PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ricardo Ma P. G. Ongkiko, John Christian Joy A. Regalado and Ma Patricia B. Paz-Jacoba, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan SyCipLaw Center 105 Paseo de Roxas Makati City 1229 Metro Manila Philippines
Tel: +63 2 8982 3500 Fax: +63 2 8848 2030 Email: sshg@syciplaw.com Web: www.syciplaw.com
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
Resolution Center, Inc (PDRCI) is used the most for other commercial disputes. Under Philippine construction arbitration law, the CIAC has original and exclusive jurisdiction over dis - putes arising from, or connected with, construction contracts in the Philippines where the parties have agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration. Naming another arbitration institution or body does not remove CIAC jurisdiction over construction disputes; a party may still submit a qualifying construction dispute to CIAC arbitration notwithstanding that reference. The PDRCI, on the other hand, is the most established arbitration institution in the country for commercial disputes, having been founded in 1996. Philippine advocates and practitioners also promote the use of the Philippine International Center for Con - flict Resolution (PICCR), which was established in 2019 by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). 1.4 National Courts There are no specific courts in the Philippines that are designated to hear disputes related to interna - tional arbitrations and/or domestic arbitrations. The regional trial courts, which are the regular trial courts in the Philippines, have original jurisdiction over peti - tions relating to arbitration under the Special Rules of Court on Alternative Dispute Resolution (the “Special ADR Rules”).
There has been a continual rise in the use of inter - national arbitration to resolve disputes in the Philip - pines, in line with the public policy of favouring arbitra - tion and increasing efforts to incorporate arbitration agreements in commercial contracts. While disputes between only domestic parties are still largely resolved through court litigation, there is now a preference to resort to international arbitration in matters involving foreign counterparties or transactions with an off - shore element, in the interests of expeditiousness, predictability and ensuring minimal court intervention. International arbitration results from a combination of being the selected mode of dispute resolution (where there is a foreign counterparty) and in relation to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. 1.2 Key Industries There does not appear to be any particular indus - try that has experienced a significant increase or decrease in international arbitration activity in recent years. Although there was a slowdown in international arbitration in the Philippines at the beginning of the pandemic, probably owing to economic uncertainty, international arbitration activity has since normalised, and even improved. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions Among domestic arbitration institutions, the one most used for international arbitration involving construc - tion disputes is the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC). However, the Philippine Dispute
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