The Municipality of New Lucena has donated a 20,000-square-meter property in Barangay Guinobatan as the future site of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA).
The deed of donation was signed on Friday, Oct. 9, at the Iloilo Convention Center, with Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. serving as witness.
The signing was led by New Lucena Mayor Atty. Carl Vincent Mondejar, PHILJA Chancellor and retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Edgardo L. Delos Santos, and Court Administrator Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo graced the ceremony, which was attended by presiding and associate justices, Integrated Bar of the Philippines President Atty. Mehelinda A. Penetrante, trial judges from Iloilo, and regional court managers, among others.
PHILJA is the education and training institution of the Philippine Judiciary. Established under Republic Act No. 8557, it provides judicial education and training for justices, judges, court personnel, lawyers, and aspiring members of the Judiciary.
Its programs aim to strengthen legal knowledge, integrity, efficiency, and professional competence within the judicial system.
Defensor was accompanied by Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Dennis Ventilacion, League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Iloilo president and Badiangan Mayor Atty. Suzette Mamon, and Atty. Artem Raymundo of the Provincial Legal Office.
The ceremony also included a surprise birthday greeting for Defensor, who turned 57 on Friday.IMT
