By Tara Yap Iloilo City — Touted as the first of its kind outside of Metro Manila, the Philippine Arbitration Center in the Visayas (PACV) has opened in Iloilo City. “This is also the first school-based arbitration center in the whole Southeast Asia,” said Joenar Pueblo, PACV president, during the opening last Saturday. PACV is in the campus of the University of San Agustin (USA), the first university in the Western Visayas region. Established in cooperation with the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. and the USA College of Law, PACV is pushing commercial arbitration as an alternative to undergoing disputes in courts, Pueblo said. Pueblo noted that PACV can hasten resolution of ordinary cases, which usually take from five to 10 years in court. PACV is seen to serve not only commercial establishments, but also government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs). It also bolsters the image of Iloilo as an investment destination, particularly for foreign investors such as the British, which started the concept of arbitration. “When they see that there is an arbitration center here in Iloilo, I think it would attract them more because they would think they are advanced because they are doing arbitration,” Pueblo said. The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines (BCCP) recently organized a two-day trade mission in Iloilo.