Council rallies behind local contractors’ woes

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council has requested President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to establish a Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) branch office in the different regions of the country to address the present needs of the construction industry.

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera delivered a privilege speech before the council yesterday tackling the plight of the local contractors as well as local property owners and developers.

“The CIAC office is located in Makati City, Metro Manila, and they do not have regional offices. So kung naay mga kaso kabahin sa construction, apil na ang mga construction contract that we have, ang kaso adto didto i-file sa Manila, adto i-hear, and then even ang kanang mag-construct ka sa imohang gamay nga balay nga moingon tag socialized housing, kung naa kay problema sa imong contractor, adto nimo i-file in Metro Manila,” said Pesquera.

As provided in the CIAC Revised Rules of Procedure Governing Construction Arbitration, any party to a construction contract desiring to avail of arbitration shall file its Request for Arbitration in the prescribed form and number of copies to the Secretariat of the CIAC.

Pesquera said this proved to be detrimental to the interest of the construction companies, property owners, developers and even local government units which are located in other parts of the country such as the City of Cebu.

“There is a need for the said government entity to establish branches in other parts other than Metro Manila, so that the services will be accessible to all,” she said.

With this, the council also requested the CIAC to accredit more arbitrators and mediators from the provinces like the Province of Cebu, and cities outside Manila such as the City of Cebu to handle cases within their own locality. —GMR (FREEMAN)