SyCipLaw Partner John Christian Joy A. Regalado participated as a panelist at the Regional Arbitral Institutes Forum (RAIF), held on 27 October 2026 at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The panel discussion brought together arbitration practitioners from across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss recent developments in their respective jurisdictions and how the arbitral landscape continues to evolve amid efforts toward greater procedural efficiency and other regional and global developments.
During the session, John discussed recent Philippine Supreme Court decisions involving the judicial review of arbitral awards. He highlighted the Court’s increasingly disciplined approach to distinguishing legitimate judicial supervision from an impermissible review of the merits of an arbitral award.
John noted that recent cases demonstrate a common direction in Philippine jurisprudence: courts may intervene when an arbitral award exceeds the tribunal’s authority or when a recognized statutory or procedural ground for review has been established. Outside the review permitted under the applicable legal regime, however, courts may not reweigh evidence or substitute their judgment for that of the arbitral tribunal merely on the ground that the tribunal allegedly committed an error of fact or law.
The session was moderated by Suhaib Ibrahim, Partner at Skrine, Malaysia. Joining John as speakers were Aaron Mathews, Partner at Aaron Mathews, Malaysia; Prof. Dr. Colin Ong KC, Barrister at Dcols (Brunei), Eldan (Singapore), and 36 Stone (UK); and Ong Pei Ching, Partner at TSMP Law Corporation, Singapore.
