This case has been cited 4 times or more.
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2012-10-03 |
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J. |
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| Aware of the objective of voluntary arbitration in the labor field, in the construction industry, and in any other area for that matter, the Court will not assist one or the other or even both parties in any effort to subvert or defeat that objective for their private purposes. The Court will not review the factual findings of an arbitral tribunal upon the artful allegation that such body had "misapprehended the facts" and will not pass upon issues which are, at bottom, issues of fact, no matter how cleverly disguised they might be as "legal questions." The parties here had recourse to arbitration and chose the arbitrators themselves; they must have had confidence in such arbitrators. The Court will not, therefore, permit the parties to relitigate before it the issues of facts previously presented and argued before the Arbitral Tribunal, save only where a very clear showing is made that, in reaching its factual conclusions, the Arbitral Tribunal committed an error so egregious and hurtful to one party as to constitute a grave abuse of discretion resulting in lack or loss of jurisdiction. Prototypical examples would be factual conclusions of the Tribunal which resulted in deprivation of one or the other party of a fair opportunity to present its position before the Arbitral Tribunal, and an award obtained through fraud or the corruption of arbitrators. Any other, more relaxed, rule would result in setting at naught the basic objective of a voluntary arbitration and would reduce arbitration to a largely inutile institution.[30] (Emphasis supplied, citations omitted.) | |||||
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2012-03-14 |
REYES, J. |
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| In Hi-Precision Steel Center, Inc. v. Lim Kim Steel Builders, Inc.,[24] we explained raison d' etre for the rule on finality of the CIAC's arbitral award in this wise: Voluntary arbitration involves the reference of a dispute to an impartial body, the members of which are chosen by the parties themselves, which parties freely consent in advance to abide by the arbitral award issued after proceedings where both parties had the opportunity to be heard. The basic objective is to provide a speedy and inexpensive method of settling disputes by allowing the parties to avoid the formalities, delay, expense and aggravation which commonly accompany ordinary litigation, especially litigation which goes through the entire hierarchy of courts. Executive Order No. 1008 created an arbitration facility to which the construction industry in the Philippines can have recourse. The Executive Order was enacted to encourage the early and expeditious settlement of disputes in the construction industry, a public policy the implementation of which is necessary and important for the realization of national development goals. | |||||
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2006-12-20 |
TINGA, J. |
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| Other recognized exceptions are as follows: (1) when there is a very clear showing of grave abuse of discretion[20] resulting in lack or loss of jurisdiction as when a party was deprived of a fair opportunity to present its position before the Arbitral Tribunal or when an award is obtained through fraud or the corruption of arbitrators,[21] (2) when the findings of the Court of Appeals are contrary to those of the CIAC,[22] and (3) when a party is deprived of administrative due process.[23] | |||||
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2006-12-20 |
TINGA, J. |
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| Thus, in Hi-Precision Steel Center, Inc. v. Lim Kim Builders, Inc.,[24] we refused to review the findings of fact of the CIAC for the reason that petitioner was requiring the Court to go over each individual claim and counterclaim submitted by the parties in the CIAC. A review of the CIAC's findings of fact would have had the effect of "setting at naught the basic objective of a voluntary arbitration and would reduce arbitration to a largely inutile institution." Further, petitioner therein failed to show any serious error of law amounting to grave abuse of discretion resulting in lack of jurisdiction on the part of the Arbitral Tribunal, in either the methods employed or the results reached by the Arbitral Tribunal, in disposing of the detailed claims of the respective parties. In Metro Construction, Inc. v. Chatham Properties, Inc.,[25] we reviewed the findings of fact of the Court of Appeals because its findings on the issue of whether petitioner therein was in delay were contrary to the findings of the CIAC. Finally, in Megaworld Globus Asia, Inc. v. DSM Construction and Development Corporation,[26] we declined to depart from the findings of the Arbitral Tribunal considering that the computations, as well as the propriety of the awards, are unquestionably factual issues that have been discussed by the Arbitral Tribunal and affirmed by the Court of Appeals. | |||||