SC eyes building disaster-resilient halls of justice

THE Supreme Court is seriously considering using the probabilistic risk assessment maps of Project Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) for future infrastructure developments to guarantee the safety and resilience of courts against natural disasters.

Once finalized, the Supreme Court, through the Committee on Sustainability and Environmental Concerns Committee led by its chairman Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, will be assisted by Dr. Mahar Lagmay of the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute and Project NOAH.

This potential collaboration was put forward in a meeting held this week at the En Banc Session Hall of the Supreme Court in Ermita, Manila where the Committee discussed Climate Change Science and Climate Projections in the Philippines.

The high court said this will help ensure that policies regarding infrastructure projects are based on comprehensive risk assessments, ultimately leading to more disaster-resilient and sustainable Halls of Justice.

During the meeting, Dr. Lagmay presented Project NOAH's official website that uses predictive risk assessment to map hazards and natural disasters, such as flooding, landslides, and earthquakes.

Lagmay noted that while government maps use historical risk assessment based on past occurrences, Project NOAH uses probability assessment drawn from climate change data, among others.

The Supreme Court Committee will eventually make a proposal that Project NOAH be used as a guide for administrative decisions on sitting halls of justice.