However, this is not merely a matter of
applying and deriving conclusions from
cut and dried contractual provisions.
More accurately, what is on issue is
whether or not the Court of Appeals
correctly held that the CIAC Arbitral
Tribunal acted beyond its jurisdiction in
holding
that
the
price
of
P1,540,000,000.00 did not bind the
parties as an immutable lump
-sum.
Subsumed in this issue is the matter of
whether or not the Court of Appeals
correctly ruled that CECON was
rightfully entitled to time extensions
and that intervening circumstances
had made ACI liable for cost
adjustments, increases borne by
change orders, additional overhead
costs, extended contractor's all risk
insurance
coverage,
increased
attendance
fees
vis-a-vis
subcontractors, and arbitration costs
which it awarded to CECON.
This Court limits itself to the legal
question of the CIAC Arbitral Tribunal's
competence. Unless any of the
exceptional
circumstances
that
warrant revisiting the factual matter of
the accuracy of the particulars of every
item awarded to the parties is availing,
this Court shall not embark on its own
audit of the amounts owing to each.
I
This Court begins by demarcating the
jurisdictional
and
technical
competence of the CIAC and of its
arbitral tribunals.
I.A
The Construction Industry Arbitration
Commission was a creation of
Executive Order No. 1008, otherwise
known as the Construction Industry
Arbitration Law.[105] At inception, it
was
under
the
administrative
supervision of the Philippine Domestic
Construction Board[106] which, in turn,
was an implementing agency of the
Construction Industry Authority of the
Philippines (CIAP).[107] The CIAP is
presently attached to the Department
of Trade and Industry.[108]
The CIAC was created with the specific
purpose of an "early and expeditious
settlement of disputes"[109] cognizant
of the exceptional role of construction
to "the furtherance of national
development goals."[110]
Section 4 of the Construction Industry
Arbitration Law spells out the
jurisdiction of the CIAC:
Section 4. Jurisdiction. - 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 contract, or after the abandonment
or breach thereof. These disputes may
involve
government
or
private
contracts. For the Board to acquire
jurisdiction, the parties to a dispute
must agree to submit the same to
voluntary arbitration.
The jurisdiction of the CIAC may
include but is not limited to violation of
specifications
for
materials
and
workmanship; violation of the terms of
agreement;
interpretation
and/or
application of contractual time and
delays; maintenance and defects;
payment, default of employer or
contractor and changes in contract
cost.
