INTRODUCTION

The Katarungang Pambarangay is a three-person mediation in which the

mediators are drawn from volunteers in the barangay. In rural communities, "barangay"
refers to "village," while in cities "barangay" is considered to be the smallest political
unit. Presently in the Philippines, there are more or less 40,000 barangays and so it is safe
to say that there are about 40,000 Katarungang Pambarangay mediation centers. 1 The
current official Katarungang Pambarangay system is based upon these time-honored
traditions of amicably settling disputes among family and barangay members without
court involvement. The preliminary statement of the law's intent laments the
indiscriminate filing of cases in the courts of justice and how this has contributed heavily
and unjustifiably to the congestion of court dockets, effectively causing the deterioration
of the quality of justice in the country. 2 It is thus the express intent of the law to help
relieve the courts of such crowded dockets and to institutionalise a system of amicably
settling disputes at the barangay level. 3

PROCEDURE

Mediation and Settlement with the Punong Barangay

The complainant whose right has been violated after the payment of the
appropriate filing fee any individual who has a cause of action against another may
complain, orally or in writing, to the Punong Barangay. 4 Thereafter and upon receipt of

1
The Official Web Site of the Republic of the Philippines, http://www.gov.ph/catjlocalgov/default.asp (last
visited Nov. 19, 2008).
2
An Act Providing for a Local Government Code of 1991, Rep. Act No. 7160 (1991) [hereinafter Local
Government Code].
3
Martinez-Pecino, supra note 7; see also Local Government Code, supra note 12, at 421: ("The city or
municipal mayor, as the case may be, shall see to the efficient and effective implementation and
administration of the katarungang pambarangay. The Secretary of Justice shall promulgate the rules and
regulations necessary to implement this Chapter.").

4
Rule VI, Sec. 4, Katarungang Pambarangay Circular No. 1, Katarungang Pambarangay Rules and
Forms, July 21, 1992
the complaint, the Punong Barangay shall within the next working day summon the
respondent(s), with notice to the complainant(s) for them and their witnesses, to appear
before him not later than 5 days from date thereof for mediation of their conflicting
interests.5 The respondent shall then be given the opportunity to answer the complaint,
orally or in writing, by denying specifically the material averments of the complaint
and/or alleging any lawful defense. He may also interpose a counterclaim against
complainant, a cross-claim against a co-respondent or a third-party complaint against one
not yet a party to the proceedings.6

In the even that there is a successful conclusion of his mediation effort, the
Punong Barangay shall reduce to writing in a language or dialect known to the parties the
terms of the settlement agreed upon by them, have them sign the same, and attest to its
due execution.7 However, if the Punong Barangay fails in his mediation efforts within 15
days from the first meeting of the parties before him, or where the respondent fails to
appear at the mediation proceeding before the Punong Barangay, he shall set a date for
the constitution of the Pangkat Tagapagkasundo or Panel for Conciliation.8

Conciliation by the Pangkat Tagapagkasundo

Should the mediation with the Punong Barangay fail and unsuccessfully resoves
the dispute between the parities, the Pangkat shall convene not later than 3 days from its
constitution, on the day and hour set by the Punong Barangay, to hear both parties and
their witnesses, simplify issues, and explore all possibilities for amicable settlement. The
Pangkat may also issue summons for the personal appearance of parties and witnesses. If
a party moves to disqualify any member of the Pangkat by reason of relationship, bias,
interest, or any other similar grounds, the matter shall be resolved by the affirmative vote
of the majority of the Pangkat whose decision shall be final. Should disqualification be

5
Rule III, Sec. 1 b (1), ibid.
6
Rule VI, Sec.5, ibid.
7
Rule III, Sec. 1 b (4), ibid.
8
Rule VI, Sec.8 a, 3rd par., ibid.
decided upon, the vacancy shall be filled by drawing lots.9

In a case where that the respondent refuses or willfully fails to appear without
justifiable reason before the Pangkat, as determined by the latter after notice and hearing,
shall be a sufficient basis for the issuance of a certification for filing complainant's cause
of action in court or with the proper government agency or office. In any case, the
Pangkat shall arrive at a settlement or resolution of the dispute within 15 days from the
day it convenes. This period shall, at the Pangkats discretion, be extendible for another
period which shall not exceed 15 days, except in clearly meritorious cases. 10

The Punong Barangay and the Pangkat shall proceed to hear the matter in dispute
in an informal but orderly manner, without regard to technical rules of evidence, and as is
best calculated to effect a fair settlement of the dispute and bring about a harmonious
relationship of the parties.11 Proceedings before the Punong Barangay shall be recorded
by the Lupon Secretary while those before the Pangkat shall be recorded by the Pangkat
Secretary. The record shall note the date and time of hearing, appearance of parties,
names of witnesses and substance of their testimonies, objections and resolutions, and
such other matters as will be helpful to a full understanding of the case.12

All proceedings for settlement shall be public and informal but the Punong
Barangay or the Pangkat chairman, as the case may be, may motu proprio or upon
request of a party, exclude the public from the proceedings in the interest of privacy,
decency, or public morals13. In all proceedings, the parties must appear in person without
the assistance of counsel or representative, except for minors and incompetents who may
be assisted by their next-of-kin who are not lawyers.14 The total ban to the presence of

9
Sec. 404, R.A. 7160
10
Rule VI, Sec.8 a, 3rd par., Katarungang Pambarangay Circular No. 1.
11
Rule VI, Sec.5, ibid.
12
Id.
13
Sec. 414, ibid.
14
Sec. 415, ibid.
lawyers is consistent with the purpose and intentions of the barangay towards an
amicable settlement without resulting to court litigations that their respective counsels
may suggest if they were to be permitted to participate.

Any party to the dispute may, within 10 days from the date of the settlement,
repudiate the same by filing with the Punong Barangay a statement to that effect sworn to
before him, where the consent is vitiated by fraud, violence, or intimidation. Such
repudiation shall be sufficient basis for the issuance of the certification for filing a
complaint in court or any government office. Failure to repudiate the settlement within
the aforesaid time limit shall be deemed a waiver of the right to challenge on said
grounds.15

The amicable settlement and arbitration award shall have the force and effect of a
final judgment of a court upon the expiration of 10 days from the date thereof, unless
repudiation of the settlement has been made or a petition to nullify the award has been
filed before the proper city or municipal court. Except that in cases where the court motu
proprio referred a non-criminal case to the Lupon which is not within the latters
jurisdiction, the compromise settlement agreed upon shall first be submitted to the court
and upon approval thereof, have the force and effect of a judgment of said court.16

Arbitration Option

One of the unique features of the Katarungang Pambarangay system is its

flexibility. Although primarily intended to help disputants reach amicable settlement
through conciliation and mediation, the system can also provide arbitration should the
parties so desire. If arbitration is the preferred process, all the parties must agree in
writing, at any stage in the proceedings, that they will abide by the arbitration award of
the Lupon chairman or the Pangkat.17 As with the mediated settlement, the arbitration

15
Rule VI, Sec. 14, Katarungang Pambarangay Circular No. 1.
16
Sec. 416, R.A. 7160.
17
Sec. 418, R.A. 7160.
award is made in writing in the language or dialect known to both parties to a dispute.18
This arbitration award may be repudiated within five days upon certain grounds such as
fraud, mistake, violence or intimidation prescribed by law; if the award is repudiated,
the case will then go to trial.19

The official award from the arbitration must be finalized within ten days after the
five-day lapse period for repudiation. 20 The secretary of the Lupon transmits the
arbitration award to the appropriate city or municipal court within five days from the date
of the award and furnishes copies to each of the parties as well as to the Lupon
Chairman.21 As with the mediated agreement, the arbitration award is enforced by the
Lupon within six months.22 After the six months have lapsed, is may now be enforced by
action in the appropriate city or municipal court as the case may be.23

BARANGAY CONCILIATION EXPERIENCE

We were fortunate enough to be given the chance to witness even for few minutes a
mediation proceeding in front of the Punong Barangay of Barangay Tandang Sora since,
although mediations and conciliations in the barangay are generally open to the public, it
is nevertheless frowned upon and discouraged since the parties tend to be more reserved
or be more conscious when there are other people present during these proceedings.
Maybe out of embarrassment or, at times, just like the Punong Barangay said, they tend
to be more hostile when in the presence of outsiders. We were given the opportunity to
watch the confrontation between the complainant and the respondent together with their
respective witnesses in a case involving a minor disagreement that led to a fistfight.
Apparently, they are neighbors who constantly had misunderstandings regarding the
complainants vehicle always parked in front of the gate of the respondent which the

18
Id. at Sec. 413 (b).
19
Id. at Sec. 413 (a).
20
id.
21
Id. at Sec. 419.
22
Id. at Sec. 417.
23
Id.
latter ultimatly took exception one afternoon and punched the complainant and eventually
into a brawl. The mediation started off calm although you can still the faces of both
parties still obviously fuming at each other with killer stares to one another. The Punong
Barangay was very composed and patiently listened to both parties arguments as well as
their witnesses to corroborate their respective claims. We noticed that his strategy is quite
simple: he merely emphasized to both parties that it is best to just talk about the problem
calmly, understand and forgive each other, and settle the problem peacefully since should
they pursue a case with the courts, it will only casue them delay, irritation, cost, and
embarrassment which is obviously unfavorable to both parties. Resorting to the court is
also not ideal as the punong barangay emphasized that instead of controlling their own
fate and dealing with their differences personally, the disputants are placing their future
into the hands of strangers who may not understand the problem and even rift it would
cause them and their families should they opt to pursue a case against each other. There is
the risk that anything can happen in court. And there is one's obligation to society if all
people take their cases to court; it causes delay and a lower quality of justice for every-
one. The Punong barangay also emphasized that setlling the dispute peacefully is a win-
win situation for both parties and, although the barangay is not authorized to determine
who among the contending parties is wrong or right, he nevertheless gave his opinion
regarding the matter and suggested a proper resolution to the seemingly lack of parking
space in their neighborhood. The punong barangay also lectured the complainant and
advised him to be more considerate in parking his vehicle not to the point of block the
complainants gate to avoid any future disagreements. At this point, both parties seem to
take the advice and lectures of the Punong Barangay as they then looked meek and
amenable. Unfortunately, we were then advised by the Punong Barangay to leave the
room so that both parties can talk privately and settle their differences without thinking of
any outside factors or embarrassment with the presence of any outsider. Without being
able to witness the actual settlement, we believe that the Punong Barangay did just
enough to convince both parties to settle their disputes amicably and compromise their
differences while meeting halfway.