The Lupong Tagapamayapa is an administrative body created by law to operationalize the barangay justice system which is better known as the Katarungang Pambarangay. It is not in legal contemplation a court (DOJ Opinions No. 95, s. 1981 and No. 43, s. 1982). The Lupon or its Chairman and the Pangkat do not try cases and decide cases which are the essence of the jurisdiction vested upon a court of law (Gonzales v. Court of Appeals, 151 SCRA 287, 291-292 [1987]).

Katarungan Pambarangay (KP) is the Philippine response to the continuing global search for indigenous mediation structures capable of resolving disputes within a community, and beyond the formal courts of justice. The principal feature of KP is the Lupong Tagapamayapa. For years of conflict resolution of experiences, there is the view that successes have been largely attributed to the commitment and dedication of Lupon members in the performance of their duties and responsibilities. Cognizant to the significant contributions of the Lupons in the furtherance of the KP objective through the years, the DILG launched the Lupong Tagapamayapa Incentives Awards, both as a function of public policy and as a tribute to outstanding Lupon performance.

The Lupong Tagapamayapa Incentives Awards (LTIA) was established pursuant to Section 406 (b) of the LGC of 1991 which mandates the DILG to grant economic and other incentives to Lupong Tagapamayapa (LT) for their outstanding contributions to attain the objectives of the Katarungang Pambarangay.

It was established in 1997 as a means to institutionalize a system of granting economic benefits and other incentives to the Lupong Tagapamayapa that demonstrates exemplary performance in settling disputes at the grassroots level. The performance and accomplishments of the lupons were evaluated by committees organized at the regional, provincial and municipal levels on the basis of a) efficiency of operations; b) effectiveness in securing the katarungang pambarangay objectives and c) creativity and resourcefulness of mediators.

Role of DILG:

1. To spearhead the organization of different Award Committees in different levels.
2. Regional Director as the Chairman in the Regional Awards Committee
3. DILG Offices in the Provincial, HUC’s, CC’s and Municipal levels provides technical and secretariat services to the committees; and
4. Provide economic and other incentives/awards to the declared winners