Background of the Study
The barangay is the basic unit of government in the Philippines. Unknown to many, it is where much of actual governance takes place, and where the government and the citizens meet face to face. More than a hundred roles have been assigned to barangays by the Local Government Code of 1991 and various special laws ranging from the delivery of basic services to women and children protection under RA 9262. It is no wonder that barangays are able to perform all of these obligations in view of their limited resources and personnel. Yet, we observe that they have also been given a significant role in a process that keeps societies intact, making justice work. Under the present Local Government Code of 1991, the Katarungang Pambarangay system or the Barangay Justice System is an extra governmental mechanism aimed at perpetuating the time honored tradition of amicably settling interpersonal disputes in a community without recourse to the formal legal system of confrontational social behavior. It provides a way for members of a barangay to settle their disputes through mediation, conciliation and arbitration without resorting to the formal justice system; i.e., the courts. The primordial objective of the Katarungang Pambarangay Rules, is to reduce the number of court litigations and prevent the deterioration of the quality of justice which has been brought about by the indiscriminate filing of cases in the courts. To attain this objective, Section 4123 (a) of Republic Act No. 7160 requires the parties to undergo a conciliation process before the Lupon Chairman as a precondition to filing a complaint in court. Section 399 (a) of Republic Act 7610, known as the Local Government Code has created in each barangay a Lupong Tagapamayapa, hereinafter referred to as the lupon, composed of the Punong Barangay, as chairman; and ten (10) to twenty (20) members who are residing or working in the barangay and possessing integrity, impartiality, independence of mind, sense of fairness, and reputation for probity, may be appointed a member of the Lupon (Section 399[b] RA 7160). The Lupon shall be constituted every three (3) years in the manner provided in section 399(a), RA 7160. This means that the Lupon may change its composition or membership every three (3) years. The Lupong Tagapamayapa carries with them in the exercise of their functions the different behaviors and characters. The traits, performance, attributes and individuality they manifest, when recognized and harnessed, can promote peace and reconciliation at the local level where they build consensus through dialogue which promote trust among the members of the governing body and the community. The central feature of the system is the Lupong Tagapamayapa, a community-based conflict resolution effort that is highly supportive of the notions of social ordering and human development. While the speedy administration of justice is the immediate concern of the Katarungang Pambarangay, of equal importance is the leadership building and community empowerment as the resultant effects of institutionalizing the system. This paper does not attempt to do a policy evaluation of the Katarungang Pambarangay (KP) system. Limitations in time, resources, and case samples, prevent us from pursuing such objective. But we conduct this study as an attempt to appreciate how a particular aspect of governance – the delivery of justice works in the country’s basic political unit. It likewise attempts to find out how an innovative practice can be fully utilized to benefit communities. Statement of the Problem
The study will attempt to determine the socio-demographic profile and the problems encountered by the Lupong Tagapamayapa in different barangays of the Municipality of Bayambang. Specifically, it will seek to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the Lupong Tagapamayapa in the different barangays of Bayambang in terms of: 1.1...
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Rojo, Silvia Sanz-Ramos
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