Barangay Justice System In Barangay Matatalaib, Tarlac City: An Evaluation

The Barangay Justice System or Katarungang Pambarangay is a system for the amicable settlement of disputes at the barangay level. It aims to promote speedy administration of justice and to relieve the courts of conciliable criminal and civil cases. The Barangay Justice System is neither a court of justice nor a judicial tribunal where cases are heard and decided before a judge or a jury. It is an administrative body at the barangay level where community members may reconcile their differences without resorting to judicial process, thus avoiding protracted and expensive settlement of disputes before the court. This study focused on the Barangay Justice System of Matatalaib which included 989 filed cases. The respondents of the study included the punong barangay (village captain), barangay secretary and twenty (20) members of the lupongtagapamayapa (community conciliators). Documentary analysis and interview were the primary sources of the data. Based on the gathered data, majority of the filed cases were resolved with the help of the barangay justice system. Robbery/theft and trespassing were the cases which were commonly not resolved due to the lack of: evidence and the identities of who committed the offenses. Key Words: Barangay Justice System, Good Governance Policy