PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Leland R Villadolid J, Gilberto D Gallos, Antonio Jose Gerardo T Paz and Leo Frederick Z Cruz, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRALAW)
In the exercise of their appellate jurisdiction, RTCs and the Court of Appeals may review both questions of fact and law. On the other hand, only pure questions of law may be entertained on appeal by the Supreme Court. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal Other than the payment of the filing fees and com- pliance with the formal requirements for an appeal stated in the Rules of Court, appellate courts gener- ally do not impose conditions for granting an appeal. Decisions on whether to grant or deny an appeal are based on the merits of the case. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing Appellate courts have the power to affirm, set aside, reverse or modify (wholly or partially) the appealed decision to correct errors of judgement by the low- er court. The appellate court also has the power to remand the case to the trial court for the continuation of litigation and reception of further evidence. 11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation Generally, each party bears its own costs of litiga- tion. Parties may, however, stipulate in their contract the amount of recoverable attorney’s fees in the case of litigation. In the absence of such a stipulation, a party may still recover attorney’s fees and litigation • the defendant’s act or omission has compelled the plaintiff to litigate with third persons or to incur expenses to protect their interest; • a clearly unfounded civil action or proceeding against the plaintiff is brought; or • the defendant acted in gross and evident bad faith in refusing to satisfy the plaintiff’s plainly valid, just and demandable claim. Courts are likewise authorised to award attorney’s fees based on analogous grounds, if they find that it expenses when (among other things): • exemplary damages are awarded;
is just and equitable that attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation should be recovered by the claimant. 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs Courts only consider costs actually incurred, and duly substantiated, in determining the amount that may be awarded as attorney’s fees and litigation expenses. In practice, however, regardless of the amount request- ed or substantiated, courts only award a relatively insignificant amount by way of attorney’s fees and litigation expenses. 11.3 Interest Awarded on Costs Interest is generally not imputed to costs of a suit. 12. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is highly encour- aged by the State and the Supreme Court. In recent years, resorting to ADR (especially arbitration) has become increasingly common. In certain industries, ADR has become the primary mode by which disputes are resolved. For example, in the construction industry, most disputes are referred to arbitration before the Construction Industry Arbitra- tion Commission (CIAC), which the law provides as an available forum for ADR even if a different forum is stipulated in the construction contract. More commercial disputes are also now being referred for arbitration to (among others): • the Singapore International Arbitration Centre; • the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre; and • the International Chamber of Commerce’s Interna- tional Court of Arbitration. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System In ordinary civil cases, resorting to ADR is made man- datory by the Rules of Court as part of regular pro- cedure.
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