IBP BOHOL CHAPTER AWARENESS SEMINAR IN LILA, BOHOL
Last Friday, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bohol Chapter, led by its President, Atty. Licelle B. Zamora, conducted an Awareness Seminar for Punong Barangays and Barangay Secretaries regarding the Katarungang Pambarangay Law or the Barangay Justice System. The Seminar was held at the Community Fish Landing Center of Brgy. Macalingan, Lila, Bohol. Also, in attendance were yours truly, Attys. Idonah Lee Grupo-Coritico, Dave Maulas and Kathrine Sarte. Yours truly conducted the Seminar which was composed of two parts: 1) provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991 on Katarungang Pambarangay Law (Sections 399 to 422); and 2) Templates/Forms to be used in Katarungang Pambarangay proceedings.
Although the Punong Barangays who act as Lupong Tagapamayapa Chairpersons and their Barangay Secretaries know Katarungang Pambarangay or Barangay Justice System by heart since they always mediate, conciliate and attempt to resolve conflicts in the community, the Seminar still armed them with new learnings, especially on the theoretical part. For instance, it was made clear to them that after filing of a complaint in the Barangay, the act of the Punong Barangay of meeting and listening the parties and asking questions is known as Mediation. When the conflict is not settled at the level of the Punong Barangay, then a Pangkat Tagapagkasundo of three members of the Lupon will be chosen by the parties themselves and this particular stage is called Conciliation.
Although it is practice very rare, the participants of the Seminar were also lectured on Barangay Arbitration. Unlike that of the Mediation and Conciliation stages, wherein the mediators and conciliators will not render judgment, the Arbitrator in a Katarungang Pambarangay setting is allowed to render a decision after hearing the parties and their witnesses. However, in order to proceed to Arbitration and the Award to be binding to the parties, the latter should enter into an Agreement to Refer the Conflict to Arbitration.
Aside from the foregoing general principles, the Awareness Seminar touched upon the issue of matters which are cognizable before the Barangay Justice System. As a general rule, all matters between natural persons residing in the same city and municipality should undergo Barangay conciliation. The exceptions are: 1) where one party is the government, or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof; 2) where one party is a public officer or employee and the dispute relates to the performance of his official functions; 3) where the dispute involves real properties located in different cities and municipalities, unless the parties thereto agree to submit their difference to amicable settlement by an appropriate Lupon; 4) any complaint by or against corporations, partnerships or juridical entities; 5) disputes involving parties who actually reside in barangays of different cities or municipalities, except where such barangay units adjoin each other; 6) offenses for which the law prescribes a maximum penalty of imprisonment exceeding 1 year or a fine of over P5,000.00; 7) offenses where there is no private offended party; 8) disputes where urgent legal action is necessary to prevent injustice from being committed or further continued; 9) any class of disputes which the President may determine in the interest of justice or upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Justice; 10) dispute arises from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL); 11) labor disputes or controversies arising from employer-employee relations; and 12) actions to annul judgment upon a compromise which may be filed directly in court.
Participants were also refreshed of the venue provisions of the Barangay Justice System, to wit: 1) disputes between persons actually residing in the same barangay shall be brought for amicable settlement before the lupon of said barangay; 2) those involving actual residents of different barangays within the same city or municipality shall be brought in the barangay where the respondent or any of the respondents actually resides, at the election of the complaint; 3) all disputes involving real property or any interest therein shall be brought in the barangay where the real property or the larger portion thereof is situated; and 4) those arising at the workplace where the contending parties are employed or at the institution where such parties are enrolled for study, shall be brought in the barangay where such workplace or institution is located.
The Awareness Seminar ended with a long question and answer portion to respond to clarifications on the lecture as well as actual problems in the implementation of the Katarungang Pambarangay Law.