REVISED PROCEDURES FOR MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION CASES IN THE CDA

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 8, Republic Act No. 6938,
authorizing the Cooperative Development Authority to mediate and
conciliate disputes within a cooperative or between cooperatives, the
Authority hereby promulgates the following procedures for the
request/petition for mediation and conciliation, under the said section,
to wit:

Sec. 8      Mediation and Conciliation — Upon request of either or
both parties, the Authority shall mediate and conciliate disputes
within a cooperative or between cooperatives; Provided, That if no
mediation or conciliation succeeds within three (3) months from request
thereof, a certificate of non-resolution shall be issued by the
commission prior to the filing of the appropriate action before the
proper courts.”

SECTION 1.       Title — The following shall be known as
the Procedures for Mediation and Conciliation Cases Before the
Cooperative Development Authority.

SECTION 2.       Definition of Terms — As used in these procedures, the term:

a.         Conciliation shall refer to a process whereby a
conciliator designated by the Authority calls together the parties
involved in a dispute, encourages them to discuss their differences, and
assists them in developing their own proposed solutions to the
disputes.

b.         Mediation shall refer to a process whereby a
conciliator designated by the Authority as mediator takes a more active
part in assisting the parties reach an amicable solution to the
problem/s and helps the conflicting parties develop or come out with an
acceptable solution to their problem.

The mediator may submit his own proposal/s for the settlement of the disputes.

c.         Mediator/Conciliator shall refer to an employee of
the Authority designated to act as such in relation to such requests for
mediation and conciliation. As far as practicable, the Legal Officer
assigned to each Extension Office shall act as mediator/conciliator. The
Extension Director shall have the authority to appoint other CDA
Regional employees to act as mediator/conciliator in the absence of such
Legal Officer.

SECTION 3.       Complaint — A letter/request/complaint
for mediation/conciliation may be filed with the nearest Extension
Office having jurisdiction over the cooperative. It may be in the form
provided herein as Annex “A”. It shall contain the following:

a.         The name/s and address/es of the complainant/s;

b.         The name/s and address/es of the persons being complained of;

c.         The issues and subject matter of the controversy;

d.         A certification that the complaint has undergone the
grievance mechanisms outlined in the cooperative’s by-laws, except when
the dispute to be mediated or conciliated is between a primary
cooperative and a federation or union; and

e.         The definite prayer of the complainant for the resolution of the complaint.

SECTION 4.       Grounds for Complaint for Mediation and/or Conciliation
— a) Matters involving the internal affairs of the cooperative, such as
but not limited to the rights and privileges of members, the rules and
procedures for meetings of the General Assembly, Board of Directors, or
the different cooperative committees, the rules and procedures for the
election and qualifications for officers, directors or committee
members; the allocation and distribution of surpluses and reserves and
all other matters involving the internal affairs of the cooperative that
the Authority may deem vital to the operations of the cooperative.

b)         For disputes between cooperatives, such matters may
involve the area of operations of the cooperatives and other such
matters involving disputes between cooperatives.

SECTION 5.       Matters Not Cognizable Under These Procedures
— The following are not cognizable for mediation and conciliation
conferences and hence cannot be the subject of any amicable settlement:

a.    Violation of Article 48, R.A. No. 6938;
b.    Violation of Article 49, R.A. No. 6938;
c.    Violation of Article 50, R.A. No. 6938;
d.    Violation of Article 84, R.A. No. 6938;
e.    Matters involving the grant and exercise of a franchise, a
license or certificate of public convenience or necessity as stated in
Article 98, paragraph (2) of R.A. 6938;
f.     Violation of Article 114, R.A. No. 6938;
g.    Non-Compliance with other laws as stated in Article 119, R.A. 6938;
h.    Violation of Article 124, R.A. 6938;
i.     Violation of Section 3 (o), R.A. 6938; and
j.      Criminal cases cognizable by the regular and/or special courts

SECTION 6.       Comments — Upon receipt of such
complaint, an order shall be issued BY the Extension Office requiring
the persons being complained of to file their comments/answers thereto
within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the order.

SECTION 7.       Prohibited Motions — The following motions shall not be allowed under these mediation/conciliation procedures.

a.         Motion to Dismiss;
b.         Motion for a Bill of Particulars;
c.         Motion for Extension of Time to File Pleadings, Affidavits or any other paper;
d.         Motion to declare Petitioner/Respondent in Default; and
e.         Motion for Intervention.

SECTION 8.       Conference — Upon receipt of the
comments from the person being complained of, the Extension Office shall
issue a notice of conference to all parties concerned stating the date,
time and venue of the conference.

SECTION 9.       General Preparations — (a) The mediator/conciliator shall have the following documents at his disposal during the said conference:

a.         A copy of the 1987 Constitution;
b.         A copy of the R.A. No. 6938, R.A. 6939, and the Implementing Rules;
c.         A copy of these Procedures and other pertinent issuances of the Authority;
d.         A copy of the cooperative’s articles of cooperation and by-laws;
e.         A copy of the Complaint and the Comments thereto; and
f.          Other documents that may be deemed necessary for the conference.

(b)       As far as practicable, the mediator/conciliator shall be
dressed in semi-formal office attire if the conference shall be held
within the Extension Office. If the conference is held in the field, he
may opt to wear casual attire.

(c)        The room where the conference is to be held must be
comfortable to all so that its atmosphere shall be conducive to the
settlement of disputes.

SECTION 10.    Purpose of Conference — At the start of
the conference, it shall be made clear that the purpose of the
conference is to see whether any settlement or agreement may be reached
between the parties after a thorough discussion of the issues. The
conference shall also define the issues clearly before any discussion.

SECTION 11.    Conduct of Conference — (a) It is not
required that the parties are represented by legal counsels for the
purpose of mediation and conciliation. However, they may be at or near
the conference in order to provide whatever legal advice their clients
may require.

(b)       A mediation/conciliation conference is not judicial
proceeding per se. Hence, the technical rules and procedures shall not
be applicable in such cases.

(c)        The conduct of the conference shall be
non-adversarial in nature and shall proceed with the end in view of
settling any internal dispute within the cooperative.

(d)       All parties involved or interested in the dispute
shall be afforded the opportunity to ventilate their views concerning
the dispute.

SECTION 12.    Notes — Notes of the proceedings of the
conference shall be made by mediator/conciliator and shall form part of
the records of the case.

SECTION 13.    Recess and Suspension — The conference may
be recessed from time to time in order for the parties to consult with
one another. It may also be suspended from day to day until the
positions of both parties on all issues are properly ventilated and
exhausted.

SECTION 14.    Motion for Postponement — No motion for postponement of a scheduled conference shall be entertained by the Authority.

SECTION 15.    Settlement or Agreement — (a) Once all the
issues have been ventilated and disposed of and parties have reached an
agreement, it shall be reduced into writing and attested by the
mediator/conciliator.

(b)       The agreement shall be clear and concise and must
contain all points of the parties’ understanding. Extra care must be
taken in drafting the Agreement in order to minimize doubtful or vague
interpretations that might result to further disagreement or worsening
of the problem.

(c)        Copies of the Agreement shall be furnished to the parties at the soonest possible time for their own records.

SECTION 16.    Responsibility of Mediator/Conciliator —
The conclusion of an agreement does not per se terminate the
responsibility of mediator/conciliator over the case. He must monitor
the implementation and compliance therewith to ensure that the parties
have indeed normalized their relationship.

SECTION 17.    Certificate of Non-Resolution — (a) In the
event that after the holding of the conferences and the issues have not
been resolved to the full satisfaction of all the parties concerned, a
certificate of non-resolution shall be issued to both parties, stating
the reasons for non-resolution. Such certificate may be the basis for
the filing of any action in the courts.

(b)       If no mediation or conciliation conference succeeds
within three (3) months from the filing of the petition or
letter/request, a certificate of non-resolution shall be issued by the
Authority prior to the filing of appropriate action before the proper
courts.

(c)        If no conference succeeds due to the non-attendance
of either or both parties within the three month period, a certificate
of non-resolution may be issued stating the non-attendance of the
parties and other pertinent information.

SECTION 18.    Repealing Clause — Any rules, regulations,
issuances and the likes which are contrary or inconsistent with any of
the provisions of these procedures are hereby repealed.

SECTION 19.    Effectivity — These procedures shall take effect upon their approval by the Board of Administrators of the Authority.

Adopted: 12 Sept. 2000

(SGD.) JOSE C. MEDINA, JR.
Chairman