CHAPTER VII

Katarungang Pambarangay

Section 399. Lupong Tagapamayapa. -

(a) There is hereby 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.
The lupon shall be constituted every three (3) years in the manner
provided herein.

(b) Any person actually residing or working, in the barangay, not

otherwise expressly disqualified by law, and possessing integrity,
impartiality, independence of mind, sense of fairness, and reputation
for probity, may be appointed a member of the lupon.

(c) A notice to constitute the lupon, which shall include the names of
proposed members who have expressed their willingness to serve,
shall be prepared by the punong barangay within the first fifteen (15)
days from the start of his term of office. Such notice shall be posted in
three (3) conspicuous places in the barangay continuously for a
period of not less than three (3) weeks;

(d) The punong barangay, taking into consideration any opposition to

the proposed appointment or any recommendations for appointment
as may have been made within the period of posting, shall within ten
(10) days thereafter, appoint as members those whom he determines
to be suitable therefor. Appointments shall be in writing, signed by the
punong barangay, and attested to by the barangay secretary.

(e) The list of appointed members shall be posted in three (3)

conspicuous places in the barangay for the entire duration of their
term of office; and

(f) In barangays where majority of the inhabitants are members of

indigenous cultural communities, local systems of settling disputes
through their councils of datus or elders shall be recognized without
prejudice to the applicable provisions of this Code.

Section 400. Oath and Term of Office. - Upon appointment, each lupon
member shall take an oath of office before the punong barangay. He shall
hold office until a new lupon is constituted on the third year following his
appointment unless sooner terminated by resignation, transfer of residence
or place of work, or withdrawal of appointment by the punong barangay
with the concurrence of the majority of all the members of the lupon.

Section 401. Vacancies. - Should a vacancy occur in the lupon for any
cause, the punong barangay shall immediately appoint a qualified person
who shall hold office only for the unexpired portion of the term.

Section 402. Functions of the Lupon. - The lupon shall:

(a) Exercise administrative supervision over the conciliation panels

provided herein;

(b) Meet regularly once a month to provide a forum for exchange of

ideas among its members and the public on matters relevant to the
amicable settlement of disputes, and to enable various conciliation
panel members to share with one another their observations and
experiences in effecting speedy resolution of disputes; and

(c) Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and
functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

Section 403. Secretary of the Lupon. - The barangay secretary shall

concurrently serve as the secretary of the lupon. He shall record the results
of mediation proceedings before the punong barangay and shall submit a
report thereon to the proper city or municipal courts. He shall also receive
and keep the records of proceedings submitted to him by the various
conciliation panels.

Section 404. Pangkat ng Tagapagkasundo. -

(a) There shall be constituted for each dispute brought before the
lupon a conciliation panel to be known as the pangkat ng
tagapagkasundo, hereinafter referred to as the pangkat, consisting of
three (3) members who shall be chosen by the parties to the dispute
from the list of members of the lupon.

Should the parties fail to agree on the pangkat membership, the

same shall be determined by lots drawn by the lupon chairman.
 (b) The three (3) members constituting the pangkat shall elect from
among themselves the chairman and the secretary. The secretary
shall prepare the minutes of the pangkat proceedings and submit a
copy duly attested to by the chairman to the lupon secretary and to
the proper city or municipal court. He shall issue and cause to be
served notices to the parties concerned.

The lupon secretary shall issue certified true copies of any public
record in his custody that is not by law otherwise declared
confidential.

Section 405. Vacancies in the Pangkat. - Any vacancy in the pangkat shall
be chosen by the parties to the dispute from among the other lupon
members. Should the parties fail to agree on a common choice, the
vacancy shall be filled by lot to be drawn by the lupon chairman.

Section 406. Character of Office and Service of Lupon Members. -

(a) The lupon members, while in the performance of their official

duties or on the occasion thereof, shall be deemed as persons in
authority, as defined in the Revised Penal Code.

(b) The lupon or pangkat members shall serve without compensation,

except as provided for in Section 393 and without prejudice to
incentives as provided for in this Section and in Book IV of this Code.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government shall provide
for a system of granting economic or other incentives to the lupon or
pangkat members who adequately demonstrate the ability to
judiciously and expeditiously resolve cases referred to them. While in
the performance of their duties, the lupon or pangkat members,
whether in public or private employment, shall be deemed to be on
official time, and shall not suffer from any diminution in compensation
or allowance from said employment by reason thereof.

Section 407. Legal Advice on Matters Involving Questions of Law. - The

provincial, city legal officer or prosecutor or the municipal legal officer shall
render legal advice on matters involving questions of law to the punong
barangay or any lupon or pangkat member whenever necessary in the
exercise of his functions in the administration of the katarungang
pambarangay.
Section 408. Subject Matter for Amicable Settlement; Exception Thereto. -
The lupon of each barangay shall have authority to bring together the
parties actually residing in the same city or municipality for amicable
settlement of all disputes except:

(a) Where one party is the government, or any subdivision or

instrumentality thereof;

(b) Where one party is a public officer or employee, and the dispute
relates to the performance of his official functions;

(c) Offenses punishable by imprisonment exceeding one (1) year or a

fine exceeding Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00);

(d) Offenses where there is no private offended party;

(e) Where the dispute involves real properties located in different

cities or municipalities unless the parties thereto agree to submit their
differences to amicable settlement by an appropriate lupon;

(f) Disputes involving parties who actually reside in barangays of

different cities or municipalities, except where such barangay units
adjoin each other and the parties thereto agree to submit their
differences to amicable settlement by an appropriate lupon;

(g) Such other classes of disputes which the President may

determine in the interest of Justice or upon the recommendation of
the Secretary of Justice.

The court in which non-criminal cases not falling within the authority
of the lupon under this Code are filed may, at any time before trial
motu propio refer the case to the lupon concerned for amicable
settlement.

Section 409. Venue. -

(a) Disputes between persons actually residing in the same barangay

shall be brought for amicable settlement before the lupon of said
barangay.
 (b) 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.

(c) 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.

(d) 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.

Objections to venue shall be raised in the mediation proceedings

before the punong barangay; otherwise, the same shall be deemed
waived. Any legal question which may confront the punong barangay
in resolving objections to venue herein referred to may be submitted
to the Secretary of Justice, or his duly designated representative,
whose ruling thereon shall be binding.

Section 410. Procedure for Amicable Settlement. -

(a) Who may initiate proceeding - Upon payment of the appropriate

filing fee, any individual who has a cause of action against another
individual involving any matter within the authority of the lupon may
complain, orally or in writing, to the lupon chairman of the barangay.

(b) Mediation by lupon chairman - Upon receipt of the complaint, the

lupon chairman 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 for a mediation of their conflicting
interests. If he fails in his mediation effort within fifteen (15) days from
the first meeting of the parties before him, he shall forthwith set a
date for the constitution of the pangkat in accordance with the
provisions of this Chapter.

(c) Suspension of prescriptive period of offenses - While the dispute

is under mediation, conciliation, or arbitration, the prescriptive periods
for offenses and cause of action under existing laws shall be
interrupted upon filing the complaint with the punong barangay. The
 prescriptive periods shall resume upon receipt by the complainant of
the complainant or the certificate of repudiation or of the certification
to file action issued by the lupon or pangkat secretary: Provided,
however, That such interruption shall not exceed sixty (60) days from
the filing of the complaint with the punong barangay.

(d) Issuance of summons; hearing; grounds for disqualification - The

pangkat shall convene not later than three (3) days from its
constitution, on the day and hour set by the lupon chairman, to hear
both parties and their witnesses, simplify issues, and explore all
possibilities for amicable settlement. For this purpose, the pangkat
may issue summons for the personal appearance of parties and
witnesses before it. In the event that a party moves to disqualify any
member of the pangkat by reason of relationship, bias, interest, or
any other similar grounds discovered after the constitution of the
pangkat, the matter shall be resolved by the affirmative vote of the
majority of the pangkat whose decision shall be final. Should
disqualification be decided upon, the resulting vacancy shall be filled
as herein provided for.

(e) Period to arrive at a settlement - The pangkat shall arrive at a

settlement or resolution of the dispute within fifteen (15) days from
the day it convenes in accordance with this section. This period shall,
at the discretion of the pangkat, be extendible for another period
which shall not exceed fifteen (15) days, except in clearly meritorious
cases.

Section 411. Form of settlement. - All amicable settlements shall be in

writing, in a language or dialect known to the parties, signed by them, and
attested to by the lupon chairman or the pangkat chairman, as the case
may be. When the parties to the dispute do not use the same language or
dialect, the settlement shall be written in the language known to them.

Section 412. Conciliation. -

(a) Pre-condition to Filing of Complaint in Court. - No complaint,

petition, action, or proceeding involving any matter within the
authority of the lupon shall be filed or instituted directly in court or any
other government office for adjudication, unless there has been a
confrontation between the parties before the lupon chairman or the
 pangkat, and that no conciliation or settlement has been reached as
certified by the lupon secretary or pangkat secretary as attested to by
the lupon or pangkat chairman or unless the settlement has been
repudiated by the parties thereto.

(b) Where Parties May Go Directly to Court. - The parties may go

directly to court in the following instances:

(1) Where the accused is under detention;

(2) Where a person has otherwise been deprived of personal

liberty calling for habeas corpus proceedings;

(3) Where actions are coupled with provisional remedies such

as preliminary injunction, attachment, delivery of personal
property and support pendente lite; and

(4) Where the action may otherwise be barred by the statute of

limitations.

(c) Conciliation among members of indigenous cultural communities.

- The customs and traditions of indigenous cultural communities shall
be applied in settling disputes between members of the cultural
communities.

Section 413. Arbitration. -

(a) The parties may, at any stage of the proceedings, agree in writing
that they shall abide by the arbitration award of the lupon chairman or
the pangkat. Such agreement to arbitrate may be repudiated within
five (5) days from the date thereof for the same grounds and in
accordance with the procedure hereinafter prescribed. The arbitration
award shall be made after the lapse of the period for repudiation and
within ten (10) days thereafter.

(b) The arbitration award shall be in writing in a language or dialect

known to the parties. When the parties to the dispute do not use the
same language or dialect, the award shall be written in the language
or dialect known to them.
Section 414. Proceedings Open to the Public; Exception. - All proceedings
for settlement shall be public and informal: Provided, however, That the
lupon chairman 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 morals.

Section 415. Appearance of Parties in Person. - In all katarungang

pambarangay 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.

Section 416. Effect of Amicable Settlement and Arbitration Award. - The

amicable settlement and arbitration award shall have the force and effect of
a final judgment of a court upon the expiration of ten (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.

However, this provision shall not apply to court cases settled by the lupon
under the last paragraph of Section 408 of this Code, in which case the
compromise or the pangkat chairman shall be submitted to the court and
upon approval thereof, have the force and effect of a judgment of said
court.

Section 417. Execution. - The amicable settlement or arbitration award

may be enforced by execution by the lupon within six (6) months from the
date of the settlement. After the lapse of such time, the settlement may be
enforced by action in the appropriate city or municipal court.

Section 418. Repudiation. - Any party to the dispute may, within ten (10)
days from the date of the settlement, repudiate the same by filing with the
lupon chairman 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
as hereinabove provided.

Section 419. Transmittal of Settlement and Arbitration. - Award to the

Court. - The secretary of the lupon shall transmit the settlement or the
arbitration award to the appropriate city or municipal court within five (5)
days from the date of the award or from the lapse of the ten-day period
repudiating the settlement and shall furnish copies thereof to each of the
parties to the settlement and the lupon chairman.

Section 420. Power to Administer Oaths. - The punong barangay, as

chairman of the lupong tagapamayapa, and the members of the pangkat
are hereby authorized to administer oaths in connection with any matter
relating to all proceedings in the implementation of the katarungang
pambarangay.

Section 421. Administration; Rules and Regulations. - 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.

Section 422. Appropriations. - Such amount as may be necessary for the

effective implementation of the katarungang pambarangay shall be
provided for in the annual budget of the city or municipality concerned.