Subject:

Name of student:
Date of Visit to Mediation:

ADR
Miguel Castriciones
April 14, 2015
REACTION PAPER

Title of the Case

Nature of the Case

Concubinage

Parties

Name of Mediator

Legal Wife Complainant

Caregiver Defendant (alleged concubine)
American Husband (US Veteran)
Atty. Alvin Plantado

Facts of the Case:

** The Mediation which our group attended was already their 2nd session. Thus, during the
discussion of the parties, most facts were already implied and not threshed out by them extensively.

The complainant Legal Wife was demanding that certain properties in Sorsogon be
returned to her by the defendant Caregiver.
The Legal Wife alleges that said properties were a fruit of the industry and capital
between her and her American Husband, a US Veteran.
On the other hand, the defendant simply pleads ignorance: that she does not know
of any property which has been placed under her name.
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An obvious legal issue here is that the American Husband cannot own Philippine
property based on the constitutional prohibition under Article XII, section 7.

While the defendant Caregiver and her elderly mother would want to settle just to
clear their name, they confess that they do not have the sum of money being
asked for by the Complainant. Thus, they would rather let the case proceed.

Disposition (Was mediation Successful or not?)

NOT SUCCESSFUL

If not successful, state the reason/s which hampered the successful mediation.
Confusion as to facts.
In this particular case, it seems that the parties are confused as to the fact of
possession and ownership of the disputed property. A classic case of My word against

yours. Thus, it seems ideal that evidence be adduced in order to clear up the
confusion.
Unmotivated mediator
Although the mediator was quite candid and approachable, he did not impress upon the
parties the necessity of settling the case. He would rather sit back and listen to the
parties argue among themselves.

Reaction (on the conduct of the proceedings, effectiveness of the Mediator)

The proceedings were quite informal. The parties were allowed to vent out and to
express themselves without any format or structure. It was quite funny that the
parties even attempted to speak in English for the benefit of us law students.
ADR proceedings have a lot of potential, especially for Civil cases where a figure or
amount is reached amicably by the parties.
Based on your experience, do you believe that mediation plays an important role in
de-clogging the dockets of the courts, or is it just an additional layer that further
delays the disposition of the case?
Yes, mediation can play an important role in relieving the clogged court dockets. However,
it requires an extremely motivated lawyer who is focused on the ultimate purpose of
Alternative Dispute Resolution: To simplify the process of restitution between the parties, in
order to unclog the dockets of the court.
However, if the party is either destitute or where a criminal case is involved, I imagine that
Mediation would prove to be ineffective. This is because without any payment or
recompense available to him, the Complainant would really push for the case to proceed to
trial, regardless of how effective the Mediator is.

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