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IMPLEMENTING RULES OF THE GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE

As member organization of the Advertising Board of the Philippines (ADBOARD), the Grievance Committee (the "Committee") hereby adopts the rules of procedure of the ADBOARD Trade Practices & Conduct Committee (TPCC), insofar as they are applicable and shall apply in a suppletory manner in case of deficiency of the following rules:

RULE 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. The Committee has jurisdiction over all cases involving violation(s) of the OAAP Code of Ethics and Trade Practices by and among its members or any interested party. The parties involved in a complaint shall initially take earnest efforts to settle the case amicably before a case is filed with the Grievance Committee
Section 2. As unity is the aim of the OAAP, all members shall exhaust all remedies in the resolution of conflicts among themselves and through the Committee prior to seeking redress in other fora or venues.
Section 3. Failure of the members to abide by the preceding section shall constitute as a bar to seek such action or relief in any other fora or venues.

RULE 2: PARTIES TO A COMPLAINT
Section 1. Any OAAP member, ADBOARD member organization or its members, or any party of interest may file a complaint against any member of the OAAP engaged in advertising for violation of the OAAP Code of Ethics and Trade Practices or any unfair business practice committed by members.
Section 2. Any member of the OAAP Board of Directors (the "Board") may motu propio initiate a complaint against an OAAP member for cases only involving public interest or for conduct inimical to OAAP and the industry, and then refer the matter to the Committee.
Section 3. Where the Complainant is a non-member, the Complaint must contain an undertaking, that the Complainant:

a) Unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of the Committee as the final arbiter of the issues raised in the Complaint including counter-claims of the Respondent, if any;

b) Shall abide by the final decision of the Committee on Complaint and/ or counter-claims, if any;

c) Henceforth, unconditionally submits to the jurisdiction of the Committee as the final Arbiter whenever a complaint is likewise filed by any AdBoard member.
Section 4. Where the Respondent is a non-member of the OAAP or ADBOARD member association, the Respondent must consent, in writing, to the jurisdiction of the Committee before the case can be given due course. Once consent is given, the consent cannot be withdrawn and the issue of jurisdiction of the Committee over the Respondent and the issues in that particular case cannot be subsequently raised. The consent to the jurisdiction of the Committee given by a non-member-respondent is valid only in that particular case and not in all cases unless consent is likewise given. In cases where the respondent is a non-OAAP member but whose client is an AdBoard member, the case shall be elevated to the AdBoard. The OAAP may act as a co-complainant / complainant whenever it deems necessary.
Section 5. Unless those filed by any interested party against an OAAP member involving public interest and/or conduct inimical to the OAAP or to the industry, the Committee may refuse to accept a complaint filed before it where both parties (complainant and respondent) are non-members, or non-members of the ADBOARD or other member association. Both parties must consent to the jurisdiction of the OAAP and the Committee before the case is given due course. The OAAP reserves the right to charge the parties fees for adjudicating the case different from that assessed on members.
Section 6. The complaint should be in writing addressed to the OAAP through its President, and must be signed by an authorized representative of the company.
Section 7. The complaint, should be submitted in six (6) copies plus one (1) per respondent to the OAAP Secretariat, stating the nature of the complaint, clearly citing the provision in the OAAP Code of Ethics and Trade Practices allegedly violated.
Section 8. The complaint can only be considered submitted if accompanied by full supporting documents and full payment of the prescribed filing fee. Within two (2) working days, the OAAP secretariat shall confirm receipt thereof or return the same unprocessed if deficient in full supporting documents or filing fees.
Section 9. The Committee may prescribe the proper forms for any filing under these Rules.

RULE 3: FILING FEES
Section 1. A fee structure shall be set by the Board to defray the cost of hearings, research and documentation. These shall include, but not be limited to the following:

(a) Complaint Filing Fee;

(b) Motion for reconsideration due to new additional evidence which shall be equal to the complaint filing fee.

(c) Re-filing Fee due to "no case" resulting from non-appearance of Complainant within the prescribed appearance time, shall be equal to double the Complaint Filing Fee;
In the meantime, the filing fee set for all the above-stated cases is hereby initially set at Five Thousand (Php 5,000.00) Pesos. Non-ADBOARD members shall pay double the foregoing amount filing fees.
Section 2. Filing fees for Board-initiated complaints or complaints from the public are waived.

RULE 4: CONFIDENTIALITY
Section 1. Once a case has been filed and until the decision has become final and executory, the Committee members, OAAP directors, officers and staff directly or indirectly involved in the case shall maintain strict confidentiality. The Committee, however, shall maintain a list of pending cases, including the parties and issues involved.
Section 2. All records pertaining to the case shall likewise be treated with confidentiality for the time period given the preceding section.
Section 3.

To help ensure the privacy of information pertinent to Committee hearings and investigations, all parties involved are required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Section 4. After the Board has rendered a decision on a case, however, and granting no further appeal is made, the OAAP may release information on cases, should it become necessary, e.g. for use as reference material for other cases, when any contending party cites a previous case decision in a complaint or appeal or for purposes of circulating the sanctions imposed.

RULE 5: SCHEDULE OF HEARINGS
Section 1. The OAAP Secretariat must schedule an initial conciliation hearing within ten (10) working days after the case is formally filed and informing the parties thereof. In the earliest time possible, the Secretariat should immediately furnish the Respondent with a copy of the complaint letter with all its supporting documents. The respondent shall submit a formal reply at least five (5) working days before the hearing date.
Section 2. The Complainant and the Respondent may request for one (1) postponement each provided that the request is made in writing and submitted to the Secretariat three (3) working days prior to the scheduled hearing date. The rescheduled hearing date shall not be later than seven (7) working days from the previously scheduled hearing date.
Section 3. The filing of the formal reply by respondent as stated in Section 1 hereof is non-extendible. Non-filing or late filing thereof may be a ground for the denial of any request for postponement.

RULE 6: REPRESENTATION AND NON-APPEARANCE
Section 1. The Representative of the contending parties attending any hearing or executing any document therein must be fully conversant on the merits of the case. Legal counsel of contending parties may be present but strictly in an advisory capacity. In the initial conciliation proceedings, however, legal counsel shall not be present, unless he/she is the Sole Proprietor, Partner, President and/or Chief Executive Officer of one of the parties to the complaint that has either been with the contending party since inception or been employed as such capacity for at least three (3) years prior to the filing of the Complaint.
Section 2. The Committee shall have right to exclude and/or expel lawyers from any proceeding when their presence or behavior is disruptive thereto or for other contemptuous behavior.
Section 3. For failure of the complainant to appear within one (1) hour of the set starting time of case hearings, the Committee may dismiss the complaint. The complaint fee is forfeited. The dismissal is, however, without prejudice to the re-filing of the complaint.
Section 4. In the event that the respondent fails to appear within one (1) hour of the scheduled hearing time the respondent shall be declared in default and the complainant shall be allowed to present evidence. Judgment shall be rendered in accordance with the facts and evidence presented.

RULE 7: REPRESENTATION AND NON-APPEARANCE
Section 1. During the hearings, three (3) Committee members, either regular or alternate, shall constitute a quorum to hear complaints. A particular member may excuse himself from sitting as a member in cases of inhibition due to conflict of interest as provided in Section 2 of this Rule.
Section 2. A member of the Committee shall inhibit himself from participating in case investigations/ hearings in any of the following instances:

(a) If the case at hand involves the member himself or the company/ organization in which he is employed;

(b) If he is related within the 2nd degree of consanguinity and/ or affinity to either party involve in the complaint or if he is similarly related to a high-ranking and/ or senior officer of either party.

(c) If he or the company/organization he represents has business relations with the any of the parties involved in the complaint.
Section 3. In any of the above instances, the alternate member may take the place of the regular member. If all members inhibit themselves for the above-stated reason, the President may appoint such number of members as necessary.

RULE 8: HEARING, RECOMMENDATION & DECISION
Section 1. Hearing and deliberation of cases shall be conducted in the most expedient manner possible and shall not be bound by technical rules of procedure. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the panel must immediately convene to arrive at a recommendation to the Board. If this is not possible, the panel is allowed a maximum of seven (7) working days to arrive at a recommendation.
Section 2. The recommendation shall be penned and signed by all members of the hearing panel and the Chairperson within seven (7) working days.
Section 3. Conduct of Hearings. The hearing shall be confined only to the issues raised in the complaint and/or counter claims of the respondent, if any.
Section 4. Due Process. The Committee shall observe due process in the conduct of all its hearings and proceedings. For purposes of expediency, however, the Committee may require the simultaneous submission of position papers and/or draft recommendation desired with the evidence they have presented and offered.
Section 5. Resource Persons. Whenever the Committee deems appropriate, technical assistance, such as and not limited to legal opinions and advice from the OAAP Legal Counsel, may be sought from competent member organizations and/or individuals.
Section 6. Ocular Inspection.When deemed necessary, the Committee shall likewise order in writing the conduct of an ocular inspection or a series thereof, in the presence of representatives of both parties, equally sharing the expense thereof. The absence of one or both representatives despite due notice shall not delay or postpone the inspection.
Section 7. Additional Investigation. The Committee may conduct its own separate and independent investigation to ascertain the truth of the allegations of the parties.
Section 8. Recommendation. The recommendation of the Committee on the case shall be based on:

(a) Laws of the Land;
(b) The OAAP Code of Ethics and Trade Practices
(c) ADBOARD rules and regulations
(d) The inter-sectoral agreements, including cultural and religious sector
(e) Code of Ethics, rules and regulations and or guidelines governing each member association, as applicable.
(f) The evidence presented and offered by the parties during the hearing.
(g) The position paper and/or the draft decision desired submitted by the parties, if required by the Committee
(h) Findings of the Committee from the resource persons, ocular inspection and the conducted additional investigation, if any.
Section 9. The Committee shall render a recommendation by a majority vote of its three members.
Section 10.

The recommendation shall be in writing, containing the factual and legal basis for which it was rendered, and shall be signed by all the consenting members. The recommendation is, however, subject to final approval of the Board during its next regular scheduled meeting. A dissenting Committee member may write and sign his or her dissenting opinion which shall be part of the record to be considered by the Board during final approval.
Section 11. If approved by the Board, the Secretariat shall furnish all parties copies of said recommendation with the board resolution approving or modifying the same within 48 hours.
Section 12. Once approved by the Board, the Committee's recommendation shall be final and executory after the lapse of ten (10) working days from receipt of the decision. Before the decision becomes final and executory, either party may file a motion for reconsideration and/or re-opening of the case based on new evidence. No motion for reconsideration on any other ground shall be entertained.

RULE 9: NEW EVIDENCE
Section 1. evidence refers to evidence, which could not have been discovered prior to or during the hearings in the Committee by exercise of due diligence and which is of such character as would probably change the result of the hearing.
Section 2. Re-opening of cases based on new evidence shall be granted only once.
Section 3. A case filed based on new evidence after the decision has become final and executory shall be considered as a new case.
Section 4. All requirements/procedures in the filing and hearing of cases shall apply.

Rule 10: Appeal Process
Section 1. Appeal shall follow the process established by the OAAP.
Section 2. An appeal filed outside the reglamentary period shall not be given due course and the original decision shall be considered final and executory.
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