The proposed community issue to be pursued that will be discussed in this blog post is deeply rooted in the contents and findings tackled in the first and second blog posts. If you haven't checked them out, simply click the buttons below. I highly suggest you read them first before proceeding.
Barangay Tabang: Matters on the Docket (Blog Entry No. 1) tackles the issues/problems among the citizens of Barangay Tabang in the Municipality of Guiguinto, Bulacan through a conducted survey via online means.
Barangay Tabang: On the Ground (Blog Entry No. 2) tackles the issues and problems constantly observed by the local public officials of Barangay Tabang in the Municipality of Guiguinto, Bulacan through their experience while serving the community.
In fulfillment of the course subject BAJ 208: Citizen and Community Journalism with a sole aim to equip student journalists with the basics of Citizen Journalism, mainly on conduct and practice, this proposal aims to describe a potential story, its purpose, and the steps necessary to be taken to pursue and complete a citizen report about an issue constantly observed in Barangay Tabang.
To officially start, attached below is a brief community profile of Barangay Tabang– the scope and location for the story to be conducted. For an interactive and elaborate list that includes the summary data, demographics, and location, you can visit and read the information here.
In the conducted online surveys and interviews among the local officials of Barangay Tabang about the concerns they commonly observed while serving the community, the relational and personal conflicts among citizens, raised by two (2) respondents, never crossed my mind; however, it all made sense somehow how this issue managed to crawl up its way on the list.
"Ipapa-barangay kita" and "Magkita na lang tayo sa barangay" are commonly heard phrases whenever an issue erupts within a community, specifically a neighborhood, between two or more parties who are in the heat of a fight. This proposal for a citizen journalism report aims to look into the accessibility and effectiveness of the Barangay Justice System, a community mediation programme whose overarching objective is to deliver speedy, cost-efficient, and quality justice through non-adversarial processes (Rojo, 2002), of Barangay Tabang in helping its citizens in addressing, resolving and mitigating conflicts that arise within the community in maintaining peace and order.
The Barangay Justice System (BJS) is often utilized wherein community leaders and elders provide alternative dispute resolution through mediating between community members in conflict, which allows for a quicker and less expensive judicial process at the barangay level (Porio & Roque–Sarmiento, 2019).
A little look into the history, Silvia Sanz-Ramos Rojo's policy paper sited that among the principal goals of the People’s Access to Justice: Barangay Justice Service System, a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, is to make important efforts to achieve the following:
develop strong community leaders,
enhance support systems in the Barangay,
empower citizens through massive public information campaigns especially targeted to the poor and marginalized, and
improve the BJS delivery of justice by providing legal literacy and mediation skills to Punong Barangays and members of the Lupon.
According to the Barangay Chairman of Tabang, each conflict undergoes a series of hearings, securing the attendance of the camps involved, with the sole purpose of reaching conformity among aggrieved parties. They commonly arrange a twice-a-week scheduled meeting for each complaint, which are commonly due to gossip, debts, and family problems.
In line with this, this citizen journalism report would be a massive opportunity to further look into the advantages and disadvantages, accessibility, and effectiveness of Barangay Tabang's Justice System in addressing, mitigating, and resolving conflicts.
Thus, this report aims:
to know the common reasons behind the conflicts,
to assess the multiple steps and approaches carried out by the local officials in addressing, mitigating, and resolving conflicts,
to look into BJS through the lens of the citizens and officials,
to evaluate the accessibility, reliability, effectivity, and justifiability of Barangay Tabang's Justice System, and
to determine its relevance and importance within the community in maintaining peace and order.
All in all, this report would greatly benefit both the citizens and local officials as it aims to equally focus on gathering data and/or opinions from the two mentioned parties; thus, meeting halfway.
To effectively and properly execute this report, it will take a series of consistent exchanges of messages with the citizens and the local officials of Barangay Tabang in conducting online interviews, creating a rapport, establishing trust and assurance, scheduling, and finalizing agreements. In doing so, listed below are the details needed to be carried out in pursuing this story.
The list of local officials to be interviewed can be changed or altered as I attempt to reach and contact the other official/s who are willing to participate in the story, such as the Barangay Development Officer and Chairman of Peace and Order among others.
The list of the documents and data needed in the story can be changed or altered depending on the information that will be provided by both the officials and citizens.
All of the findings and data that will be gathered in the conduct of this story will be thoroughly checked and verified to ensure their legitimacy. Moreover, the identities of the sources to be involved would be protected, ensuring their anonymity if they do so prefer. Henceforth, the information to be provided and disclosed by the respondents is by no means meant to harm anyone. This report is only for educational purposes in the conduct of citizen journalism.
References:
Porio, E., & Roque-Sarmiento, E. (2019). Barangay. Retrieved from https://archium.ateneo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1074&context=sa-faculty-pubs
Rojo, S. (September 2002). The Barangay Justice System in the Philippines: Is It an Effective Alternative to Improve Access to Justice for Disadvantaged People? Retrieved from http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/ssaj15.pdf
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