Legal basis and relationship to laws
- The guidelines are issued pursuant to Article 137 of Republic Act No. 9520, the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008.
- The guidelines are reinforced by Republic Act No. 9285, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004.
- The guidelines require voluntary arbitration after conciliation/mediation fails, and treat it as the primary and exclusive mode for dispute resolution in accordance with Republic Act No. 9285 (Section 2).
- The guidelines direct that the Authority shall issue and adopt the proper arbitration rules governing voluntary arbitration as the primary and exclusive dispute resolution mode in accordance with Republic Act No. 9285 (Section 2).
Policy and declared purposes
- The guidelines govern conciliation-mediation proceedings to facilitate amicable settlement within cooperative structures (Section 1 and Section 2).
- Conciliation-mediation is conducted through neutral third parties who assist parties in reaching amicable and voluntary outcomes (Section 3).
- The guidelines treat early conciliation-mediation as a required step before parties pursue voluntary arbitration (Section 2 and Section 10).
Coverage and who must use the process
- These guidelines govern conciliation-mediation proceedings at the primary cooperative and at the union/federation level (Section 1).
- Nothing in the guidelines precludes the parties from seeking other modes of amicably settling the dispute (Section 1).
- The guidelines apply to disputes among members, officers, directors, and committee members, and to intra-cooperative, inter-cooperative, intra-federation, or inter-federation disputes to the extent practicable (Section 2).
- The conciliation and mediation committee of the cooperative facilitates amicable settlement of intra-cooperative disputes and disputes among members, officers, directors, and committee members (Section 2).
- If conciliation/mediation fails, the matter is settled through voluntary arbitration (Section 2).
Preconditions before voluntary arbitration
- No party may validly file a complaint with the Authority for voluntary arbitration without first securing a certification from its conciliation and mediation committee and from the cooperative union or federation it belongs to that efforts to settle failed (Section 2).
- Voluntary arbitrators have exclusive and original jurisdiction.
- Voluntary arbitral decisions are appealable to the Office of the President (Section 2).
- The guidelines require the conciliation/mediation committee certification mechanism as a gateway to voluntary arbitration (Section 2).
Defined terms and key concepts
- Conciliation is a process where a neutral third party takes a vigorous and active role in assisting disputants formulate solutions to reach an amicable settlement (Section 3).
- Mediation is a process where a neutral third party facilitates negotiation between disputing parties to reach a voluntary, mutually satisfactory outcome (Section 3).
- A Conciliator-Mediator is a qualified individual providing conciliation-mediation services (Section 3).
- The Pool of Conciliator-Mediators is a group of Conciliator-Mediators accredited by the CDA (Section 3).
- Conflict Coaching is a stage in the conciliation-mediation process to clarify each party’s issues and interests (Section 3).
- A Conciliated-Mediated Settlement Agreement is a written agreement following successful conciliation-mediation, prepared and duly signed by the parties with assistance of the Conciliator-Mediator (Section 3).
- A Certificate of Non-Settlement is issued by the conciliation-mediation committee when conciliation-mediation fails or is refused (Section 3).
- Refused Conciliation-Mediation covers refusal to submit to conciliation-mediation or failure to appear despite notice (Section 3).
- A Party in interest is any member, officer, committee member, or cooperative who will be benefited or injured by the settlement agreement (Section 3).
Conciliation-mediation committee structure and duties
- The conciliation-mediation committee must have at least three (3) members appointed by the Board of Directors in accordance with the cooperative bylaws (Section 4).
- The committee elects from among themselves the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary (Section 4).
- Committee members must be in good standing and possess qualifications and none of the disqualifications in the bylaws and relevant CDA authority issuances (Section 4).
- Committee members serve one (1) year or as provided in the cooperative bylaws (Section 4).
- Vacancies are filled by the Board of Directors by appointing a qualified member or as provided in the cooperative bylaws (Section 4).
- The committee must formulate and implement a Conciliation-Mediation Program and monitor its processes (Section 4).
- The committee must submit semi-annual reports of cooperative cases to the CDA within fifteen (15) days after the end of every semester (Section 4).
- The committee must accept and file evaluation reports, recommend improvements to the Board of Directors, and recommend members for conciliation-mediation trainings as cooperative conciliation-mediator (Section 4).
- The committee must issue the Certificate of Non-Settlement and provide conciliation-mediation services during their term when mutually selected by both parties (Section 4).
- The committee performs other functions prescribed in the bylaws or authorized by the General/Representative Assembly (Section 4).
Filing, complaint contents, and preliminary conference
- Any party in interest files a complaint with the conciliation/mediation committee (Section 5).
- The complaint must be in writing and must state:
- the parties’ name/s and position/s in the cooperative; and
- the parties’ address/es, with a narration of facts and a statement of issues (Section 6).
- The preliminary conference confirms the parties’ interest in entering conciliation-mediation and determines the selection of the conciliator-mediator (Section 7).
- A written Notice of conference stating the venue, time, and date must be signed by the Secretary of the committee (Section 7).
- If one or both parties do not appear, the committee sends another notice for the next scheduled conference (Section 7).
- Failure to appear without valid cause is construed as Refused Conciliation-Mediation (Section 7).
Selecting or replacing the conciliator-mediator
- The Conciliator-Mediator is mutually selected by the disputants from the Pool of Accredited Mediators, preferably from within the cooperative and within the area (Section 8).
- A person not in the Pool of Accredited Conciliator-Mediators may still provide conciliation-mediation if chosen with the mutual consent of the parties (Section 8).
- Committee members may provide conciliation-mediation during their term only when mutually selected by both parties (Section 8).
- The parties may request replacement of the conciliator-mediator at any time during proceedings due to loss of confidence and partiality (Section 8).
- Any individual may apply to be an Accredited Conciliator-Mediator through CDA accreditation, which includes training requirements and successful completion of evaluation instruments and standards (Section 9).
Step-by-step procedure and key timelines
- A party in interest files the complaint with the conciliation/mediation committee at the primary cooperative or union/federation level (Section 10(a)).
- For cases elevated from the primary cooperative to the union/federation level, the party in interest does not file another complaint; the conciliation/mediation committee, upon request, forwards the records together with the Certificate of Non-settlement to the union/federation (Section 10(a)).
- If the committee fails or refuses to issue the Certificate of Non-Settlement within the period required under Section 10(j), the party in interest submits an Affidavit stating the fact, in lieu of the Certificate (Section 10(a)).
- The conciliation/mediation committee issues a Notice of Preliminary Conference to the parties (Section 10(b)).
- During the preliminary conference, the committee encourages the parties to conciliate-mediate (Section 10(c)).
- If both parties agree, the committee furnishes a list of CDA Accredited Conciliator-Mediators so the parties may select at least three (3) conciliator-mediators, and the name common to their list becomes the conciliator-mediator (Section 10(d)).
- After selection, the committee immediately endorses the complaint to the conciliator-mediator (Section 10(d)).
- The conciliator-mediator notifies the parties of the scheduled conciliation-mediation conference (Section 10(e)).
- The conciliator-mediator may conduct an initial conflict coaching session separately with each disputant to clarify issues and interests, then clarify issues, help generate options, and assist agreement on options that best meet each party’s needs and interests (Section 10(f)).
- If successful, the conciliator-mediator prepares a written Settlement Agreement for approval and signature; each party receives a copy (Section 10(g)).
- The conciliator-mediator requires the parties to fill up an Evaluation Form, forwards accomplished forms to the conciliation-mediation committee for filing and monitoring (Section 10(h)).
- The signed written agreement may be deposited, at the option of the parties, with the Regional Trial Court where one of the parties resides (Section 10(i)).
- If conciliation-mediation is not successful, the committee must issue a Certificate of Non-Settlement signed by the conciliator-mediator within 5 calendar days from termination of the conference/failure to appear during the preliminary conference despite due notice or written notice of parties’ non-interest in conciliation-mediation (Section 10(j)).
Confidentiality and evidentiary treatment
- Conciliation-mediation proceedings and all incidents are kept strictly confidential, unless a law specifically provides otherwise (Section 12).
- Admissions or statements made during proceedings are not inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding and may not be disclosed to third persons (Section 12).
- Communications made by one disputant to the conciliator-mediator that are not intended to be known by the other party or anyone else must not be divulged (Section 12).
- Documents, reports, position papers, and affidavits submitted by one disputant must not be shown to the other without the former’s consent (Section 12).
- Neither party may rely on or introduce as evidence in any other proceeding:
- views or suggestions by the other disputant regarding possible settlement;
- admissions made by either disputant during proceedings;
- proposals made by the conciliator-mediator; and
- the fact that the other disputant indicated willingness to accept a settlement proposal (Section 12).
- No transcript, minutes, or record of conciliation-mediation proceedings is taken (Section 12).
- Personal notes by the conciliator-mediator are destroyed after termination of proceedings, and such transcript, minutes, or notes are inadmissible as evidence in other proceedings (Section 12).
- The Rules of Evidence do not apply to the conciliation-mediation proceedings (Section 12).
Duration, when proceedings are deemed failed
- Conciliation-mediation proceedings must be completed within thirty (30) days from the start of conflict coaching (Section 13).
- Proceedings are declared failed when:
- no settlement is reached after 30 calendar days from the start of conflict coaching; or
- any or both parties or the conciliator-mediator terminate the proceedings because further efforts are unlikely to resolve the dispute (Section 14).
Monitoring, ethics, and advocacy duties
- Every cooperative’s conciliation/mediation committee must submit a semi-annual written report to the CDA on the status of conciliation/mediation within fifteen (15) days after the end of every semester (Section 15).
- Reports must cover:
- common issues of disputes;
- a monthly account of complaints received;
- the number of conciliated/mediated cases; and
- the report of outcomes (Section 15).
- Conciliation-mediation committees and conciliator-mediators must be guided by a Code of Ethical Standards of Practice prescribed by the CDA (Section 16).
- Cooperatives must undertake advocacy measures by:
- reporting the status of the Conciliation-Mediation Program in General Assembly meetings; and
- publishing articles in newsletters and other communication modes on availability, benefits, status, and advantages of conciliation-mediation (Section 17).
Repeal, separability, and effectivity mechanics
- The guidelines repeal Memorandum Circular Nos. 2007-04 and 2007-05 and other related issuances inconsistent with these guidelines (Section 18).
- If any portion is held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining parts continue in full force and effect (Section 19).
- The guidelines take effect upon approval by the CDA Board of Administrators and after fifteen (15) days from publication in the Official Gazette (Section 20).