from the local courts, the local chief city prosecutor’s office, and the local public attorneys office – who are the pillars of your local criminal justice system).

7.1.          The task force/committee shall implement continuing and effective provisional/temporary measures to improve your Hall of Justice while its much-delayed renovation is pending/unfunded for the sake of the health of the senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women, and other citizens doing business in your Hall of Justice.

8.    Request the City Vice Mayor and the City Council to give top priority to the annual and supplemental funding of the full/complete renovation of your Hall of Justice, or, at the least, the supplemental funding of the interim/provisional measures suggested above for the sake of the health of the senior citizens, PWDs, children, pregnant women, and other citizens doing business in your Hall of Justice.

With all due respect, may I humbly state that it is always a great physical suffering on my part to do business or try cases in your Hall of Justice for all of the reasons/observations stated above.

Hence, the abovecited suggestions.

I am furnishing copies of this Letter to the concerned Pasay City and Judicial officers/entities listed hereinbelow.

I hope they will take the initiative, as servants of the people, to remind and cooperate with your office on the implementation of the provisional/interim measures/suggestions enumerated hereinabove.

Thank you.


Sincerely,


Atty. MANUEL J. LASERNA JR.
Founder, Las Pinas Bar Ass’n, 2001.
Consultant, Las Pinas Cit Bar Ass’n
Dir., Sec., & VP, IBP PPLM Ch., 1995-2007
Prof. of Law, FEU Inst. Of Law, 1985-2006
3rd Placer, 1984 Bar Exams, 90.95%
Partner, LASERNA CUEVA-MERCADER Law Offices

Cc:

EXECUTIVE JUDGE
Regional Trial Court
Hall of Justice
Pasay City Hall
Harrison St., Pasay City
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO



OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT
Regional Trial Court
Hall of Justice
Pasay City Hall
Harrison St., Pasay City
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO

INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILS. –
PASAY PARANAQUE LAS PINAS
MUNTINLUPA CHAPTER
2nd Floor, Pasay City Hall
Harrison St., Pasay City
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO

HON. CITY VICE MAYOR
Pasay City Legislative Council
(Sangguniang Panglunsod)
Pasay City Hall, Harrison St.
Pasay City
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO

HON. CITY ENGINEER
Pasay City Hall
Harrison St., Pasay City
Reg. Rec. No.
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO

HON. COURT ADMINISTRATOR
SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILS.
Padre Faura St., Ermita, Manila
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO

HON. CHIEF CITY PROSECUTOR
Office of the Chief City Prosecutor
Pasay City Hall
Harrison St., Pasay City
Reg. Rec. No.
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO



HON. CHIEF CITY PUBLIC ATTORNEY
Public Attorneys Office (PAO)
Pasay City Hall
Harrison St., Pasay City
Reg. Rec. No.
          Reg. Rec. No.
          Date                     PO