Opening Address by Mdm Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Law, at SIAC Manila Conference 2024
Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan, Undersecretary for Planning and Project Development at the Department of Transportation
Undersecretary Irene De Torres Alogoc, Executive Director of the Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution
Our host, Mr Kevin Nash, Registrar of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
Friends from Philippines and Singapore
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
1. Good morning. Magandang umaga.
2. I am delighted to be here today, and join all of you, at the SIAC Manila Conference.
Singapore-Philippines Bilateral Relations
3. I am happy, because Philippines is a dear friend, and valued partner of Singapore.
4. We are both founding members of ASEAN, where we support each other in our economic growth, social progress, and cultural development.
5. Philippines is also one of the countries, which Singapore established diplomatic relations with, in our early years of independence. In fact, we celebrate our 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations in just two days’ time – on the 16th of May. To commemorate this occasion, we unveiled a logo last month, and, more importantly, reaffirmed our excellent relations, which are underpinned by regular high-level engagements, robust economic partnerships, and strong people-to-people connections.
6. Over the years, we have made substantial progress in our cooperation in areas of trade and investment, defence and security, culture, and people-to-people ties. We are now looking at extending our collaboration to emerging areas, such as the green economy, smart and sustainable infrastructure, and innovation. So, the links between our countries, our businesses, and our people, which are already strong, are going to get closer and tighter.
7. The fact that the Honourable the Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo agreed to give a pre-recorded speech, and the Undersecretaries Irene and Timothy are speaking today, is a strong testament to our friendship. Thank you for your support! It means a lot to us that you are here.
Importance of Legal and Dispute Resolution Cooperation
8. Beyond the areas that we are, and will be, cooperating on, I think there is room for us to also cooperate in the legal and dispute resolution fields. As my Ministers always say, law follows business. Strengthening our legal and dispute resolution cooperation will support our collaborations in the economic space.
(a) This is because commercial transactions are essentially governed by contractual agreements.
(b) Businesses will need legal advice, to ensure that their investments and rights are protected. And when disputes arise, they will need to resolve them fairly, effectively, and efficiently.
9. Given the increasingly international nature of these transactions and disputes, support from service providers in both countries is important. We can serve them better, if we work together.
Philippines’ Economic Growth
10. Philippines, in particular, is seeing a rapid growth in international trade and investment. Like most countries, it has its ups and downs, but the figures are generally on an upward trend. It is now one of the most dynamic and fastest growing economies in the region, with GDP expected to grow at 6-7% this year, compared to around 3% globally.
11. This is not surprising, given Philippines’ sound macroeconomic fundamentals, increasing urbanisation, growing middle class, and a large, young and educated population.
12. The Philippine Government has also made bold economic reforms in recent years, to ease restrictions on foreign investments and professionals. These will boost foreign direct investments into the country. For these foreign businesses, as well as local businesses doing work with them, being able to access high quality international legal and dispute resolution services – conveniently, and at a reasonable rate – will be crucial to them.
13. I am heartened to see that some of our law firms are already partnering one another, to provide both local and foreign businesses with a wider range of legal expertise.
(a) For example:
(i) Rajah & Tann and C&G Law are part of the Rajah & Tann Asia network that operates in all 10 ASEAN countries.
(ii) WongPartnership and Gruba Law are part of a regional law network, comprising 5 prominent law firms across 7 key cities.
(iii) Earlier this year, Dentons announced that leading Philippine law firm, PJS Law, will combine with them, joining Dentons Rodyk in Singapore as member firms of Dentons.
(b) These partnerships will allow them to help their clients navigate multiple jurisdictions.
14. Besides legal services, I think we can also work more closely together in dispute resolution. For instance, we can jointly promote alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation, to our businesses.
15. Today, arbitration remains by far the most commonly used dispute resolution mechanism for international, cross-border commercial disputes, which is probably the reason why Philippines, like Singapore, has introduced legislation to support international commercial arbitration seated in the country, and set up arbitration bodies here.
16. According to a survey conducted by the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA) issued in 2022, key reasons for choosing arbitration include:
(a) Finality and enforceability of awards;
(b) Confidentiality and impartiality of proceedings;
(c) Flexibility in procedures; and
(d) Flexibility in choice of institutions, venues, and arbitrators.
17. From these, it is clear that parties want to choose a dispute resolution forum and people they can trust to give a fair and just outcome, without undue delays. In the real world, different parties have different preferences, and they will need to come to an agreement. Oftentimes, they need to choose a neutral, third-party forum.
18. This is where I would make a plug for Singapore and for SIAC, if you are not able to insist on a Philippine seat and venue. Singapore and SIAC are widely accepted by many parties from all over the world, regardless of whether they are from common law or civil law jurisdictions. Therefore, we would likely to be accepted by your counterparties.
(a) In the Queen Mary University of London and White & Case’s International Arbitration Survey in 2021, Singapore and SIAC were ranked among the top five most preferred seat of arbitration and arbitral institution respectively, in all regions, and not just in Asia-Pacific.
19. Singapore offers a few advantages and conveniences for Philippine parties. As I have mentioned earlier, our businesses and people work closely together, so they understand how each other works and thinks. Geographically, we are close to one another – just slightly more than a 3-hour flight away – and in the same time zone.
20. Besides the basic fundamentals, such as the rule of law and a trusted legal system, we allow parties to engage foreign counsel, like yourself, to represent them in arbitration proceedings, even those governed by Singapore law, as we recognise that they may be more familiar with you. Of course, you can work with our Singapore lawyers.
21. SIAC too offers its own value propositions. Earlier this month, SIAC announced its second highest caseload and sum in dispute received in 2023.
22. Beyond the statistics, what this shows is that SIAC has a rich experience over the years, dealing with different types of cases. This is useful for the Philippine parties, as the economy is quite diverse, ranging from agriculture, to electronics, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, construction, transportation, and financial services. With close to 7,000 cases involving parties from over 100 jurisdictions, majority of which are international in nature, SIAC would have seen most of the issues you would encounter. So, you will be in good hands.
23. And as Kevin would tell you, they deal with all cases with the same care and expediency, regardless of how big or small the dispute is. Last year, the scrutiny of awards was kept to within 12 days, which is quite impressive. And SIAC is always looking at ways to be faster.
(a) In 2010, SIAC started offering Expedited Procedure, where the final award will be issued within 6 months of the constitution of the Tribunal.
(b) It is now considering even more streamlined procedures under its new Rules. This will reduce cost and save time for the parties.
24. Ultimately, we recognise that arbitration was introduced to serve businesses. Hence, in keeping with this spirit, we constantly look at what we can do, to better support businesses, in this fast-evolving world.
Conclusion
25. This conference is a useful platform for us to exchange ideas on what we can do. It is through events like this that we learn and improve together.
26. On this note, I would like to invite all of you to continue this conversation during the Singapore Convention Week, which is happening from 26 to 30 August this year. It is a week of activities dedicated to dispute resolution, providing opportunities for us to explore emerging trends, discuss common challenges, come up with innovative solutions, and foster change. We look forward to welcoming you to Singapore.
27. On this note, I will end my speech. Thank you once again for inviting me and I wish everyone a most fruitful conference ahead.
Last updated on 15 May 2024