WHEREAS, Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1508, as amended by Republic Act (RA) No. 7160 or the "Local Government Code of 1991," established the Katarungang Pambarangay as a system for the time-honored Filipino tradition of amicably settling interpersonal disputes in the community without judicial recourse;

WHEREAS, Section 1 of PD No. 1508, as amended, created in every barangay a Lupong Tagapamayapa, which is tasked to mediate, conciliate, and/or arbitrate disputes between contending parties at the barangay level;

WHEREAS, under Section 406(b) of RA No. 7160, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is mandated to establish a system granting economic or other incentives to the Lupong Tagapamayapa or Lupon or their pangkat members who adequately demonstrate the ability to judiciously and expeditiously resolve cases referred to them;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Executive Order (EO) No. 394 (s. 1997), the Lupong Tagapamayapa Incentives Award (LTIA) was established to recognize Lupon who exhibit exceptional and outstanding work in the performance of their duties, and award them with appropriate incentives;

WHEREAS, over the years, more than a thousand Lupon have been recognized and awarded by the DILG under the LTIA;

WHEREAS, to motivate more Lupon to extent similar exceptional and outstanding work, there is a need to enhance the LTIA System through measures that further promote it as a competitive, transparent, fair, and performance-based reward system; and

WHEREAS, Section 17, Article VII of the Constitution vests in the President the power of control over all executive departments, bureaus, and offices and the mandate to ensure the faithful execution of laws;

NOW, THEREFORE, I,  FERDINAND R, MARCOS, JR., President of the Philippines, by virtue vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby order:

Section 1. Categories of Awards. The categories of awards for the annual LTIA shall be as follows:

a. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Highly Urbanized Cities;

b. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Independent Component/Component Cities;

c. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in First Class Municipalities;

d. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Second Class Municipalities;

e. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Third Class Municipalities;

f. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Fourth Class Municipalities;

g. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Fifth Class Municipalities;

h. Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa in Sixth Class Municipalities;

The Outstanding Lupon Tagapamayapa in Sixth Class Municipalities shall remain as an award category until the new income classification takes effect pursuant to Section 9 of RA No. 11964 or the "Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units Act."

The Hall of Fame Award shall be conferred to a Lupon who received the Outstanding Lupong Tagapamayapa Award under the same category for three (3) consecutive years or for a period of five (5) years.

The Peace Champion Award shall be conferred t a Hall of Fame Awardee who sustained exemplary performance for a period of five (5) years or more in the implementation of projects and activities funded by the development grant previously received by the Hall of Fame Awardee, and has made an invaluable impact on the peace and order situation and administration of justice in the community.

Section 2. Grant of Awards and Prize. The National Awardees, including runners-up, of the LTIA shall receive their awards and prizes in the form of Presidential plaques and development grants, to be conferred by the National Awards Committee (NAC) under Section 3 hereof.

The amount of development grant to be received by the awardee shall be determined by the NAC, subject to availability of funds and in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations. The development grant shall be utilized to support projects and activities in promoting, implementing, and developing the Katarungang Pambarangay as an alternative measure to resolve disputes at the barangay level. In this regard, the DILG is hereby directed to establish a mechanism for monitoring the status and implementation of these projects and activities.

Section 3. Reorganization of the National Awards Committees. The NAC is hereby reorganized as follows:

Chairperson	:	Secretary, DILG
Vice-Chairperson	:	Secretary, Department of Justice
Members	:	Chief, Philippine National Police
		National President, Liga ng mga Barangay
		Representative from the Office of the President; and
		Two (2) representative from the private sector, coming from reputable organizations involved in peace and order or administration of justice, to be appointed by the Chairperson, upon the recommendation of the NAC.

The DILG shall serve as the Secretariat of the NAC, and shall provide administration and technical support thereto.

The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and members of the Committee, except the representatives from the private sector, may designate their respective alternates, with ranks not lower than Assistant Secretary or its equivalent, who are fully authorized to decide for or on their behalf.

The Committee shall regularly convene at least once every quarter or as often as may be deemed necessary by the Chairperson.

Section 4. Powers and Functions of the NAC. Subject to existing laws, rules and regulations, the NAC shall have the following powers and functions:

a. Set the guidelines and criteria for the selection and proclamation of awardees. The guidelines and criteria must be reviewed every three (3) years or as may be necessary, with the consideration to existing laws, rules and regulations, as well as other policy developments related to peace and order and administration of justice;

b. Initiate and coordinate the necessary activities with concerned government agencies and local government units for the successful implementation of the LTIA;

c. Create, convene and reorganize the municipal, city, provincial and regional awards committee, as may be necessary. In order to assess the best performing Lupon within their respective localities. The said local awards committees may replicate the composition of the NAC, as far as practicable.

d. Constitute a National Board of Judges (NBOJ) to determine and recommend National Finalists to the NAC;

e. Select and proclaim the National Awardees from among the list of National Finalists recommended by the NBOJ;

f. Implement measures to ensure transparency and accountability in the evaluation and selection of awardees;

g. Secure funding and additional prizes from the private sector, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations; and

h. Plan and implement appropriate awarding ceremonies.

Section 5. Funding. The initial funding requirements necessary for the implementation of this Order shall be charged against available appropriations of the DILG, subject to pertinent budgeting, accounting, and auditing laws, rules and regulations. Thereafter, the funding requirements necessary for the continued implementation of this Order shall be included in the budget proposals of the DILG, subject to the usual budget preparation process.

Section 6. Separability. If any part or provision of this Order shall be held invalid or unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 7. Repeal. Except as expressly modified by this Order, all other provisions of EO No. 394 shall remain in full force and effect. All orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Order, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 8. Effectivity. This Order shall take effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper or modified accordingly.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this 12^th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twenty-Four.