Philippine Mediation Prospects and Overview

By: Adolfo S. Azcuna

How is it funded?

It is funded primarily through the SC-PHILJA-PMC Mediation

Trust Fund which accrues from the mediation fees that are
collected pursuant to Section 9, Rule 141, as amended, of the
Rules of Court.

Mediation fees are collected by the clerks of court of the

first- and second level-trial courts upon the filing of a complaint/
information/petition and other pleadings (answer with a
mediatable permissive counterclaim or cross-claim, complaint-in-
intervention, third party complaint, etc.) for covered cases.
(500)

Mediation fees are also collected by the clerks of court of the

first level courts upon filing of a Notice of Appeal with the RTC; by
the COC of the RTC upon the filing of a Notice of Appeal with the
CA or Sandiganbayan. The clerks of court of the CA and CTA also
collect mediation fees upon filing of a mediatable case, petition,
special civil action, or comment/answer to the petition or action,
and the appellee's brief.

The SC-PHILJA-PMC Trust Fund is utilized for the promotion

of CAM and other relevant modes of ADR, establishment of PMC
units, training of mediators, payment of mediator's fees and
compensation of PMC unit staff, and operating expenses of PMC
units. It is being managed by PHILJA subject to accounting and
auditing rules and regulations.

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How is it organized? No. of field units,

The PMC units are organized as deemed necessary

throughout the country by the PMC, which is under the direction
and management of PHILJA, in coordination with the Office of the
Court Administrator, through the Executive Judges in the
concerned areas.

PMCO typically conducts a one-day advocacy forum in the

court station where a PMC unit is to be established and where
mediation is to be introduced. Stakeholders are given basic
knowledge of mediation and the courts, including the court-
annexed mediation program. It is followed by a recruitment of
prospective mediators, who will then attend a basic mediation
course and will go through an internship program in the courts
where the PMC unit is to be established. While these are being
done, PMC coordinates with OCA and the EJs for the set-up of the
PMC unit office.

As of December 31, 2016, there are:

134 PMC units (in 28 provinces/cities of Luzon, 14

provinces/cities of the Visayas, and 15 provinces/cities in
Mindanao)
1 MCAM unit (Rizal)
45 JDR SITES
3 ACM UNITS

> no. of mediators, per cent of nationwide coverage.

726 CAM mediators

81 appellate court mediators
1,147 JDR-trained judges

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 In terms of coverage nationwide, as of December 31, 2016,
we have already reached 90% of the courts in the country for
CAM (1,840 court branches out of 2,038 branches nationwide;
although NOTE that we assume that all courts in a province would
avail of the service or will refer cases for CAM whenever we
establish a PMC unit in a province, but in reality, some courts are
located remotely from the actual PMC units established; hence, in
some instances, it may be more costly for some litigants to go
the PMC units.

Insofar as JDR is concerned, we have covered 61% of all

courts in the country (1,244 branches out of 2,038).

Training programs.

1. For CAM
- Orientation Conference with Stakeholders on Court-
Annexed Mediation
- Basic Mediation Program on CAM (intended for prospective
CAM mediators)
- Pre-Internship Orientation and Internship Period for
prospective CAM mediators (handling of actual cases, with
mentorship from an experienced mediator; orientation of
judges and clerks of courts and branch clerks on their role)
- Refresher/Advanced Course for CAM mediators (a pre-
requisite for the renewal of their accreditation)

2. For JDR
- Judicial Settlement Conference on Judicial Dispute
Resolution (for prospective JDR judges)
- Internship period for JDR (selection and mediation of
mediatable cases not settled in CAM, by JDR judges)

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 - Orientation of Clerks of Court, Branch Clerks of Court,
Public Prosecutors, Public Attorneys, and Law Practitioners
(explains court diversion of cases, JDR, and their role)

3. For ACM and CTA

- Skills-Building Workshop for Appellate Court Mediation (CA
and CTA)
- Internship Program for Prospective ACM mediators

4. For PMC Unit Staff

- Work Orientation and Skills Enhancement Seminar for PMC
Unit Staff

5. Specialized Mediation Programs (e.g., for family mediation,

environment mediation, etc., as needed)

> Monitoring and grievances mechanism.

With respect to training, the PMC monitors all its training

programs through a feedback mechanism that is undertaken
during or right after every training activity.

With respect to the outcome of mediation, the PMC gathers

statistical data through the reports that are submitted by the PMC
units. PMC is able to generate monthly and yearly reports of the
number of civil and criminal cases that are referred by the courts
to the PMC unit; cases that are actually mediated; and cases that
have successfully reached settlement via CAM and those that are
returned to court for failed mediation within the specified period.

The PMC has a Grievance Committee that is aimed at

addressing complaints against mediators and PMC unit staff.
Complaints that require the conduct of an in-depth investigation

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are recommended by the PMCO Chief to the PHILJA Chancellor for
referral to the Grievance Committee.

How has it fared so far? Statistics over the years.

As of December 31, 2016, the PMC units nationwide have

successfully mediated 226,892 cases out of 627,496 referred
cases, of which 364,516 cases were mediated, with a success
rate of 62.24%; 1,195 settled cases out 8,989 referred cases for
ACM, of which 3,703 cases were mediated, with a success rate of
32.27%; 21,850 settled cases out of 120,371 referred cases for
JDR, of which 61,527 cases were mediated, with a success rate of
35.51%; and 11,769 successfully mediated cases through MCAM,
out of 13,003 cases mediated, with a success rate of 91.51%.

> Guidelines, amended Guidelines.

Present guidelines: Consolidated and Revised Guidelines to

Implement the Expanded Coverage of Court-Annexed Mediation
(CAM) and Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR) [A.M. No. 11-1-6-
SC-PHILJA]

Note: With support from ABA-ROLI, PHILJA-PMCO will

review and revise the existing guidelines to be able to address
issues and concerns that are arising from its implementation and
practice.

> The AMA membership.

We are a member of the Asian Mediation Association (AMA),

which started in 2007. AMA aims to promote the use and
development of mediation in Asia and the rest of the world
through strengthening members' cooperation and association.
The other AMA members include mediation centers from Hong

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Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, India, Japan,
Mongolia, and Thailand.

The Philippines will host the AMA conference in 2020.

The future- transfer to OCA? Impact of CT.

PMC is currently going through an assessment of its mission,

vision and goals and mapping of its organizational directions.
There is a realization that PMC is not only a training institution,
but is also a management organization that implements and
closely monitors the performance of the various PMC units
nationwide as well as the outcome of mediation on the ground.
PMC also heavily collaborates with the court personnel and judges
of the lower courts in ensuring the success of its programs. There
are thus some ideas about transferring PMCO from PHILJA (the
training arm of the Supreme Court) to the Office of the Court
Administrator (administration of the lower courts); or to make
PMC as an independent body that is directly under the Office of
the Chief Justice or an adjunct body because of its hybrid
composition (training of mediators who are not court personnel
and administration of PMC units that are not really part of the
existing lower court structure). There are also issues about the
need to regularize the currently contracted PMC unit staff. This
matter is being addressed with the constant collaboration and
discussion with PHILJA, OCA, and other relevant offices of the
Supreme Court.

A draft Continuous Trial Guidelines is being discussed by the

Supreme Court. The CT guidelines are meant to speed up the trial
of criminal cases by the lower courts. It affects the work of the
PMC because the draft now seeks to: (1) limit the mandatory
referral of criminal cases to PMC units for mediation of its civil
aspects to just 4 types of cases cases where payment

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extinguishes criminal liability like BP 22 cases. criminal
negligence, estafa under Art. 315(1), and crimes against honor;
(2) make referral after the completion of pre-trial; and (3) limit
the mediation period to an unextendible 30 days from the date of
receipt by the PMC unit of such referral. Furthermore, should
there be failure to mediate the civil aspects of the criminal case
via CAM, the case will proceed immediately to trial without going
through JDR.

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