Down the Arbitration Drain

Inquirer Biz Buzz featured the deadlock between MWSS and water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water on the ruling of an arbitration panel ruling. Perhaps they should shudder at the word arbitrary which means autocratic or despotic,
according to Merriam-Webster.

So unlike mediation, where the MWSS and the concessionaires could have set their own conflict resolution which could have then more chances of being followed.

Voting The Chosen One

AFP reported on Hong Kong's "roadmap for leadership elections. That ruling stated that candidates for chief executive must be first be approved by a loyalist committee"
That seems to be a path to perdition!

Disputants are free to choose their own settlement of the conflict, guided by a mediator. Now, that is the way to peace.

Sounding Off The Mind

We have all seen affidavits and are familiar with the legalese. One phrase that is often included is "of sound mind," especially when crucial to the affidavit. Such was the bone of contention in a case in Iowa as reported by the New York Times News Service. The husband of a woman with Alzheimer's was accused of raping her in the nursing home. In the end, he was found not guilty.

Present day mediation involves such current issues.

Jumpy to Conclusion

Reuters reported that "coffee spill behind Serbian president's jet scare." It seems "the copilot spilled coffee on the instrument board," and not "engine failure, as blamed initially."

Mediation likewise goes to the root of the dispute, and not just the usual cause/ excuse.

Babalik-an Ka Rin

Now comes Binay Junior pleading the Supreme Court that all the allegations against him have been blotted out by his reelection as mayor. This injustice is traced to a condonation provision the Philippines had adapted from the United States. At the same time, the AFP reports that the "bookkeper of Auschwitz", ...Oscar Groening, 93, will be tried on 'accessory to murder' charges in 300, 000 cases of deported Hungarian Jews who were sent to the gas chambers, and faces up to 15 years jail,...70 years after the liberation of the concentration camps at the end of World War II." The German arm of the law is certainly longer than that of the Philippine's.

Mediation's coverage is likewise  far-reaching, up to cases pending in the Supreme Court.

What's In A Name

The name on my birth certificate was Luz Consuelo but I was baptized Lorna.  Light and Consolacion in aloneness! Now comes Mischief Reef on West Philippine Sea where the Chinese are up to its name. Then, the Sablayan Prison with so many irregularities.

Mediation, on the other hand, means intermediary. Enough said.

Another Record

This song could be the theme song of mediation. It goes like this: "Don't be afraid, I can meet you half-way... whenever we imagine"

Truly, mediation could involve fear of the unknown, unbeaten path other than the usual litigious way. Rather, it leads the disputants to compromise toward a fair and win-win settlement of their conflict. That requires a little creativity in deed.

Wor"l"d Records

Side by side with the news of the expanding reclamation of China over the corrals on the West Philippine Sea, PH mothers dealt with their own bad tidings by putting their babies in ecologically correct cloth diapers. At least, PH is winning in the Guinness Book of Records.

More important is the winning streak of court-annexed mediation. Its success rate ranges from 80-90%!

Manghihilo/t

Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD related this incident in his Sunday Inquirer column. A village healer suddenly lost his clientele when a prankster erased the letter "t" from his "manghihilot" sign on his front door. Fr. Jerry then asked, "Are you one who confuses ,hurts, or disturbs others? Or are you one who comforts, eases and assures others?"

Mediators belong to the second group.

Crabby Marriage

Mediation is like counseling for two or more. Couple counseling is one such example. In a Mutts cartoon by Patrick McDonnell, a doctor octopus is counseling two crabs. He says, "You need more time together to get on each other's nerves.  I suggest a horrible vacation at a horrendous location." The crabs reply, "That sounds so romantic! Thanks, Doc."

In actual mediation, you get crabby couples out of those situations!