Senate Bill (SB) Nos. 231, 427, and 676 filed by Senators Nancy Binay, Francis Escudero, and Loren Legarda, respectively, seek to promote and strengthen the use of arbitration in resolving disputes remain pending since 2013.
SB No. 231 proposes to create the Philippine Arbitration Commission introduce mandatory arbitration to disputes involving medical malpractice, insurance law, maritime laws, intellectual property law and intra-corporate matters, or collectively called as the “Areas of Dispute”. SB No. 427, however, seeks to lower the penalty by at least 2 degrees lower, or from the minimum to the next lower penalty prescribed by law, in case of conviction in criminal cases where the civil aspect of which is settled through ADR. On the other hand, SB No. 676, aims to strengthen the construction industry by creating the Philippine Construction Industry Development Authority (PHILCIDA), replacing the existing Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), with a view to effectively address the problems and emerging challenges affecting the growth and development of the Philippine construction industry.
All the three SBs had been referred to the appropriate Committees for study and consideration in July 2013.