Mediated cases highest in April, June

SUCCESS in mediated cases at the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) and Regional Trial Court were highest in the months of April and June, so far.

Records from the Philippine Mediation Center (PMC) in Davao City showed that a success rate of 76 percent of the total number of cases forwarded from MTCC to their office was recorded in the month of April.

“Fifty-nine cases are referred to mediation for the month. There are 20 cases which are actually mediated, 10 of which are successfully mediated while 11 are failed cases. There are six cases which are back to court and 32 cases which are on-going,” the remarks for the month of April for MTCC read.

On the other hand, 83 percent of the cases that were forwarded from RTC to PMC were successfully mediated in the month of June.

“Forty-five cases are referred to mediation for the month. Ten settled and two unsuccessful mediation cases. The success rate is 83 percent of the total mediated cases. Four are back to court and 30 are still on-going,” the remarks for the month of June for RTC read.

According to its official website, mediation is a process of settling disputes with the assistance of an acceptable, impartial and neutral third party called a mediator.

“This form of mediation is also known as court-annexed mediation since the case has already been filed in court,” the website post reads.

It reads that the cases covered by mediation are all civil cases, settlement of estates and cases covered by the Rule on Summary Procedure.

Typical cases would be collection of debts, ejectment of tenants in apartment dwellings, and inheritance disputes among family members; cases cognizable by the Lupong Tagapamayapa under the Katarungang Pambarangay Law such as disputes between neighbors of the same barangay over property; the civil aspect of Batas Pambansa 22, which covers the debts paid through bouncing checks; the civil aspect of quasi-offenses under negligence like motor vehicle accidents that has damaged the vehicle or injured passengers or pedestrians.

Based on the judge’s referral summary for MTCC which was prepared by mediation staff assistant Sybil Mae Corpuz-Sumacbay, it showed that a total of 511 cases were referred to mediation for the first eight months.

A total of 124 cases were successfully mediated while 86 were failed.

For cases from the RTC, a total of 352 cases were referred to mediation from January to August this year. Seventy-two cases settled while 47 cases were unsuccessfully mediated.

The months March and January of the MTCC and RTC, respectively, garnered the lowest success rate for the first eight months of the year with 43 percent of the total number of mediated cases.

“Mediation has been proven to be a faster and certainly less expensive option for settling disputes. Settlements have occurred in as little as one or two mediation sessions,” a portion of the PMC website reads.

“Mediation also provides for a fair resolution of your case. By jointly resolving the dispute, both parties can come up as winners. But best of all, mediation has been proven to restore relationships long disrupted by conflict. The process of mediation tackles the roots of misunderstanding to help parties resolve their differences,” it added.

In Davao City’s PMC, Mary Lorraine A. Macasa is the mediation staff officer. (ANC)