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July 15, 1993

SUPREME COURT ADMINISTRATIVE CIRCULAR NO. 14-93

TO : All Regional Trial Courts, Metropolitan Trial Courts,

Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts

SUBJECT : Guidelines on the Katarungang Pambarangay Conciliation

Procedure to Prevent Circumvention of the Revised
Katarungang Pambarangay Law (Sections 399-422,
Chapter VII, Title I, Book III, R.A. 7160, otherwise known
as the Local Government Code of 1991)

The Revised Katarungang Pambarangay Law under R.A. 7160, otherwise

known as the Local Government Code of 1991, effective on January 1, 1992, and
which repealed P.D. 1508, introduced substantial changes not only in the authority
granted to the Lupon Tagapamayapa but also in the procedure to be observed in
the settlement of disputes within the authority of the Lupon. cd i

In order that the laudable purpose of the law may not be subverted and its
effectiveness undermined by indiscriminate, improper and/or premature issuance
of certifications to file actions in court by the Lupon or Pangkat Secretaries,
attested by the Lupon/Pangkat Chairmen, respectively, the following guidelines are
hereby issued for the information of trial court judges in cases brought before them
coming from the Barangays:

I. All disputes are subject to Barangay conciliation pursuant to the

Revised Katarungang Pambarangay Law (formerly P.D. 1508, repealed and now
replaced by Secs. 399-422, Chapter VII, Title I, Book III, and Sec. 515, Title I,
Book IV, R.A. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991),
and prior recourse thereto is a pre-condition before filing a complaint in court or
any government offices, except in the following disputes:

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

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 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, since only individuals shall be parties to
Barangay conciliation proceedings either as complainants or
respondents (Sec. 1, Rule VI, Katarungang Pambarangay
Rules);

5. 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;

6. Offenses for which the law prescribes a maximum penalty of

imprisonment exceeding one (1) year or a fine over five
thousand pesos (P5,000.00); casia

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,
specifically the following:

a. Criminal cases where accused is under police custody or

detention (See Sec. 412 (b)(1), Revised Katarungang
Pambarangay Law);

b. Petitions for habeas corpus by a person illegally

deprived of his rightful custody over another or a person
illegally deprived of his liberty or one acting in his
behalf;

c. Actions coupled with provisional remedies such as

preliminary injunction, attachment, delivery of personal
property and support during the pendency of the action;
and

d. Actions which may be barred by the Statute of

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 Limitations.

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. Where the dispute arises from the Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Law (CARL) (Secs. 46 & 47, R.A. 6657);

11. Labor disputes or controversies arising from

employer-employee relations (Montoya vs. Escayo, et al., 171
SCRA 442; Art. 226, Labor Code, as amended, which grants
original and exclusive jurisdiction over conciliation and
mediation of disputes, grievances or problems to certain offices
of the Department of Labor and Employment);

12. Actions to annul judgment upon a compromise, which may be

filed directly in court (See Sanchez vs. Tupaz, 158 SCRA 459).

II. Under the provisions of R.A. 7160 on Katarungang Pambarangay

conciliation, as implemented by the Katarungang Pambarangay Rules and
Regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Justice, the certification for filing a
complaint in court or any government office shall be issued by Barangay
authorities only upon compliance with the following requirements: aisa dc

1. Issued by the Lupon Secretary and attested by the Lupon

Chairman (Punong Barangay), certifying that a confrontation of
the parties has taken place and that a conciliation or settlement
has been reached, but the same has been subsequently
repudiated (Sec. 412, Revised Katarungang Pambarangay
Law; Sec. 2[h], Rule III, Katarungang Pambarangay Rules);

2. Issued by the Pangkat Secretary and attested by the Pangkat

Chairman, certifying that:

a. a confrontation of the parties took place but no

conciliation/settlement has been reached (Sec. 4[f], Rule
III, Katarungang Pambarangay Rules; or

b. that no personal confrontation took place before the

Pangkat through no fault of the complainant (Sec. 4[f],
Rule III, Katarungang Pambarangay Rules).

3. Issued by the Punong Barangay, as requested by the proper

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 party on the ground of failure of settlement where the dispute
involves members of the same indigenous cultural community,
which shall be settled in accordance with the customs and
traditions of that particular cultural community, or where one or
more of the parties to the aforesaid dispute belong to the
minority and the parties mutually agreed to submit their dispute
to the indigenous system of amicable settlement, and there has
been no settlement as certified by the datu or tribal leader or
elder to the Punong Barangay of the place of settlement (Secs.
1, 4, & 5, Rule IX, Katarungang Pambarangay Rules); and

4. If mediation or conciliation efforts before the Punong Barangay

proved unsuccessful, there having been no agreement to
arbitrate (Sec. 410 [b], Revised Katarungang Pambarangay
Law; Sec. 1, c, (1), Rule III, Katarungang Pambarangay
Rules), or where the respondent fails to appear at the mediation
proceeding before the Punong Barangay (3rd par. Sec. 8, a,
Rule VI, Katarungang Pambarangay Rules), the Punong
Barangay shall not cause the issuance of this stage of a
certification to file action, because it is now mandatory for him
to constitute the Pangkat before whom mediation, conciliation,
or arbitration proceedings shall be held. aisa dc

III. All complaints and/or informations filed or raffled to your sala/branch

of the Regional Trial Court, Metropolitan Trial Court or Municipal Trial Court
shall be carefully read and scrutinized to determine if there has been compliance
with prior Barangay conciliation procedure under the Revised Katarungang
Pambarangay Law and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, as a pre-condition
to judicial action, particularly whether the certification to file action attached to the
records of the case comply with the requirements hereinabove enumerated in par.
II;

IV. A case filed in court without compliance with prior Barangay

conciliation which is a pre-condition for formal adjudication (Sec. 412[a] of the
Revised Katarungang Pambarangay Law) may be dismissed upon motion of
defendant/s, not for lack of jurisdiction of the court but for failure to state a cause
of action or prematurity (Royales vs. IAC, 127 SCRA 470; Gonzales vs. CA, 151
SCRA 289), or the court may suspend proceedings upon petition of any party
under Sec. 1, Rule 21 of the Rules of Court; and refer the case motu proprio to the
appropriate Barangay authority, applying by analogy Sec. 408[g], 2nd par., of the
Revised Katarungang Pambarangay Law which reads as follows:

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 "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 proprio refer the case to the Lupon concerned for amicable
settlement.

Strict observance of these guidelines is enjoined. This Administrative

Circular shall be effective immediately.

Manila, Philippines, July 15, 1993.

(SGD.) ANDRES R. NARVASA

Chief Justice

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 Endnotes

1 (Popup - Popup)
PD 1508
RA 7160

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