Budlaan is most outstanding lupon in Cebu City

CEBU, Philippines —  The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has named Barangay Budlaan as the barangay with the "Most Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa" among Cebu City’s 80 barangays.

According to the Public Information Office (PIO), this is the barangay's fifth time receiving the honor, which comes with a cash incentive of P120,000 from the DILG-Cebu City.

Barangay Sto. Niño came in second with the P80,000 cash incentive, followed by Sirao with P50,000 and Bacayan with P30,000.

The finalists are barangays Inayawan, Parian, Agsungot, Kalunasan, Guadalupe, Luz, Lahug, and Kasambagan, which received a cash incentive of P5,000 each.

The Lupong Tagapamayapa or Katarungang Pambarangay, as defined, is a system for amicable settlement of disputes at the barangay. It is an out-of-court resolution of conflicts by the community members themselves under the guidance of the punong barangay and without intervention of legal counsels and representatives.

The Punong Barangay is the chairman of the lupon.

The functions of the lupon are to exercise administrative supervision over the conciliation panels; meet regularly once a month to provide 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 dispute; and exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

Mayor Michael Rama said he envisioned the city’s lupons to reach the national level search and be recognized by the Malacañang.

In his speech, Rama said that he plans to raise the lupon's honorarium from P4,000 to P10,000 to encourage them to work hard in settling cases at the barangay level.

“Ultimately, when you have peace and order in the barangay, economic recovery will then follow. That’s why it is important to always acknowledge their efforts all the time,” said Rama.

Vice Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to Rama for the opportunity to work closely with the lupons, who play a vital role in decongesting the courts.

“I have learned a lot and I am proud to have done the part in helping our courts,” said Hontiveros.

DILG-Cebu City Director Ian Kenneth Lucero said the lupons’ dedication helped the government unclog already congested courts.

Lucero said the government saves around P9,500 in adjudication costs for every case the lupon settles.

He said around 80 percent of cases in the Region 7 were settled at the level of the lupon in 2021, helping the government save billions of pesos. — JMD (FREEMAN)