Settling a case through Lupon Tagapamayapa

Settling a case through Lupon Tagapamayapa "I have an agricultural land in Ilocos Sur, which I brought from my sister sometime in 2007. I have wanted to plant rice on the land in order to have additional income. But I could not use the land because my brother-in-law refuses to vacate the same. I was told to bring the matter to the Lupon of our barangay. Can I file the case directly in court without referring my concern to the Lupon?Toning Dear Toning,A Lupon Tagapamayapa is a body organized in every barangay to perform the following functions: (a) Exercise administrative supervision over the conciliation panels provided herein(b) Meet regularly once a month to provide a forum for exchange of ideas among its members and the public on matters relevant to the amicable settlement of disputes, and to enable various conciliation panel members to share with one another their observations and experiences in effecting speedy resolution of disputes and (c) Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. (Section 402, Chapter 7, Local Government Code).The Lupon through the pangkat ng tagapagkasundo shall exert all its effort to amicably settle all disputes brought before the body. If the dispute is not settled before the Lupon, it shall issue a certificate to file action in court. The complaint for ejectment, which is the proper complaint, should be filed in the Metropolitan Trial Court or Municipal Trial Court of the place where the property is located. The certificate to file action is one of the requirements before said court can entertain a complaint for ejectment. If the case is not referred to before the Lupon of the barangay, the complaint for ejectment shall be dismissed without prejudice and may be revived only after this requirement shall have been complied with (Section 18, The 1991 Revised Rule on Summary Procedure).In your case, you should bring, first, your concern to the Lupon of the barangay where the property is located before you can file a complaint for ejectment in court. If you would file the complaint directly in court, it shall only be dismissed for failure to comply with the requirement aforementioned.Lastly, we wish to remind you that the above legal opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299)." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/