It would not work as a new justice building if we kept the faCade because people would remember the game-fixing and the cheating, instead of the dignity that befits a hall of justice. It just wouldn't blend. You get a hall of justice and you get rid of a decaying part of Manila. Conservationists concur about the need to clean up the district, but argue that there was no need to pull down the building. The demolition was completely unnecessary.
Many people agree.
Columnist Harper would have liked to see the Jai Alai turned into a college or a modern-art gallery. The mayor thinks all this unfeasible. As the demolition team prepared to move in July 15 for 45 days of work, conservationists stepped up their efforts to save the building. They held demonstrations at the site and blitzed city hall with e-mails. Atienza was not convinced.