The Philippine Institute of Arbitrators (PIArb) recently held a seminar entitled “Commercial Mediation: An Introduction”, which was held at the SyCipLaw Center in Makati City. More than 60 legal practitioners, business professionals, government employees, and law students attended the event.
In her keynote message, Solicitor General Darlene Marie B. Berberabe expressed support for further developing and promoting arbitration and commercial mediation as a means for resolving disputes among contending parties, harkening back to a time when arbitration was woven into the fabric of our Filipino way of life. She further envisioned mediation as becoming the preferred mode to resolve commercial disputes in the future, especially so once the Singapore Convention is completed and ratified, stating “the ratification of the Singapore Convention will boost commercial disputes being brought to mediation which would in turn infuse demand for mediators and counsels that will facilitate mediation.”
The Singapore Convention is a multilateral treaty providing for a uniform framework for the enforcement and invocation of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation.
The first part of the panel discussion provided an overview of the commercial mediation landscape in the Philippines. The panelists consisted of Mia Theresa Corpus, Executive Director of The Conflict Resolution Group Foundation, Ma. Zenaida Ongkiko-Acorda, Partner at Custodio Acorda Sicam De Castro Brillantes & Hizon Law Offices, Ma. Araceli Habaradas, Faculty Member of Ateneo de Manila – School of Law, and Vilmi Sanchez-Quipit, Accredited Court Mediator. The discussion was moderated by Kristine Bongcaron, Partner at Martinez Vergara & Gonzales Sociedad. The panel shared insights on the development of mediation as a key practice in the Philippines while proposing ways to accelerate its use for resolving disputes moving forward.
The second part of the event saw Dr. Camera Ford, Independent Arbitrator and Dr. Mark McLaughlin, Global Visiting Assistant Professor of Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy, both elaborate on the key provisions of The Singapore Convention on Mediation. The discussion was moderated by SyCipLaw Special Counsel Austin Claude S. Alcantara. The discussions touched on the potential impact of The Singapore Convention on business and the economy in the event the convention is ratified in the Philippines.
SyCipLaw Partner John Regalado, in his remarks, encouraged lawyers to continue to “study, train and become experts in commercial mediation.” He expresses hope in commercial mediation being at par with litigation and at some point, become the preferred choice for dispute resolution in the Philippines.