SUPREME Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa yesterday underscored the need for mediation as an alternative mode of dispute resolution to decongest court dockets.
Caguioa made the call in his keynote address at the 6th ASEAN Mediation Association Conference which the High Court is hosting at Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City.
“For its part, the judiciary has also taken significant steps in affirming the distinct value of alternative modes of dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration, in the efforts to prevent the unnecessary clogging of court dockets and the consequent bogging down of the administration of justice,” Caguioa said before an audience of mediators, arbitrators, adjudicators, dispute resolution experts, lawyers and members of the academe.
Mediation is defined by the National Center for Mediation as a process where a third neutral party, or the mediator, facilitates the negotiation between parties or disputants to resolve a conflict or case.
Alternative dispute resolution, on the other hand, refers to procedures used to address or resolve disputes without court adjudication.
In his speech, Caguioa also mentioned the cooperation between the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc (PDRC). and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) which will enable PCA meetings and hearings to be held at the PDRC’s facilities in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, as well as PDRC meetings and hearings at the PCA premises in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
It was the PCA in Netherlands that the Philippines brought its arbitral case in 2013 against China, challenging the latter’s expansive claim in the South China Sea, including the parts claimed by Manila as its own and renamed West Philippine Sea. The PCA ruled in favor of the Philippines in 2016.
“This is a most welcome development that promotes the Philippines as a preferred arbitral forum, aids in savings in terms of resources, as well as helps in the building of capacities of local arbitration institutions and practitioners,” Caguioa said.
He noted the 2021 ruling of the SC in the case of Global Medical Center of Laguna v. Ross Systems International wherein the magistrates empowered and enabled the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) to “address issues related to the settlement of technical construction disputes.”
Caguioa said mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution could even be used to resolve conflict among nation-states.
“We cannot forget that mediation and other forms of dispute resolution have the power to transform the brute force of conflicts into pliable situation that are brought to heel by reason, compromise, and mutual empathy,” he said.
Philippine Judicial Academy Chancellor Rosmari Carandang echoed Caguioa’s remarks and said that mediation reflects the desire of parties in a dispute or case to settle it in harmony.
“In mediation, we find a way to not only resolve disputes, but also to strengthen the bond of cooperation, respect and understanding among people, communities and nations,” Carandang said.
She likewise stressed the need for innovative approaches to mediation and alternative dispute resolution to ensure justice systems remain accessible, efficient, and equitable.
She also highlighted key areas such as family mediation, cross-cultural justice, environmental disputes, and the integration of artificial intelligence, stressing the transformative power of mediation, which she said, “reflects humanity’s collective desire for harmony in a world where conflicts are inevitable.”
The event’s guest of honor was First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, a lawyer by profession, who underscored the conference’s significance in advancing the Philippine judiciary’s goals of making justice more accessible through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
