Legal policy and constitutional purpose
- The decree institutionalizes the tradition of amicably settling disputes among family and barangay members at the barangay level without judicial recourse.
- The decree aims to promote the speedy administration of justice, consistent with the constitutional mandate to preserve and develop Filipino culture and strengthen the family as a basic social institution.
- The decree is intended to relieve courts from docket congestion and thereby enhance the quality of justice dispensed by courts.
Creation and structure of Lupon
- Section 1(a) (Creation) establishes a Lupon in each barangay, composed of the Barangay Captain as chairman and not less than ten (10) nor more than twenty (20) members.
- Lupon membership is filled by appointment of suitable persons actually residing or working in the barangay, who are not otherwise expressly disqualified by law, considering integrity, impartiality, independence of mind, sense of fairness, and reputation for probity, including educational attainment.
- The Barangay Captain prepares a notice within thirty (30) days after the decree becomes effective and thereafter within the first ten (10) days of January of every other year, listing proposed members who have expressed willingness to serve.
- The notice must be posted in three (3) conspicuous places in the barangay for not less than three (3) weeks; the Barangay Captain then appoints within ten (10) days after posting, considering opposition or recommendations.
- Appointments must be in writing, signed by the Barangay Captain, and attested by the Barangay Secretary, and the list of appointed members must be posted in three (3) conspicuous places for the entire duration of the term.
Oath, term, vacancies, and Lupon meetings
- Each Lupon member must take an oath of office before the Barangay Captain upon appointment.
- Lupon members hold office until December 31 of the calendar year subsequent to the year of appointment, unless sooner terminated by resignation, transfer of residence or work, or withdrawal of appointment by the Barangay Captain with the concurrence of the majority of all Lupon members.
- Vacancies in the Lupon are filled by the Barangay Captain as soon as possible; the replacement serves only the unexpired portion of the term.
- The Lupon exercises administrative supervision over the conciliation panels and meets regularly once a month to provide a forum for exchange of ideas among members and the public and to let panels share observations and experiences for speedy resolution.
Conciliation panels (Pangkat) and selection
- For each dispute brought before the Lupon, Section 1(a) (Conciliation Panels) requires a Pangkat ng Tagapagkasundo (Pangkat) consisting of three (3) members chosen by agreement of the parties from the Lupon list.
- If the parties fail to agree, selection follows a strike-out process in the presence of the Barangay Captain or Secretary, where the parties alternately strike names until only four (4) remain: three (3) are the Pangkat members and the fourth is the alternate, determined by lot.
- If any of the four remaining names is objected to for cause (resolved solely by the Barangay Captain), the procedure in Section 1(g) is followed.
- If there is more than one complainant or respondent, each side chooses its representative to participate in the strike-out process.
- The three Pangkat members elect from among themselves a chairman and secretary.
- The Pangkat secretary keeps minutes, attested by the chairman, and submits a copy to the Lupon Secretary and the proper city or municipal court; the secretary issues notices and gives certified true copies of any public record in custody that is not legally confidential.
- Vacancies in the Pangkat are filled by the Barangay Captain from among other Lupon members, determined by lot.
Public officer status and service rules
- Section 1(a) (Character of Office) deems Lupon and Pangkat members to be public officers and persons in authority within the meaning of the Revised Penal Code.
- Section 1(a) (Characters of Service) requires Lupon and Pangkat members to serve without any compensation or allowance whatsoever, and their service is treated as official time without diminution of their compensation or allowances due to service.
- Section 1(a) (Legal advice) authorizes the Barangay Captain or any Lupon/Pangkat member, when necessary in exercising functions, to seek advice of the legal adviser of the provincial/city/municipal government.
Subject matters and exclusions
- The Lupon has authority to bring together the parties actually residing in the same city or municipality for amicable settlement of all disputes except the following categories:
- Where one party is the government or any of its subdivisions or instrumentalities.
- Where one party is a public officer or employee and the dispute relates to the performance of his official functions.
- Offenses punishable by imprisonment exceeding 30 days, or a fine exceeding P200.00.
- Offenses where there is no private offended party.
- Such other clashes of disputes which the Prime Minister may determine in the interest of justice upon recommendation of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Local Government.
- For venue authority, disputes between persons actually residing in the same barangay are brought before the Lupon of that barangay.
- Disputes involving residents of different barangays within the same city or municipality are brought in the barangay where the respondent or any respondents actually resides, at the election of the complainant.
- All disputes involving real property or any interest therein are brought in the barangay where the real property or any part thereof is situated.
- The Lupon has no authority over disputes involving parties who actually reside in barangays of different cities or municipalities, except where such barangays adjoin each other, and no authority over real property located in different municipalities.
- Objections to venue must be raised during mediation before the Barangay Captain as provided in Section 4(b); otherwise, they are deemed waived.
- Legal questions arising in resolving venue objections may be submitted to the Minister of Justice, whose ruling is binding.
How proceedings start and mediation timelines
- Any individual with a cause of action against another individual involving a matter within the Lupon’s authority may complain orally or in writing to the Barangay Captain of the barangay referred to in Section 3.
- Upon receipt, the Barangay Captain must within the next working day summon the respondent(s) with notice to complainant(s) and their witnesses to appear for mediation.
- If the Barangay Captain fails to achieve effort within fifteen (15) days from the first meeting, the Barangay Captain must set a date for constitution of the Pangkat under Section 1.
- The Pangkat must convene no later than three (3) days from its constitution, on the day and hour set by the Barangay Captain, to hear both parties and witnesses, simplify issues, and explore amicable settlement; summons for personal appearance may be issued.
- If a party moves to disqualify any Pangkat member based on relationship, bias, interest, or similar grounds discovered after constitution, the matter is resolved by the affirmative vote of the majority of the Pangkat, and the decision is final.
- If disqualification is decided, the procedure in Section 1(g) is followed.
Sanctions, contempt, disqualification, and limits
- Refusal or willful failure of any party or witness to appear in compliance with Pangkat/Bangay Captain summons may be punished by the city or municipal court as indirect contempt of court upon application filed by the Lupon Chairman, Pangkat Chairman, or any party.
- Refusal or willful failure must be reflected in the records of the Lupon Secretary or in the minutes of the Pangkat Secretary and bars the complaint from seeking judicial recourse for the same cause of action, and bars the respondent from filing any counterclaim arising out of or necessarily connected therewith.
- Willful failure or refusal without justifiable cause by any Pangkat member to act as such, as determined by the vote of a majority of all the other members of the Lupon, results in disqualification from public office in the city or municipality for a period of one year; the decision is final.
- The Pangkat must arrive at a settlement/resolution within fifteen (15) days from the day it convenes, and the period is extendible for another period not exceeding fifteen (15) days in clearly meritorious cases, at the Pangkat’s discretion.
Form of settlement, public hearings, and appearances
- All amicable settlements must be in writing, in a language or dialect known to the parties, signed by the parties and attested by the Barangay Captain or the Pangkat Chairman, as applicable.
- If parties do not use the same language/dialect, the settlement must be written in the languages/dialects known to them.
- All proceedings for settlement are public and informal, but the Barangay Captain or Pangkat may exclude the public motu proprio or upon request of a party for privacy, decency, or public morals.
- In all proceedings, the parties must appear in person without the assistance of counsel/representative, except minors and incompetents, who may be assisted by their next of kin who are not lawyers.
Admissions, effect, execution, and repudiation
- Admissions made during proceedings for settlement are admissible for any purpose in any other proceeding.
- The amicable settlement and arbitration award 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 is made or a petition for nullification is filed in the proper city or municipal court.
- Execution may be enforced within one (1) year from the date of settlement; after lapse of that time, enforcement is by action in the appropriate city/municipal court.
- Any party may repudiate a settlement within ten (10) days from the settlement date by filing with the Barangay Captain a sworn statement showing consent was vitiated by fraud, violence or intimidation; repudiation is a sufficient basis for the certification for filing a complaint under Section 6.
Mandatory conciliation and arbitration options
- Section 6 makes conciliation a pre-condition: no complaint, petition, action, or proceeding involving a matter within Lupon authority may be filed in court or any other government office for adjudication unless there has been a confrontation before the Lupon Chairman or Pangkat and either no conciliation/settlement occurred certified by the Lupon Secretary or Pangkat Secretary and attested by the Lupon/Pangkat Chairman, or unless the settlement has been repudiated.
- Parties may go directly to court in these cases:
- Where the accused is under detention.
- Where a person has otherwise been deprived of personal liberty, calling for habeas corpus.
- Actions coupled with provisional remedies such as preliminary injunction, attachment, delivery of personal property, and support pendente lite.
- Where the action may be barred by the Statute of Limitations.
- Section 7 allows the parties, at any stage, to agree in writing to abide by the arbitration award of the Barangay Captain or Pangkat.
- The agreement to arbitrate may be repudiated within five (5) days from the date of agreement, using the same grounds and following the procedure prescribed in Section 13.
- The arbitration award must be made after the lapse of the repudiation period and within ten (10) days thereafter.
- Arbitration awards must be in writing in a language or dialect known to the parties, and if parties do not use the same language/dialect, the award must be written in the languages/dialects known to them.
Repudiation, certification, and court transmittal
- The Lupon Secretary submits reports: the Barangay Secretary concurrently serves as the Lupon Secretary, notes results of mediation proceedings before the Barangay Captain, and submits the report to the proper city or municipal court.
- The Barangay Secretary receives and keeps records submitted by conciliation panels and issues the certification referred to in Section 6.
- The Secretary of the Lupon transmits the settlement or arbitration award to the local city or municipal court within five (5) days from the award date or from the lapse of the ten (10) days for repudiating the settlement, and furnishes copies to each party and the Barangay Captain.
- Section 15 authorizes the Barangay Captain and Pangkat members to administer oaths in connection with any matter relating to all proceedings.
Administration, rules, separability, and appropriation
- Section 16 assigns implementation and administration to the Minister of Local Government and Community Development, who may promulgate rules and regulations upon consultation with the Minister of Justice.
- During rulemaking and administration, the Minister of Local Government and Community Development may seek cooperation and coordination from other national government departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, which are directed to render assistance whenever so requested.
- Legal questions arising in administration and implementation are submitted to the Minister of Justice for resolution.
- Section 17 provides a separability clause: if any provision is unconstitutional or invalid, the rest remain unaffected.
- Section 18 appropriates Twenty-five Million Pesos (P25,000,000.00) from the General Funds for the current year, and thereafter provides for necessary appropriations in the General Annual Appropriation Acts.