The Cebu Provincial Government allocated P150 million this year for the first phase of a multi-year, P200 million to P400 million rehabilitation of the Marcelo Fernan Palace of Justice.
Provincial Administrator Joseph Felix Mari "Ace" Durano stated the Provincial Legal Office is establishing a new management arrangement with the DOJ, which originally built the facility on province-owned land.
The project restores a structure abandoned after the 2013 earthquake, intending to house the Court of Appeals and relocate crowded Capitol offices like the Provincial Tourism Office.
THE Cebu Provincial Government has earmarked P150 million this year to start rehabilitating the Marcelo Fernan Palace of Justice, a multi-year project aimed at housing the Court of Appeals (CA) and easing office congestion inside the Capitol.
Provincial Administrator Joseph Felix Mari “Ace” Durano said on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, that the funding from the development fund will cover the initial phase of the rehabilitation, with additional allocations expected in the succeeding years.
The Capitol plans to make at least part of the building operational before the term of Gov. Pamela Baricuatro ends.
Durano said the building had already passed a structural assessment, paving the way for the Provincial Government to move forward with the restoration project.
The Marcelo Fernan Palace of Justice was abandoned after the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2013. The Department of Justice (DOJ) had constructed the facility on province-owned land.
“If we go to the legalities of it, any improvements on a property, at the end of the day, that improvement will belong to the property owner. But it is partly just out of courtesy as another agency of the government,” Durano said.
“We just need a new arrangement with them on how we will manage it, since the Provincial Government will now spend to rehabilitate it,” he added.
Multi-year funding
The Provincial Legal Office has been communicating with the DOJ since last year regarding the management arrangement for the property.
Durano said the rehabilitation cost is estimated at P200 million to P400 million, making it impossible to complete the project within a year.
“It’s a multi-year funding. Clearly, it cannot be finished this year. We will start this year, then next year, we will allocate another budget,” Durano said.
Once rehabilitated, the building will serve as the future site of the CA, which Durano said would improve service efficiency for Cebuanos.
The transfer will also free up space inside the Capitol, where several offices continue to operate without permanent work areas.
Among the offices expected to relocate are the Barangay Affairs Office, the Provincial Sports Commission, the Investment Promotions Office and the Provincial Tourism Office.
The Capitol also plans to convert the current Provincial Tourism Office into a Rural Health Unit and clinic for employees and the public once the transfer is completed.
Durano said the rehabilitation project is expected to address long-standing space limitations while restoring one of the Province’s major government structures damaged by the 2013 earthquake. / CDF