Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Philippines

Wave of the Future or the Road Less Travelled?

Martha Lois V. Cordia
REACTION PAPER

In the article by Martha Lois V. Cordia, the advantages of Alternative Dispute Resolution was well
discussed which includes part autonomy, speed and cost, privacy and confidentiality, and awards are final
and binding. I agree with the enumerations made by the author, more specifically with the speed and cost
advantage of Alternative Dispute Resolution as compared to court litigation. It cannot be denied that most
of the court litigations here in the Philippines take years before it reaches a decision. With the length of
time of court litigation, the parties sometimes lose hope that they would ever come to a court decision due
to number of delays, suspensions, extensions, motions, and other actions that make litigations
considerably longer.
It has become common to hear people let go of cases which they plan to file with the court but
then they decide not to pursue it anyway because of the long period of trial, together with the attorneys
fees, filing charges and other costs that comes with it. Also, litigations are public so it is inevitable that
people, other than the parties involved, might become intrusions to the parties who might want to keep it
low key or quiet. They would often think that court litigation would not be worth it with all the hassle, stress
and expenses. It often crossed my mind that letting go of disputes or conflicts, without having to resolve it,
just because of the hassle of litigation is an injustice to those aggrieved parties.
Having these thoughts, I strongly support Alternative Dispute Resolution such as arbitration,
mediation and conciliation. It gives the parties a chance to settle their conflicts without the hassle of court
litigation. People who would not want to go to court litigation due to the costs, period and hassle can
resort to an Alternative Dispute Resolution to reach a settlement wherein both parties would benefit.
However, the fact that Alternative Dispute Resolution here in the Philippines is still new should
also be considered, since Republic Act 9285 was just implemented in 2004. The methods on Alternative
Dispute Resolution should still be explored for it to be implemented well. Alternative Dispute Resolution,
as I see it, has a lot of potential to spread in our country as a way to conduct conflict settlements.
Therefore, I consider it as the wave of the future.