BAGUIO CITY – Two barangays that are both awardees met to strengthen best practices and share experiences in the field of Katarungang Pambarangay, on May 26.

The officials of Barangay AZKCO led by Punong Barangay Jefferson Cheng, who was named the Regional Champion of the Lupon Tagapamayapa Incentive Award (LTIA) in the Cordillera region, felt a warm and joyful welcome during the benchmarking conducted in Barangay Plainview, led by Punong Barangay Nerissa Garcia, who is known as the National Champion in the LTIA in Mandaluyong City.

With the theme “Sharing Knowledge Towards Strengthened Barangay Justice”, the two barangays exchanged their best practices and shared experiences with the aim of further increasing knowledge on how to improve services to the people under the Barangay Justice.

“On this occasion, we will probably learn a lot from you, this learning trip is very important for both our barangays and we will be able to share our best practices and we are very grateful that you chose us to come,” said PB Garcia.

According to Cheng, “we are very grateful that you granted our request to visit you as a national awardee, it is an honor for us to meet you personally and share our best practices and innovations for our barangay justice.”

The LTIA is an annual program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) that recognizes outstanding barangay justice committees for their excellent mediation of community disputes and peace building.

Its goal is to strengthen Barangay Justice and reduce court cases by resolving disputes at the grassroots level.

The DILG is evaluating the efficiency of 42,011 barangays in the country for their operational efficiency, effectiveness of settlement, and resourcefulness in resolving disputes between people and the incentives for the winning Boards will receive both trophies/citations and substantial financial or non-financial support from municipal to national awarding bodies.