Mediate, don’t litigate

This is the battle cry of The Conflict Resolution Group Foundation, Inc. or CORE.

"In every dispute, there are not just two sides but an untapped side that can transform destructive conflicts into profitable cooperation," said founder and president Annabelle Abaya, who holds a doctorate in Studies in Conflict Resolution from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts.

CORE catalyzed the drafting of recently passed Republic Act 9285 or the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004, and directed the training program for over 400 mediators and 1,000 mediation advocates in Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

Business mediation is a process for resolving disputes between stakeholders in a business. Trained mediators facilitate a dialogue between the stakeholders, identify the interests and critical needs of each party, and help both parties develop mutually satisfying solution.

"A cost effective alternative to litigation, business mediation enables all of the stakeholders to speak for themselves and, thus, maintain control over the outcome. It’s fast because settlement can be done within three sessions. It’s effective, inexpensive, and results in a win-win situation," said Abaya.

Partners

Nine business groups have set up the National Center for Mediation as a non-stock, non-profit organization to provide various types of mediation ranging from business to family and estate.

The nine signatories of NCM are the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Philippines, Inc.; Management Association of the Philippines; Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Inc.; Federation of Philippine Industries; Chamber of Commerce Philippines Foundation; Philippine Exporters Confederation; Employers Confederation of the Philippines; and Personnel Management Association of the Philippines.

The current batch of NCM mediators were trained by CORE under the "ADR in Business" project sponsored by The Asia Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development. These mediators underwent 40 hours of classroom training, internship for about 10 days, and written and practical assessment before certification.

To help defray expenses, NCM charges P5,000 for the first three sessions of mediation, each session lasting for a maximum of three hours. If the parties ask for more sessions, which is rare, NCM charges P2,500 for each additional session. These fees are split between the stakeholders seeking mediation.

"The prospects for business mediation are tremendous. A mediation program we ran for the Department of Justice in 2001 delivered a settlement of 93% while another program piloted for the National Labor Relations Commission resulted in a success rate of 94%," said Abaya.