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Key Text The Barangay Justice System in the Philippines: Is It an Effective Alternative to Improve Access to Justice for Disadvantaged People?

Author: S Sanz-Ramos Rojo
Date: 2002
Size: 28 pages

Summary

Can community mediation programmes improve access to justice for everyone, including the most disadvantaged? Do they really deliver speedy, cost-effective and good quality justice through non-adversarial processes? This MA dissertation from the Institute for Development Studies looks at the benefits of one such programme – the Barangay Justice System (BJS) in the Philippines.

Ordinary Filipinos (especially the poor) do not trust the formal judicial system, which has shown its incapacity to fulfil its function and responsibility of delivering justice equitably. This has led to an increasing interest in alternative forms of dispute resolution. It has also led to the legal and political recognition of the BJS. Definitively, the BJS, as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system, has proved to be fast, less expensive, and to have an immediate impact in responding to current issues. These include: (1) delay, (2) access to justice, and (3) corruption. The data shows that, in 1998, 279,115 barangay disputes were recorded, of which 84 percent were settled. In addition, qualitative research studies also show that community residents believe that the BJS actually improves access to justice for all barangay residents.

As a result, the BJS initiative is providing a different and more accessible channel for poor people to realise their right to resolve their disputes at the community level. The limitations and operational gaps should not detract from the positive impacts that the system is having on the overall progress in the administration of justice in the Philippines. The BJS appears to be an acceptable mechanism to the poor for the following reasons:

Apart from being an institutionalised system mandated and enforceable by law, it is localised in the community and administered by local officials, who, despite their political status, are considered to be more understanding of community needs and values than formal judges
It is also an informal system aimed at an amicable settling of emerging disputes, instead of at adjudicating in concordance with standardised provisions established by law
Disputes are addressed in a comprehensive way, where other factors beyond the strict provision of the law are taken into account
Although this individualisation of justice may reveal certain limitations, people feel more satisfied with flexible processes in which they are allowed to negotiate and confront their disputes, making them responsible for the final outcome.

However, there are various operational problems that must be overcome in order to improve BJS’s effectiveness, and thus its responsiveness to the poor. The following recommendations have emerged from the analysis of the main problems of the system:

Institutional and legal support should be strengthened to guarantee ‘sufficient’ budget to the BJS
A more sustained education and advocacy programme should be developed
Capacity building should be increased through systematic and regular training and de-politicisation of the recruitment process of mediators
Supervision mechanisms should be improved
Documentation and reporting functions should be strengthened
Inter-barangay coordination and communication (the exchange of experiences and BJS officials) should be improved.

Source: Sanz-Ramos Rojo, S. 2002, 'The Barangay Justice System in the Philippines: Is It an Effective Alternative to Improve Access to Justice for Disadvantaged People', dissertation prepared for the Institute of Development Studies
Author: Institute of Development Studies , http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids