True to this year’s theme “Trending: New Frontiers in ADR”, CMT has once again proven itself to be at the forefront of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) in the Philippines by supporting the 2023 Philippine ADR Day on 23 November 2023 at the University of the Philippines Bonifacio Global City. The event was graced by the Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, who highlighted the important role of ADR in judicial reforms as part of the Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027. In his keynote speech, Chief Justice Gesmundo unveiled that the Supreme Court is currently working on the revisions of the Rules of Civil Procedure, emphasizing the suggestion to include a provision where parties shall be required to go through ADR before they can file a case with the courts.
CMT’s Arbitration and ADR Practice Group was in full force in the event. CMT’s Atty. Elmar B. Galacio, FCIArb, Fellow of the Philippine Institute of Arbitrators (“PIArb”), Trustee of the Philippine International Center for Conflict Resolution and head of CMT’s Arbitration and ADR Practice Group, served as one of the expert panelists on International Commercial Mediation and the Singapore Convention. Meanwhile, CMT’s Atty. Jerome D. Canlas, Assistant Vice President for International Initiatives of PIArb, moderated the Panel Discussion on Artificial Intelligence in Arbitration. Further, CMT’s Atty. Carla S. Pingul, Vice President for Events of PIArb, served as one of the emcees of the event.
The event was attended by CMT’s Arbitration and ADR Practice Group lawyers, along with practitioners, legal experts, and academicians from the ADR community in the Philippines and abroad.
