INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES

National Office

GUIDELINES FOR AD HOC ARBITRATIONS

Whereas, Republic Act 9285, otherwise known as the Alternative Dispute Resolution
Act of 2004 ("ADR Act") declares it the policy of the State to encourage and actively
promote the use of alternative dispute resolution, such as arbitration, as an important
means to achieve speedy and impartial justice and declog court dockets;

Whereas, the ADR Act has also designated the National President of the Integrated Bar
of the Philippines ("IBP") as the default Appointing Authority in ad hoc arbitrations;

Whereas, since the passage of the ADR Act, the National President had been exercising
its mandate under the ADR Act;

Whereas, the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the ADR Act authorize the
appointing authority to adopt Guidelines for the making of a Request for Appointment
(Article 5 (10) (k)) and Appointing Authority Guidelines are defined as the set of rules
approved or adopted by an appointing authority for the making of a Request for
Appointment, Challenge, Termination of the Mandate of Arbitrator/s and for taking
action thereon (Article 2 (D) (3)).

Whereas, the National President, in order to perform its functions as Appointing

Authority, more effectively and expeditiously, in a manner that ensures the
appointment of independent, impartial and competent arbitrators, recognizes the need
to formulate rules to govern the exercise of its functions as Appointing Authority;

Whereas, the IBP has resolved that it shall also make available logistical and
administrative assistance to parties in ad hoc arbitrations;

NOW THEREFORE, the IBP hereby issues and promulgates the following Guidelines
for Ad Hoc Arbitrations ("Guidelines").
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ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1 These Guidelines shall apply to ad hoc arbitrations in respect of the following:
a. In relation to Section 26 of the ADR Act, the appointment of arbitrators in
Ad Hoc Arbitrations, where "the default appointment of an arbitrator shall
be made by the National President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines
or his duly authorized representative";

b. The resolution of a challenge to the appointment of an Arbitrator, if a

Challenge under any procedure in an arbitration agreement agreed upon
by the Parties or under the procedure in Article 13(3) of the Model Law is
not successful;
c. The resolution of any controversy concerning the termination of the
mandate of an Arbitrator under Article 14(1) of the Model Law, if an
Arbitrator becomes de jure or de facto unable to perform his functions, or
for other reasons fails to act without undue delay, and the arbitrator
concerned refuses to withdraw or the parties fail to agree on the
termination of his mandate.
d. The replacement of an Arbitrator whose mandate has terminated.

1.2 These Rules shall specifically govern the following cases as they may arise in ad
hoc arbitration:1
a. Where the parties have not agreed on a procedure for appointing the
Arbitrator or Arbitrators:

i. In an Arbitration with three Arbitrators, each party shall appoint

one Arbitrator, and the two Arbitrators thus appointed shall
appoint the third Arbitrator; if a party fails to appoint an Arbitrator
within thirty (30) days of receipt of a request to do so from the
other Party, or if the two Arbitrators fail to agree on the third
Arbitrator within thirty (30) days of their appointment, the
appointment shall be made, upon request of a party, by the
National President.

ii. In an Arbitration with a sole Arbitrator, if the parties are unable to

agree on the Arbitrator, he shall be appointed, upon request of a
party, by the National President.2
b. Where, under an appointment procedure in an Arbitration Agreement
agreed upon by the Parties:
i. A Party fails to act as required under such procedure;
ii. The Parties, or the two Arbitrators, are unable to reach an
agreement expected of them under such procedure; or
iii. A third Party, including an Arbitral Institution, fails to perform any
function entrusted to it under such procedure;

1 Under Section 27 of the ADR Act, the Appointing Authority shall perform the functions referred to in Articles 11(3),
11(4), 13(3) and 14(1) of the Model Law.
2 Article 11 (3), Model Law
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Any Party may request the National President to make the appointment,
unless the Arbitration Agreement provides other means for securing the
appointment.3

c. If a challenge under any procedure in an Arbitration Agreement agreed

upon by the Parties or under the procedure in Article 13(2) of the Model
Law is not successful, the challenging Party may request, within thirty
(30) days after having received notice of the decision rejecting the
challenge, the National President to decide on the challenge.
d. Any Party may request the National President to decide any controversy
concerning the termination of the mandate of an Arbitrator, if an
Arbitrator becomes de jure or de facto unable to perform his functions, or
for other reasons fails to act without undue delay, and the Arbitrator
concerned refuses to withdraw or the parties fail to agree on the
termination of his mandate.

e. Any Party may request the National President to replace an Arbitrator

whose mandate has terminated.

1.3 The following terms shall have the following meanings:

a. "Ad Hoc Arbitration" means an arbitration that is not administered by an
arbitral institution.
b. "ADR Act" means Republic Act No. 9285, otherwise known as the
Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004.

c. "Appointing Authority" means an individual or institution selected by the

Parties to a dispute or a third Party, or as determined by the applicable
arbitration law or rules, to select the Arbitrator or Arbitrators who will
decide a dispute referred to Arbitration. The Appointing Authority may
be authorized to select the arbitrator or arbitrators in the first instance or
only after the failure of one or more parties to nominate or select an
arbitrator within an established timeframe. In the absence of agreement, in
an ad hoc arbitration, the appointing authority is the National President or
his/her duly-authorized representative.
d. "Arbitral Institution" means an institution which administers arbitrations.
e. "Arbitral Tribunal" means a sole arbitrator or a panel of three or more
arbitrators.
f. "Arbitration" means a voluntary dispute resolution process in which one
or more arbitrators resolve a dispute by rendering an award;
g. "Arbitrator" means the person appointed to render an award, alone or
with others, in a dispute that is the subject of an arbitration agreement;
h. "Domestic Arbitration" means an arbitration that is not international.
i. "Domestic Arbitration Law" means Republic Act No. 876 otherwise
known as "The Arbitration Law".
j. "IBP" means Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
k. "International Arbitration" means an arbitration where:

3 Article 11 (4), Model Law

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i. The parties to an arbitration agreement have, at the time of the

conclusion of that agreement, their places of business in different
States; or

ii. One of the following places is situated outside the State in which
the parties have their places of business:
1. The place of arbitration if determined in, or pursuant to, the
arbitration agreement;

2. Any place where a substantial part of the obligations of the

commercial relationship is to be performed or the place with
which the subject-matter of the dispute is most closely
connected; or
iii. The parties have expressly agreed that the subject-matter of the
arbitration agreement relates to more than one country.
For the purposes of the foregoing, if a party has more than one place of
business, the place of business is that which has the closest relationship to
the arbitration agreement. if a party does not have a place of business,
reference is to be made to his habitual residence.
l. "Model Law" means the Model Law on International Commercial
Arbitration adopted by the United Nations Commission on International
Trade Law on 21 June 1985.
m. "Party" means a person who is bound under an arbitration agreement
n. "National President" means the National President of the IBP.

ARTICLE 2. APPOINTMENT OF ARBITRATORS

2.1 Any Party who submits a request to the National President for the appointment
of an Arbitrator under Article 1.2 (a) or (b) must file a request, in substantially
the same form as Schedule "A", with the National President, and pay the
corresponding fee provided in Schedule "C".

2.2 The request shall contain the following:

a. The names, addresses and other contact details of the Parties and their
representatives and counsels (if available);
b. A copy of the Arbitration agreement and other basis, if any, upon which the
appointment of the Arbitrator by the National President is sought;
c. A description of the actions taken by the Parties or a Party to commence the
arbitration and a copy of the demand, request or notice of arbitration sent to the
other Parties or Party;
d. The general nature and summary of the dispute;
e. Any agreement or lack of agreement as to the number of Arbitrators;
f. The qualifications or disqualifications of the Arbitrator/s agreed upon by the
Parties;
g. A description of the efforts taken by the Parties or a Party towards the
appointment of an Arbitrator, the names and contact details, including the
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curricula vitae (if available), of the Arbitrator/s already appointed, the

acceptance of the appointment by the appointed Arbitrator/s;
h. If the Parties agreed on an appointment procedure, a description of that procedure
with reference to the agreement where such may be found;
i. Proof of service on the other Party and Arbitrator/s already appointed of the
request for appointment; and
j. Information about arbitrator’s fees where there is an agreement between the
Parties with respect thereto.

2.3 Upon receipt of a request:

2.3.1 The National President shall provide the other Party or Parties a copy of
the request and shall invite said Party or Parties to comment on the
request within seven (7) days from receipt. Upon receipt of the comment,
the National President shall immediately resolve the request in
accordance with Article 2.3.7 hereof.

2.3.2 A Party upon whom a copy of the request is communicated may, within
seven (7) days of its receipt, file with the National President his
objection/s to the request or ask for an extension of time, not exceeding
thirty (30) days from receipt of the request, to appoint an Arbitrator or act
in accordance with the procedure agreed upon by the Parties or provided
by law. Within the aforementioned periods, the Party seeking the
extension shall provide the National President and the other Party or
Parties with a copy of the appointment of his/her Arbitrator, the latter's
curriculum vitae, and the latter's acceptance of the appointment. In the
event that the said Party fails to appoint an Arbitrator within said period,
the National President shall proceed to make the default appointment.

2.3.3 If the default appointment of an Arbitrator is objected to by a Party on

whose behalf the default appointment is to be made, and the defaulting
Party requests the National President for additional time to appoint
his/her arbitrator, the National President, having regard to the
circumstances, may give the requesting Party not more than thirty (30)
days to make the appointment. If the objection of a Party is based on the
ground that the Party did not fail to choose and appoint an Arbitrator for
the Arbitral Tribunal, there shall be attached to the objection the
appointment of an Arbitrator together with the latter's acceptance thereof
and curriculum vitae. Otherwise, the National President shall appoint the
Arbitrator for that Party.

2.3.4 The National President shall inform the prospective Arbitrator-appointee

of his possible appointment and request the prospective Arbitrator-
appointee to confirm, within seven (7) days from notice, his availability to
act as the Arbitrator.

2.3.5 The appointed Arbitrator must make a full declaration of independence,

impartiality and availability, and disclose to the Parties and the National
President, any fact, circumstance, or relationship which could give rise to
justifiable doubts about his or her independence and impartiality, by
signing a Declaration of Acceptance and Statement of Independence in
substantially the same form as Schedule "B".
2.3.6 If the prospective Arbitrator-appointee accepts the nomination, the
National President shall immediately inform the Parties and the other
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Arbitrator/s, if any of his appointment. If the prospective Arbitrator-

appointee is unable to accept, the National President shall proceed to
consider the appointment of another Arbitrator in an expeditious manner.

2.3.7 The National President shall endeavor to complete the requested

appointment within thirty (30) days from receipt of the request.
2.3.8 The National President shall give the parties written notice of the
appointment made or its inability to comply with the request and the
reasons why it is unable to do so. If warranted under the circumstances,
the National President may direct the requesting Party to provide
additional information or documents, deny the request for failure to
satisfy the requirements, or direct the Party or Parties to take such others
steps as may be appropriate.

2.4 In Domestic Arbitrations, the National President shall observe the following:
2.4.1 In making an appointment for a sole arbitrator, the Appointing Authority
shall summon the parties and their respective counsels, if indicated, to
appear before said authority on the date, time and place set by it, for the
purpose of selecting and appointing a sole arbitrator. If a sole Arbitrator is
not appointed in such meeting, or the meeting does not take place because
of the absence of either or both parties despite due notice, the Appointing
Authority shall appoint the sole arbitrator in accordance with these
Guidelines.
2.4.2 In making a default appointment, the Appointing Authority shall have
regard to such considerations as are likely to secure the appointment of an
independent and impartial Arbitrator. In order to achieve speedy and
impartial justice and to moderate the cost of Arbitration, in choosing an
Arbitrator, the Appointing Authority shall give preference to a qualified
person who has a place of residence or business in the same general
locality as the agreed venue of the Arbitration and who is likely to accept
the Arbitrator’s fees agreed upon by the parties, or as fixed in accordance
either with the internal guidelines or the Schedule of Fees approved by the
administering institution or by the Appointing Authority.
2.4.3 Any clause giving one of the parties the power to choose more Arbitrators
than the other is void. However, the rest of the agreement, if otherwise
valid, shall be construed as permitting the appointment of one (1)
Arbitrator by all claimants and one (1) Arbitrator by all respondents. The
third Arbitrator shall be appointed as provided above. If all the claimants
or all the respondents cannot decide among themselves on an Arbitrator,
the appointment shall be made for them by the National President.
2.4.4 An Arbitrator, in accepting an appointment, shall include, in his/her
acceptance letter, a statement that:

i. He/she agrees to comply with the applicable law, the Arbitration

rules agreed upon by the parties, or in default thereof, these Rules,
and the Code of Ethics for Arbitrators in Domestic Arbitration, if
any;

ii. He/she accepts as compensation the Arbitrator’s fees agreed upon

by the parties or as determined in accordance with the rules agreed
upon by the parties; and
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iii. He agrees to devote as much time and attention to the arbitration as

the circumstances may require in order to achieve the objective of a
speedy, effective and fair resolution of the dispute.

2.5 In International Arbitrations, the National President shall likewise be guided by

the provisions of Article 2.4 hereof.

2.6 The order issued pursuant to this Article shall not be the subject of a motion for
reconsideration.

ARTICLE 3. CHALLENGE TO THE APPOINTMENT OF AN ARBITRATOR

3.1 Any of the Parties to an Ad Hoc Arbitration may challenge an Arbitrator by

submitting a challenge with the National President and paying the
corresponding fee provided in Schedule "C". A Party may challenge the
Arbitrator designated by it, or in whose appointment it has participated, only for
reasons of which it becomes aware after the appointment has been made.

3.2 If a challenge under any procedure agreed upon by the Parties or under the
procedure in Article 13(2) of the Model Law is not successful, the challenging
Party may request, within thirty (30) days from receipt of notice of the decision
rejecting the challenge or, in the absence of notice, after failure of the challenge,
the National President to decide on the challenge.

3.3 An Arbitrator may be challenged on any of the grounds provided for in the ADR
Act and its implementing rules, the Domestic Arbitration Law for Domestic
Arbitrations, or the Model Law for International Arbitrations. The nationality or
professional qualification of an Arbitrator is not a ground to challenge him,
unless the parties have specified in their arbitration agreement a nationality
and/or professional qualification for appointment as Arbitrator.

3.4 The challenge shall be in writing and shall contain the following:

a. The name/s of the Arbitrator/s challenged and his/their address;

b. The grounds for the challenge;

c. The facts showing that the ground for the challenge has been expressly or
impliedly rejected by the challenged Arbitrator/s and/or the Arbitral
Tribunal.

d. Proof of service on the other Parties and the Arbitrators.

3.5 Upon receipt of a challenge, the National President shall invite the other Party or
Parties and the challenged Arbitrator to comment on the challenge within ten (10) days
from notice.

3.6 The National President shall endeavor to resolve the challenge within thirty (30)
days from receipt of the Parties' and the challenged Arbitrator's comments or the
expiration of the period to submit the same.
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3.7 Any order of the National President resolving the challenge shall not be the
subject of a motion for reconsideration.

3.8 The National President may, if requested, replace an arbitrator pursuant to

Article 5 hereof, if the challenge is successful.

ARTICLE 4. TERMINATION OF THE MANDATE OF AN ARBITRATOR

4.1 Any Party may request the National President to decide on the termination of the
mandate of an Arbitrator if a controversy remains as to whether an Arbitrator
becomes de jure or de facto unable to perform his functions or for other reasons
fails to act without undue delay, by submitting a request with the National
President and paying the corresponding filing fees provided in Schedule "C".

4.2 The request for the termination of the mandate of an Arbitrator must contain:

a. The name of the Arbitrator whose mandate is sought to be terminated;

b. The ground/s for termination;

c. The fact that all the Parties requested the arbitrator to withdraw but he
nevertheless failed or refused to withdraw as an Arbitrator; and

d. Proof of service to the other Parties and the Arbitrators.

4.3 The National President shall dismiss the request outright if it does not appear
either that all the Parties agreed to terminate his appointment or that he has
withdrawn as Arbitrator. Otherwise, the National President shall invite the
concerned Arbitrator and the other Parties and Arbitrators to comment on the
request within ten (10) days from notice.

4.4 The National President shall endeavor to resolve the request for termination of
the mandate of an Arbitrator within thirty (30) days from receipt of the
concerned Arbitrator's and the other Parties' and Arbitrators comments or the
expiration of the period to submit the same.

4.5 Any order of the National President resolving the request shall not be the subject
of a motion for reconsideration.

4.6 The National President may, if requested, replace an Arbitrator pursuant to

Article 5 hereof, if the challenge is successful.
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ARTICLE 5. REPLACEMENT OF ARBITRATOR

5.1 Where the mandate of an Arbitrator is terminated pursuant to Articles 3 and 4

above, or he withdraws from office for any other reason, or because his mandate
is revoked by agreement of the Parties, or is terminated for any other reason, a
substitute Arbitrator shall be appointed by the National President in accordance
with Article 2 above.

ARTICLE 6. LOGISTICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Any Party may request the IBP to provide logistical and administrative assistance at
any time during the Ad Hoc Arbitration, by submitting an appropriate letter to the
National President for that purpose, subject to the payment of the corresponding fees
provided in Schedule "C".
Unless the other Parties and/or the Arbitrator/s object, the National President shall
immediately grant the request and require the Parties to pay the appropriate fees
provided in Schedule "C".

ARTICLE 7. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

7.1 The IBP shall charge fees for performing the functions contemplated in Articles 2,
3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Guidelines, in accordance with Schedule "C". Unless
otherwise specified in these Guidelines, such fees shall be paid at the time the
applicable request is submitted to the office of the National President.

7.2 The IBP may, at any time, amend or modify Schedule "C" to increase / decrease
the amount of the fees and/or charge new fees for the performance of its
functions in relation to an Ad Hoc Arbitration.