Restorative justice focuses on repairing the harm caused by crime while holding the offender responsible for their actions. This study explored the lived experiences and insights of male offenders undergoing restorative justice in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental. The study was participated by five offenders undergoing restorative justice. The participants were chosen through purposive sampling. Interview and guide questions were used in gathering the data. The study used the qualitative approach using the phenomenological design. Moustakas’ transcendental phenomenology was used in analyzing the data and came up with three meaningful themes, namely: 1) unfortunate situation and presence of vices, 2) refining attitude for better living, and 3) opportunity for forgiveness and self-renewal. The study concludes that the Restorative Justice Program is an effective method in allowing offenders to ask for forgiveness, improving offender satisfaction, increasing offender compliance with restitution, and decreasing the recidivism of offenders. The study recommends to continually conduct monitoring of the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of offenders because they too need emotional support and care to assure that they are guided with in the program.
