A total of 67 lupon members from Cadiz City and Ilog town completed a three-day Transformative Mediation Training-Workshop spearheaded by the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental through the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City, Wednesday to Friday, June 18 to 20.
They are the second batch of lupon members who completed the training-workshop, with the first batch from the cities of Escalante and La Carlota consisting of 45 lupon members undergoing the same training on May 19-21, a press release from the PPDO said Sunday.
The training which is funded under the Provincial Peace and Order Fund (POF) emphasizes the role of the lupon members as the neutral third party in conflict resolution and introduces them communication skills and techniques such as active listening, probing and paraphrasing through actual simulations, the press release said.
Addressing the participants on the second day of the training, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that “As the basic political unit, the barangay serves as the primary planning and implementing unit of government policies, plans, programs, projects, and activities in the community, and as a forum wherein the collective views of the people may be expressed, crystallized and considered”.
It is for this reason that the vital role of the barangay cannot be over emphasized in nation building and in achieving our collective goals as a province and as a country, he said.
Aside from executive functions, the role of the barangay officials as Lupong Tagapamayapa to amicably settle disputes underscores the crucial power and responsibility lodged in the Barangay, particularly the Punong Barangays and the lupon members, Lacson said.
As the primary and frontline mediation body, our barangays and Lupon have both the responsibility and the opportunity to prevent conflicts from escalating and being brought to the courts for more adversarial proceedings, the governor said.
More than just settling disputes amicably, the Lupon must also strive to mend the relationships of its conflicted community members. We aspire not only the absence of conflict but, most importantly, the presence of harmony and understanding in the community, he added.
“Bear in mind that you are our heroes of conflict resolution at the grassroots level. In fact, Lupon resolution is a procedural requirement before certain cases can be elevated in our courts of justice. Your existence is our response to the quest for mediation structures extending beyond the formal courts of justice”.
The governor said that “With this, I hope that you embrace this opportunity to learn. Your commitment and integrity in resolving disputes amicably not only ensure justice but also strengthen the peace and order of your communities”.
The conduct of transformative training-workshops for punong barangays was started by the Province in 2008 and was consistently implemented through the years, with thousands of punong barangays expressing their appreciation saying that the training has been truly helpful in solving conflict in their communities, the press release said.
Ed Jalbuena, a Department of Education school principal and member of the Mediators Network of the Philippines served as the main resource person in the training with PPDO staff led by its officer-in-charge Benja Lucasan as facilitators.
The training workshop is also in collaboration with the Provincial Peace and Order Committee (PPOC) with Provincial Administrator Rayfrando P. Diaz II as co-secretariat of the council. *PR