THE Association of Voluntary Arbitrators in Central Visayas Inc. (Avac) recently elected its new set of officers led by lawyer Carlo Pontico C. Fortuna, the former Mandaue City vice mayor.
Avac, whose members are legal, labor and human resource (HR) professionals and practitioners, was established in 1989.
Its charter president was lawyer Geronimo Creer, who was succeeded by several distinguished arbitrators that included among others incumbent Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama, lawyer Manuel Legaspi, Cebu City Councilor Jocelyn Pesquerra, lawyer Manuel Monzon and lawyer Alice Morada, the late lawyer Hidelito Pascual, lawyer Alex Tolentino and Ricky Rama Poca and Ava Zosimo Quezon, lawyer Manuel Espina, lawyer Geraldine Jorda and Ava Perfecto delos Reyes III.
Its purpose is to promote the constitutional mandate of using voluntary arbitration as a mode of settling disputes in the workplace both for land-based or sea-based (maritime) conflicts.
Avac is under the supervision of the Department of Labor and Employment’s National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB). It is located at the NCMB’s regional office in Cebu City, and the agency is headed by Director Gemma Poloyapoy.
Avac continues to invite labor and HR practitioners to become accredited voluntary arbitrators.