Baguio City – In its 27th year, the Labor Dispute Management Course (LDMC) continues to be an avenue for upskilling the Board’s case handlers and Directors. This year’s course was held at The Plaza Lodge Baguio, 32 South Drive, Baguio City on 27-29 June 2023. 

CAR Regional Branch Director Ronda Doctor-Malimban delivered the welcome remarks. She expressed her enthusiasm that the course would be an excellent learning experience and at the same time an opportunity for a pleasant stay in the City of Pines. 

The training course covered three (3) main topics: multidimensional thinking, the Community of Inquiry (COI), and appreciating financial statements. 

Assistant Professor Leander Marquez and Ms. Rola Ombao of the University of the Philippines – Diliman served as resource persons on multidimensional thinking and the Community of Inquiry (COI).

They shared their knowledge and insights on how multidimensional thinking and COI can be applied in conciliation and mediation. “Asking the most basic questions, the simplest of questions, is always very important because if we do not, then we make room for assumptions.” Ms. Ombao said. 

Conciliation-mediation values digging deeper from the surface and uncovering the real issues and gathering information through asking questions. 

Atty. Ma. Carmen Aldea-Espinosa assisted the case handlers in appreciating financial statements. 

Explaining the relevance of knowing how to read and interpret these documents, Atty. Aldea-Espinosa said, “financial statements are always being heavily referenced to by the parties when you do collective bargaining negotiations.” 

Calculating financial ratios and doing horizontal and vertical analysis of financial statements were covered in the session.

Executive Director Maria Teresita Lacsamana-Cancio expressed her delight at the turnout of the event and said, “This is one of the best LDMC trainings we had.” She commended the team behind the activity and hoped that the participants had gained knowledge and insights from the invited resource persons. 

Labor Dispute Management Course (LDMC) is an annual capacity building initiative of the Board for its case handlers and Regional Branch Directors. This year’s LDMC is the second leg of the three-part activity of the Board in Baguio. The Board has also held its Directors and Conciliator-Mediators’ Meeting and Salamat, Paalam! in the said city. 

For more information about this article, you may email cmd_co@ncmb.gov.ph or call (02) 8252-6262 local 747. 

END/ Eloisa Aquino