PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Leland R Villadolid Jr, Gilberto D Gallos, Antonio Jose Gerardo T Paz and Leo Frederick Z Cruz, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz
14.2 Growth Areas ADR, particularly arbitration, remains one of the main areas of growth for commercial disputes in the Philippines. Another main area of growth is improving access to justice, considering the rapid growth of the country’s digital economy. The International Trade Organization projected a 17% growth in the digital economy of the Philippines from 2021 through 2025. Notwithstanding, commercial activities and commercial disputes are still governed by regu- latory and procedural frameworks enacted well before the current state of the country’s digital economy. While the Supreme Court has taken steps to ensure easier access to justice using modern technology, there is still a long way to go towards regularising access to in-court and out-of-court remedies in commercial disputes, in a way that keeps up with the rapid growth of the country’s digital economy.
For international commercial arbitral awards, a petition for the recognition and enforcement of an international commercial arbitral award or for- eign arbitral award is required to be filed. Such petition may be filed at any time after receipt of the award. The RTCs have jurisdiction to hear petitions for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, whether domestic or foreign. 14. Outlook 14.1 Proposals for Dispute Resolution Reform Currently, the Supreme Court is deliberating on proposals to the Rules of Court as part of its Stra- tegic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022–2027 (SPJI). The Supreme Court has been vocal about the promotion of the use of ADR, which is as one of the projects under the SPJI. It is expected that more elements of ADR will be incorporated into regular court proceedings, encouraging litigants to resort to mediation, judicial dispute resolution and other forms of ADR in and out of court. This will hopefully expedite the resolution of disputes. There is likewise a proposal to make concilia- tion and arbitration prerequisites for filing court actions, which would help to not only promote ADR but also to de-clog court dockets.
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