The complaint may be dismissed when complainant, after due notices, refuses or willfully fails to appear without justifiable reason on the date set for mediation, conciliation or arbitration. Such dismissal ordered by the Punong Barangay/pangkat chairman after giving the complainant an opportunity to explain his non-appearance shall be certified to by the lupon or pangkat secretary as the case may be, and shall bar the complainant from seeking judicial recourse for the same cause of action as that dismissed.
Upon a similar failure of the respondent to appear, any counterclaim he has made that arises from or is necessarily connected with complainant's action, may be dismissed. Such dismissal, ordered by the Punong Barangay/pangkat chairman after giving the respondent an opportunity to explain his non-appearance shall be certified to by the lupon or pangkat secretary, as the case may be, and shall bar the respondent from filing such counterclaim in court or any government office for adjudication.
Further, in all cases where the respondent fails to appear at the mediation proceedings before the Punong Barangay it is mandatory for the latter to constitute the pangkat pursuant to Section 1 (c), Rule III KPR; but the respondent's refusal or willful failure to appear without justifiable reason before the pangkat, as determined by the latter after notice of hearing, shall be a sufficient basis for the issuance of a certification for filing complainant's cause of action in court or with the proper government agency or office. (Sec. 8, Rule VI, KPR).
Refusal or willful failure of any party or witness to appear before the lupon or pangkat in compliance with a summons issued pursuant to the provisons of the Katarungang Pambarangay law, may be punished by the city or municipal court as for indirect contempt of court upon application filed therewith by the lupon chairman, the pangkat chairman, or by any of the contending parties. Such refusal or willful failure to appear shall be reflected in the records of the lupon secretary or in the minutes of the pangkat secretary and shall bar the complainant who fail to appear, from seeding judicial recourse for the same cause of action and the respondent who refuses to appear, from filing any counterclaim arising out of or necessarily connected with the complaint. (Sec. 515, LGC)
I am a foreigner who married a Filipina. I was cheated out of my life savings and finally attacked with a Bolo knife. I fled the Philippines and 6 years later returned to the Philippines and met a single Filipina. Gossipers informed my wife of my whereabouts and a Barangay letter of complain was filed. Again I fled the Philippines and obtained a Divorce from my home country . My wife was demanding money as a bargaining chip to drop Concubinage charges. I can see no way to clear my Philippine NSO records and move on to a second Filipina marriage. The letter of complaint remains standing on record in the Barangay so I think the case is unlikely to go to court in my absence if I am correct and i am aware that my Filipina wife checks with Barangay from time to time. It is 13 years since I first left the Philippines and I am aware that my Filipina wife now lives with another Foreigner in what you might call scandalous circumstances in your country. By all accounts I have no rights of complaint due to my non appearance at the Barangay. Look like I’m trapped between a rock and a hard place. I have approached a detective agency to determine the details of my wife’s Adultery but think this could be a futile pursuit in view of her standing complaint. So where do I go from here?
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