The Contract provided for the constitution of a DAB of three (3) members within 28 days of the Effective Date

of the Contract. Each party was to nominate one member for approval by the other party, and the parties shall agree upon and appoint the third member. If a dispute should arise between the parties in connection with or arising out of the Contract, or the execution of the Works, including any dispute as to any opinion, instruction, determination, certification, or valuation of the Owners Representative, the dispute shall be initially referred to the DAB for decision. If either party is dissatisfied with the DABs decision, it may give a notice of dissatisfaction, in which case the parties shall attempt to settle such dispute amicably before the commencement of arbitration. Arbitration may be commenced prior to or after the completion of the Works. On the other hand, the Construction Industry Arbitration Law [Executive Order No. 1008] [the CIAC Arbitration Law] provides that the CIAC shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from, or connected with, contracts entered into by parties involved in construction in the Philippines whether the dispute arises before or after the completion of the project, or after completion of the contract or after the abandonment or breach thereof as long as the parties have agreed to submit such disputes to arbitration. The stipulation in the Contract that disputes arising between the parties shall be submitted to the DAB for decision and that it is only when the parties are dissatisfied with the DAB decision that arbitration could commence does not bar CIAC from assuming jurisdiction over the dispute. Moreover, under the CIAC Arbitration Rules [Article III, Section 1], an arbitration clause in a construction contract shall be deemed an agreement to submit an existing or future controversy to CIAC jurisdiction, notwithstanding the reference to a different arbitration institution or arbitral body in such contract. Hence, the bare fact that the parties incorporated an arbitration clause in the Contract is sufficient to vest the CIAC with jurisdiction over any controversy or claim between the parties. This rule applies regardless of whether the parties specifically chose another forum or made reference to another arbitral body. Since the jurisdiction of CIAC is conferred by law, it cannot be subjected to any condition; nor can it be waived or diminished by stipulation, act or omission of the parties, as long as the parties agreed to submit their construction contract dispute to arbitration, or if there is an arbitration clause in the construction contract. The parties will not be precluded from electing to submit their dispute to CIAC, because this right has been vested in each party by law. [China Chang Jiang Energy Corporation (Philippines) v. Rosal Infrastructure Builders, G.R.No. 125706, September 30, 1996; National Irrigation Administration v. Court of Appeals, 376 Phil. 365 (1999)] The stipulation in the Contract for the prior referral of the dispute to the DAB shall not deprive CIAC of its jurisdiction over the dispute between the parties. To affirm a condition precedent in a construction contract which would effectively suspend the jurisdiction of the CIAC until compliance therewith would be in conflict with the recognized intention of the law and rules to automatically vest CIAC with jurisdiction over the dispute under a construction contract containing an arbitration clause.