Capacity Building of the Barangay Human Rights Council Towards an Empowered Decision-Making Process

This study aimed to assess the utilization of powers in the Katarungang Pambarangay (Barangay Justice) Law by the Barangay Human Rights Council. It focused on their Structure and Approach, Decision-Making Process Evaluation, and Transparency and Communication. The research was intended to focus on barangays that were non-recipients of the Lupong Tagapamayapa (Peace Committee) Awards. Using the sample size of 114 from 129 barangays in Baguio City, random sampling was employed to arrive at 89 barangays to conduct the survey, where 226 respondents participated in the study. The results have shown that the Barangay Human Rights Council members always utilize Transparency and Communication. The findings confirm that the interrelation of the Barangay Human Rights Council to other stakeholders, namely, the Department of Social and Welfare Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, and Commission on Human Rights in the community was most of the time observed in guiding the implementation for the barangay to function effectively and efficiently. The findings suggest that the councils play a crucial role in upholding the community's rights.