Valenzuela City has conquered another milestone as 94% of its 33 barangays have sent barangay officials and members of Lupong Tagapamayapa to Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Basic Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Skills training held at Brentwood Suite and Artsy Café, Quezon City from September 4-9, 2017. 

The goal of the training, according to Atty. Rodan Parrocha, officer-in-charge of the DOJ’s Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution (OADR), is to promote settling of conflicts between/among parties in a peaceful manner before bringing the issues into courts. It includes mediation, conciliation and arbitration. Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR aims to lessen up the piling number of complaints in different justice courts and to become worthy in advocating peace and reconciliation in the society. 

Parrocha believes that the main purpose of the training, which is being cascaded down to the local government units (LGUs) all over the country, has been highly achieved in Valenzuela City. That is, he said, “Kung paano ma-improve ang skills ng mga barangay official natin, ‘yung mga member ng lupong tagapamayapa natin para mas epektibo nilang ma-perform ang kanilang mga function into helping the parties to settle their disputes (On how to improve the skills of our barangay officials and lupong tagapamayapa for them to effectively perform their function in helping the parties to settle their disputes).” 

Meanwhile, Mr. Ernesto de Vega, a member of the Lupong Tagapamayapa of Barangay Lingunan said that exposure to different issues and scenarios during the training was a big help to them. “Napakaaplikable nito [the training] sa aming mga taga-Lupon para makatulong din kami sa ikasosolba ng ibang kaso at para hindi na maiakyat sa higher court (The training is very applicable to us, Lupong Tagapamayapa, in order for us to contribute on the resolution of some cases and to avoid bringing the issues into higher courts),” he added. 

OADR is an attached agency of the DOJ which was created through Republic Act No. 9285, also known as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004. Its primary goal is to promote the use of ADR in public and private sectors. 

OADR is located at the 2nd Floor of the DOJ Programs Building, Department of Justice, Padre Faura St., Manila. You can also reach them through 523-8481 local 398 or by its websites, http//oadr.doj.gov.ph and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Office-for-Alternative-Dispute- Resolution-OADR.