CAGAYAN de Oro City's Barangay Gusa snatched the Outstanding Lupon Tagapamayapa Award from hall of famer Barangay Kauswagan with only a .08 difference for this year's city level search.

The City Department of the Interior and Local Government named the top 12 barangays with the outstanding lupon: Bayabas (11th), Tablon (10th), Agusan (9th), Balulang, (8th), Bonbon (7th), Bayanga (6th), Patag (5th), Nazareth (4th), Camaman-an (3rd), Canitoan (2nd), Kauswagan (1st), and the champion, Gusa.

The barangays each received a plaque and an incentive, but for besting the other 11 villages, Gusa received P110,000.

Mayor Oscar Moreno lauded the barangays' efforts in resolving conflict in the local level. He said this helps the already crowded courts.

Moreno also said Barangay Bayanga's win is significant, because although it is in the hinterlands, it is recognizing the importance of the lupon tagapamayapa.

The mayor also hinted at raising the prizes for next year's search, as well as expanding the awardees from only 12 to 20 barangays.

He said he plans to make the budget of the search to P1 million to attract more participants and "raise the bar of excellence" among the barangays. (PJ Orias)