The Manila Times

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A library, a foreign affairs office: The history of the SC building

Long before it became the seat of the Philippines' highest court, the neoclassical building on Padre Faura Street in Manila served as a university library and later a diplomatic office. On June 5, 2026, that layered history was officially recognized when the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) awarded the Supreme Court's New Building a historical marker — declaring it an Important Cultural Property protected from modification or demolition. Filipino architect Antonio Toledo designed the structure between 1928 and 1930 as the main library of the University of the Philippines (UP). When UP relocated to Diliman in 1949, the building passed to the Department of Foreign Affairs, which occupied it for over four decades. A renovation in 1991 transformed it into the Supreme Court's principal seat — the role it holds today. The NHCP marker also recounts the Court's own peripatetic history before it arrived at Padre Faura. Established on June 11, 1901 under Republic Act No. 136, with Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano as its first head, the Court originally held sessions at the Audiencia building in Intramuros. It later moved to the Ayuntamiento in 1938, then to the Budget Commission building in Malacañang after World War II destroyed the Ayuntamiento. For years afterward, it occupied Villamor Hall at UP Manila — now called the SC Old Building — before finally settling into its current home. With the NHCP designation, the Padre Faura building joins a select list of sites recognized for significant historical and cultural value, a status the commission grants only after evaluation by historians and other experts. Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo led the unveiling ceremony alongside five Associate Justices, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, NHCP officials, and University of the Philippines Manila Chancellor Dr. Michael Tee. A separate 125th Anniversary commemorative plaque — listing all Chief Justices who have served at the building since 1991 and the current members of the Court En Banc — was also unveiled at the same event. Associate Justice Raul B. Villanueva, speaking on behalf of the Court, framed the marker as proof that the institution outlasts the buildings it occupies. He reaffirmed the Court's independence and its constitutional mandate to check governmental power and protect individual rights. The ceremony is part of a wider series of events marking the Court's 125th anniversary under the theme "SC: 125 Years of Tradition and Innovation."

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