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
However, at any time before arbitration is commenced, or before the arbitral tribunal is constituted, any per - son who desires to perpetuate their testimony or that of another person may do so in accordance with Rule 24 of the Rules of Court in the Philippines. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion Arbitrators have the power to issue subpoenas to compel: • the production of documents, where relevant and material to the case; and • the attendance of any person at a hearing as a wit - ness. However, Philippine law neither expressly grants arbitrators contempt powers nor recognises that they have inherent contempt powers. Arbitrators (or a party, with the arbitrators’ approval) may therefore apply to the proper court for a subpoena to assist in the evidence-taking process, as discussed in 8.1 Col- lection and Submission of Evidence . The ADR Act provides that arbitration proceedings (including the records, evidence and arbitral award) will be considered confidential and should not gener - ally be published, except: • with the parties’ consent; or • for the limited purpose of disclosing relevant docu - ments to the court in cases where resorting to court is allowed. However, these exceptions do not include information containing secret processes, developments, research and other sensitive matters (eg, business or trade secrets) if there is evidence that the applicant will be materially prejudiced by authorising the disclosure of such information. 9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality Under the Special ADR Rules, any person, counsel or witness who disclosed or who was compelled to disclose information related to the subject of the arbi - tration in circumstances where one might reasonably
expect the information to be kept confidential may file a petition with the regional trial court for a protective order to: • prohibit the confidential information from being divulged; or • suppress the confidential information unless writ - ten consent is obtained from the source or the party who made the disclosure.
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
Philippine law requires the arbitral award to be in writing and signed by either the sole arbitrator or the majority of arbitrators in the arbitral tribunal, with a statement outlining the reason for any omitted sig - nature. The arbitral award must state the reasons upon which it is based, unless the parties have agreed otherwise or the award is based on agreed terms. The arbitral award must also state the date of the award and the place of arbitration. Copies of the signed award must be delivered to each party. For domestic arbitration under RA 876, unless the par - ties agree in writing to a different period, the arbitra - tors are mandated to render the written award within 30 days after the close of the hearings or proceedings in lieu of a hearing; the parties may extend that period by mutual consent. The Model Law regime for inter - national commercial arbitration does not prescribe a general time limit for rendering the award, although the parties’ agreement or applicable institutional rules may do so. 10.2 Types of Remedies There are no limits on the types of remedies that an arbitral tribunal may award, as long as they may be granted: • under the rules of law as chosen by the parties to be applicable to the substance of the dispute; • under the rules of law determined by the conflict of laws rules, if the parties have failed to designate the applicable law;
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