2 EV barangay courts are among the country’s best

By MYLES JOSEPH E. COLASITO
April 11, 2008

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Two barangays in the region were honored in the 2007 Lupong Tagapamayapa Incentives Award (LTIA) ceremonies held recently at the Malacañan Palace, Manila.

The Lupong Tagapamayapa of Brgy. Hingatungan, Silago, Southern Leyte was hailed as the best among barangays in 4th to 6th class towns in the country, while Brgy. Sabang North of Borongan City, Eastern Samar was adjudged First Runner-Up among barangys in 1st to 3rd class municipalities.

Former Punong Barangay Florencio Malaki and some Lupon members of Hingatungan, Silago, Southern Leyte, personally received the award from Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, DILG Undersecretary Melchor Rosales, and former Court of Appeals Justice Bernardo Abesamis (representing Supreme Court Justice Reynato Puno). Punong Barangay Juan Tuñacao and some of his Lupon members accepted the First Runner-Up award for Sabang North, Borongan City, Eastern Samar in behalf of the former Punong Barangay Enrico Villero.

Also witnessing the event were DILG-8 Operations Division chief Libertino Ocenar, representing Director William C. Paler, and LGOO V Nida dela Cruz of DILG Borongan City.

Hingatungan: Consistent Winner

Barangay Hingatungan Lupon is a consistent winner in the regional search, and won in the LTIA National Level in 2003.  Silago’s biggest barangay, Hingatungan is a gateway to the province of Leyte as motorized boats ply the waters between the barangay and the town of Abuyog.

During the coverage period (June 2006-June-2007), Hingatungan Lupon received a total of 25 cases, 22 of which were settled by Punong Barangay Florencio Malaki. Two cases were conciliated by the Pangkat ng Tagapagkasundo, and one case is pending. There were no cases of repudiation of settlements.

To help resolve cases fairly and effectively, the barangay conducted separate pre-hearing counseling with both parties to open their minds to a possible amicable settlement. At the start of the hearing, the Punong Barangay leads a prayer, and then gives all parties a fair chance to voice out their arguments, while ensuring that proper decorum is observed. Barangay Tanods are stationed outside the room to provide emergency help. The lupon reaches out to the offices of the local Assessor and Land Reform as well as the Philippine National Police for assistance in straightening out land problems or peace and order problems. The Mayor’s advice to involved parties also helped settle disputes.

KP Innovations in Sabang North

Sabang North in Borongan led by Punong Barangay Enrico B. Villero has twice won National First Runner-Up Honors, its first being in 2006.  Borongan qualified as a first class municipality in the search, as it was then a municipality during its coverage period. Borongan was ratified as a city on June 20, 2007.

To minimize the intensity of disputes, the Lupon of Brgy. Sabang North in Borongan conducted one-on-one dialogs with each party. Likewise they posted KP flow charts and other Katarungan Pambarangay (KP) laws in their Bulwagan to make them visible to the public and inform as many people as possible. Reorientation trainings on the KP were also conducted by the local DILG officer during Monthly Meetings with the Punong Barangays and Barangay Secretaries.

Other Winners

Other national winners are: Barangay Barretto of Olongapo City for Highly Urbanized Cities Category; Barangay Washington, Surigao City for Component Cities; and Barangay Lamao, Limay, Bataan for 1st to 3rd class municipalities.

Barangay Barretto and Barangay Lamao are Hall of Fame Awardees for consistently winning the award for three consecutive years.

First runner up under the HUC category is Barangay Middle Quezon Hill, Baguio City while Barangay Sasa 43, Buhangin District, Davao City is second runner-up.

First runner-up for Component Cities is Barangay Pedro Colina, Cotabato City while second runner-up is Barangay San Agustin, Iriga City.

Second runner-up for 1st to 3rd class municipalities is Barangay Poblacion, La Trinidad, Benguet.

Under the 4th to 6th class municipalities category, first runner-up is Barangay Special District, Jala-jala, Rizal and second runner-up is Barangay Quezon, Mainit, Surigao del Norte.

Prizes

Each national winner received a presidential trophy and a cash prize of P100,000.00 from the DILG, Supreme Court and Gerry Roxas Foundation (GRF). Hall of Fame awardees each received a presidential trophy courtesy of DILG and a cash prize of 25,000 pesos courtesy of PAGCOR, and an additional trophy from GRF. Runners-up received plaques of recognition courtesy of DILG and GRF and cash award of 30,000 and 25,000 pesos respectively courtesy of the DOJ, Liga ng mga Barangay, and PCSO.

The search is conducted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) together with the Supreme Court, Department of Justice, National Police Commission, Liga ng mga Barangay and the Gerry Roxas Foundation.

The winners bested 39,513 organized lupong tagapamayapa in cities and municipalities nationwide because of their outstanding contributions in the promotion of Katarungang Pambarangay objectives.

The LTIA was established in 1997 as a means to institutionalize a system of granting economic benefits and other incentives to the Lupong Tagapamayapa that demonstrates exemplary performance in settling disputes at the grassroots level.

The performance and accomplishments of the lupons were evaluated by committees organized at the regional, provincial and municipal levels on the basis of a) efficiency of operations; b) effectiveness in securing the katarungang pambarangay objectives and c) creativity and resourcefulness of mediators.

The Katarungang Pambarangay, 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 or confrontational social behavior.

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 leadership building and community empowerment as the resultant effects of institutionalizing the system.