PANO, MARIA JANINA ROSARIO L.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

FINALS PAPER
JUDGE PARAS

MEDIATION
Mediation is a process of settling disputes with the assistance of an acceptable,
impartial and neutral third party called a mediator. The mediator helps parties
identify issues and develop proposals to resolve their disputes. Once the parties
have arrived at a mutually acceptable arrangement, the agreement becomes the
basis for the courts decision on the case. 1
As part of the requirements that we need for our Alternative Dispute Resolution
course we needed to attend and observe two Alternative Dispute Resolution
cases, one of which I attended along with my colleagues was Mediation under
Judge Lucia C. Violago-Isnani on March 14, 2014.
Judge Isnani is a very sweet Judge. She welcomed us right away. The first case
that we observed was about ejectment. There was a foreigner and his lawyer and
only the lawyer of the other party was present at the time. When we arrived,
Judge Isnani immediately asked us who among us was the youngest and we
pointed Janeca Naboya as she was the youngest at 25. Judge Isnani told us that
she was a lawyer at 23 years old and a Judge at 27 and that she has been a
Judge for over 40 years. Everyone marveled at how youthful she still looked
before going back to the case. It was a case that involved a car and various
works of art that was said to have high value that was still yet to be returned to
the owner. Nothing much happened during this mediation because the other
party was not present and there was no value as regards the works of art
because it did not appear in the records of the case. They had to schedule
another meeting.
While the first mediation case was ongoing, I noticed that a woman was already
beside me. I thought that she was also an observer but after the first set of
parties left she immediately sat down in front of the judge. It turns out that this
woman was a detainee. She has been in prison for more than 2 years because of
estafa and yet a case has not yet reached the court. The other party did not
appear again. Judge told her to pay for the publication and notice so that if ever
the party still does not appear, the Judge will recommend the dismissal of the
case. The woman said that she did not have the money to pay for the notice and
publication. Judge Isnani explained to her that if this cannot be done then the
case will have to go to trial.

http://www.pmc.org.ph/

In between the mediation sessions while the Judge was still waiting for the
papers to sign, Judge Isnani explained to us the difference between Mediation
and Judicial Dispute Resolution. She said that in mediation, the judge just helps
identify the issues and give proposals to arrive at an arrangement whereas in
Judicial Dispute Resolution, the Judge can already use his or her knowledge as a
Judge in helping the parties solve their dispute. She also told us that she as one
of the first judges that was sent to Canada for the conference about mediation.
The third case was about theft. The guy allegedly stole a tube copper, a thing
that costs less than PHP 200.00. Nothing much happened here because the
other party also did not arrive.
Luckily we waited for the fourth case because the fourth case was the most
interesting one as both parties arrived. When both parties arrived, Judge Isnani
explained to them that they were there to settle their dispute without having to go
to Judicial Dispute Resolution or Trial.
The case was about ejectment. The complainants just bought the building in
which the defendant was leasing as his familys abode. The new owners just
finished another litigation case regarding the building. When they finally got
ownership of the building, they were demanding the lessee to pay rent. The rent
was in the amount of PHP 3,500.00 a month. The lessee admitted that he had
failed to pay since around October of 2013 and also had failed to pay the rent for
a couple of months before that claiming that there was still a pending case
between the previous owner and the new owners. It was a very heated argument
as the mother of the new owner was also there and she was very agitated about
the whole case. The lessee also claimed that he had made improvements over
the room that he was renting out that amounted to more or less PHP90,000.00.
The mother was furious about it claiming that she shouldnt reimburse him as
they did not know about such improvements. There was already a heated
argument between the parties. The Judge calmly but firmly tried to resolve the
dispute. She fixed an amount that the lessee must pay the new lessors and a
date when the lessee must vacate the premises as the new owners wanted to
sell the property and the building again. It took a while before they settled as the
judge warned them that if they did not arrive at a settlement, then the parties
would have to go to Judicial Dispute Resolution and then to court if all else fails.
Luckily, they did arrive at a settlement. The Judge arranged for the date of
payment and the date when the lessees should vacate.
I enjoyed the trip to Makati City Hall and observing the Mediation process. It was
a different experience to see the parties actually trying to settle things to prevent
their cases from going to court. What struck me the most was the second case
as the woman has been detained for already two years and the complainant was
not even doing anything to pursue the case. For purposes of the course, the
fourth case was the most useful as it embodied everything about the mediation
process.