Harmonizing community justice: Evaluating the effectiveness of Katarungang Pambarangay in Bacnotan, La Union

This research intends to assess the level of implementation, performance, and compliance in a subset of barangays, as well as awareness of the Katarungang Pambarangay (KP) system in some barangays of Bacnotan, La Union, Philippines. Of the survey conducted, a total of 6,005 respondents participated, in which the respondents include members of the Lupong Tagapamayapa, Pangkat Tagapagkasundo, and Sangguniang Barangay. From the determination of the sample size, the Slovin method was applied using a 5% marginal error. Results showed that all the barangays have highly implemented the KP system, with Barangay Ortega achieving an 'excellent' implementation score of 3.99. The result thus indicated good performance of the system in acceptance around 3.50, an indicator that the community education and conflict resolution were effective. The subsequence of the KP processes were also graded, especially in matters concerning the processing of complaints, sending out summonses, conciliation, and support of unresolved matters in court. Lower compliance with physical and infrastructure difficulties, however, was noted in Barangay Arosip. The success of the KP system between the authorities and people of the community was attributed to the high degree of knowledge about the system. On the other hand, the level of knowledge was found to be lower in Barangay Arosip, most likely because of the cultural setting that characterizes this barangay and its tendency to rely fully upon the traditional mechanisms in place to solve conflicts. In conclusion, the KP system of Bacnotan, La Union, is a system required in the promotion of access to local justice, law, and order. Even though it is very effective, it would be to make some improvements for its application in the other localities. It will ensure the system that remains viable to improve the community's education programs and institutionalize the use of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms in the formal KP structures.