ARTICLE IV

Procedure in Dispute Resolution

SECTION I. Initiation of Mediation.

a. Any Mason who is a party to a Masonic or non-Masonic dispute resolution by filing with the Board of District Temple Harmony (DTH) through its Chairman, the District Deputy Grand Master, a written request for such dispute resolution under the DTH;

b. The District Deputy Grand Master may also request the disputing parties to submit a written request for dispute resolution under the DTH;

c. The request shall contain a brief statement of the nature of the dispute, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the parties to the dispute;

d. Upon receipt of such a request, the District Deputy Grand Master shall contact the other party, to seek his decision whether or not he consents to the referral of the dispute to the DTH.

SECTION 2. Appointment of a Mediator or Mediators.

a. The Chairman (DDGM), upon receipt of the request for mediation, shall immediately convene the DTH to discuss the case and appoint a Harmony Office (HO) to the case. A single HO shall be appointed, unless the parties shall specifically request for more HOs or if the DTH determines the need for more than one (1) HO. If the HO or HOs shall be unwilling or be unable to serve, the DTH Board shall immediately appoint another HO or HOs to the case.

SECTION 3. Date, Time and Place of Mediation

a. The date, time and place for the initial and subsequent mediation sessions shall be determined by the assigned HO, in consultation with the parties concerned: Provided, that the disputing parties shall not take any intoxicating liquor or beverage, within twenty-four (24) hours, before and after the session.

SECTION 4.

Identification of the matter/s in dispute. At least ten (10) days before the first scheduled session of the DTH, each party shall provide the DTH Board, through the DDGM, a brief summary of the matter in dispute, the Issues to be resolved, and the party's position thereof. At the discretion of the HO, there may be an exchange of summaries by the parties.

During the first session, the parties shall submit all information reasonably necessary to enable the HO to fully understand the matter in dispute and the issues involved.

The HO may request either or both parties to submit additional documents or information, necessary to aid the HO in resolving the matter in dispute.

SECTION 5.

Role of the Assigned Harmony Officer (HO). - The Harmony Officer may, at his option, employ conciliation or mediation methods of dispute resolution or a combination of conciliation and mediation. He shall always be neutral, independent and act in an impartial manner;

SECTION 6.

Authority of the assigned Harmony Officer. - The HO may conduct separate or joint meetings with the parties to make his recommendation for settlement. He shall not have the authority to impose any settlement on the parties. He shall only assist the parties to reach an amicable settlement of their dispute.

Whenever necessary, the HO may request the Chairman (DDGM) to give him guidance concerning legal and technical aspects of the dispute from the Governing Board.

SECTION 7.

Privacy and confidentiality of matters discussed in conciliation/mediation meetings. - The conciliation/mediation meetings shall be private in nature, so that information disclosed to the HO by the parties shall not be divulged or revealed by the HO to other parties.

Third parties may attend, only with the permission of the parties and with the prior knowledge and consent of the HO.

All records, reports and other documents received by the HO, the DTH Board and the Governing Board shall be kept strictly confidential. The HO, DTH Board or the Governing Board shall not be compelled to disclose any such records. Neither shall the same be testified on in any Masonic proceedings, except in proceedings conducted by the Governing Board.

SECTION 8. Termination of DTH dispute resolution proceedings. - The dispute proceedings before the DTH shall be terminated by the HO when:

a. the parties execute a settlement of the dispute; b. a party or both parties no longer desire to have the dispute resolved under the DTH; and c. the HO determines that further efforts at dispute resolution will be futile.

SECTION 9. Reportorial requirement:

a. The DTH shall submit a written confidential report to the Governing Board every end of March, June, September and December of each year. This Report shall be in the form to be furnished by the Governing Board.

b. The Governing Board (Masonic Mediation Center) shall submit to the Grand Master, a summary of all the reports submitted by the DTH to the Governing Board, within thirty (30) days from receipt thereof.