Deal boosts PHL arbitration role
THE PHILIPPINE Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (PDRC) and the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) have agreed to boost cooperation on the peaceful resolution of global disputes amid tensions between Manila and China in the South China Sea.
In a statement on Monday, the PDRC said it had signed an agreement with the international court on Aug. 28 to hold arbitration meetings and hearings in the organization’s facilities in Taguig City.
At the event, Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Jonathan E. Malaya said the partnership would raise the Philippines’ “profile as an advocate of a rules-base order.”
“The signing of the PDRC-PCA Cooperation Agreement raises the international reputation of the Philippines as a preferred arbitral forum and promotes the use of arbitral institutions located in the country,” he said at the signing ceremony at the PDRC’s headquarters in Taguig City, based on the statement.
The organization, which is composed of lawyers, former members of the judiciary, doctors, among others, is engaged in promoting the use of arbitration and mediation in settling disputes in the maritime, banking, finance, securities and intellectual property industries. — John Victor D. Ordoñez