MALACAÑANG

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 721

DECLARING JANUARY 25 TO 31, 1996 AS VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION WEEK

WHEREAS

, Art. XIII, Sec. 3, paragraph (3) of the Constitution promotes the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes;

WHEREAS

, there is a need to create a broader consciousness of voluntary arbitration as an effective measure in the resolution of labor disputes and as an alternative to strikes or lockouts, particularly those arising from collective bargaining agreements;

WHEREAS

, our experience in the search for stable labor-management relations has shown that collective bargaining agreements are best administered and enforced through the process of voluntary arbitration and not through litigation;

WHEREAS

, voluntary arbitration is responsive to the challenges of global competitiveness and to the rapidly changing global business environment and new world trade order, as envisioned by the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT);

WHEREAS

, voluntary arbitration is an empowering alternative to realize the vision of Philippines 2000 in the field of labor-management relations;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS

, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare January 25 to 31, 1996 as Voluntary Arbitration Week, under the auspices of the Philippine Association on Voluntary Arbitration, Incorporated.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF

, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE

in the City of Manila, this

25

^th


day of

January

in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.

(Sgd.)

FIDEL V. RAMOS

By the President

(Sgd.)

RUBEN D. TORRES