The National Center for Mediation (NCM), created by eight big business groups with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) - the country's largest business organization as lead convenor - has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Justice Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution (DOJ-OADR) solidifying their commitment to jointly develop programs, among them the LawTech Fund and COVID-19 Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Scheme, that will help micro, small and medium enterprises that are involved in disputes due to the economic downturn and disruptions to their operations in settling their disputes at significantly lower cost through the use of alternative dispute resolution.
Photo shows NCM President and PCCI Director for SMEs Apolinar Aure (3rd from left) and DOJ-OADR Executive Director Atty. Irene de Torres Alogoc (center) presenting the MOA after the signing, with PCCI Honorary Chairman and Treasurer and Director for CSR and NCM Chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. (3rd from right) gracing the event. Witnessing the MOA signing are PCCI Deputy Secretary-General and NCM Executive Vice President Edwin Glindro (2nd from left); NCM Senior Vice President for Policy Atty Myra Angeli Gallardo-Batungbakal (left); DOJ OADR Director III Atty. Ma. Christina Abalos (2nd from right); DOJ-OADR OIC Director for Policy, Compliance and Monitoring Service Ryan Thomas (right), (back row, from left) DOJ- OADR officers: Public Information and Promotion Division OIC chief Darrel Winthrop Torres, Accreditation and Certification Division OIC chief Laurence Garcia, and Training and Program Development Division chief Ramon Logoc.
