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Barangay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the political administrative division. For the pre-Hispanic
village system of the Philippines, see Ancient barangay.
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A barangay (Brgy. or Bgy.; Filipino: baranggay, [baaaj];
also
pronounced the same in Spanish), formerly referred to as barrio, is the
smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino
term for a village, district or ward. In colloquial usage, the term often refers

to an inner city neighbourhood, a suburb or a suburban neighborhood.[1] The

word barangay originated from balangay, a kind of boat used by a group
of Austronesian peopleswhen they migrated to the Philippines.[2]
Municipalities and cities in the Philippines are subdivided into barangays,
with
the
exception
of
the
municipalities
ofAdams in Ilocos
Norte and Kalayaan, Palawan which are composed of only one barangay. The
barangay itself is sometimes informally subdivided into smaller areas
called puroks (English: zone), barangay zones consisting of a cluster of
houses, and sitios, which are territorial enclavesusually ruralfar from the
barangay center. As of June 2015, there were now 42,029 barangays
throughout the Philippines.[3]
Contents
[hide]

1History

2Organization

3See also

4Bibliography

5Notes

6External links

History[edit]
Further information: Ancient barangay
When the first Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in the 16th century, they
found
well-organized
independent
villages
called barangays.
The
name barangay originated from balangay, a Malay word meaning "sailboat".
[2]

The first barangays started as relatively small communities of around 50 to

100 families. By the time of contact with Spaniards, many barangays have
developed into large communities. The encomienda of 1604 shows that
many affluent and powerful coastal barangays in Sulu, Butuan, Panay,
[4]
Leyte and Cebu, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Pasig, Laguna, and Cagayan River
were flourishing trading centers. Some of these barangays had large
populations. In Panay, some barangays had 20,000 inhabitants; in Leyte
(Baybay), 15,000 inhabitants; in Cebu, 3,500 residents; in Vitis (Pampanga),
7,000 inhabitants; Pangasinan, 4,000 residents. There were smaller
barangays with less number of people. But these were generally inland
communities; or if they were coastal, they were not located in areas which

were good for business pursuits.[5] These smaller barangays had around
thirty to one hundred houses only, and the population varies from one
hundred to five hundred persons. According to Legazpi, he found
communities with twenty to thirty people only.
Traditionally,[6] the original barangays were coastal settlements of the
migration of these Malayo-Polynesian people (who came to the archipelago)
from other places in Southeast Asia (see chiefdom). Most of the ancient
barangays were coastal or riverine in nature. This is because most of the
people were relying on fishing for supply of protein and for their livelihood.
They also travelled mostly by water up and down rivers, and along the
coasts. Trails always followed river systems, which were also a major source
of water for bathing, washing, and drinking.
The coastal barangays were more accessible to trade with foreigners. These
were ideal places for economic activity to develop. Business with traders
from other Countries also meant contact with other cultures and civilizations,
such as those of Japan, Han Chinese, Indian people, and Arab people.[7] These
coastal communities acquired more cosmopolitan cultures, with developed
social structures (sovereign principalities), ruled by established royalties and
nobilities.
During the Spanish rule, through a resettlement policy called the Reduccin,
smaller scattered barangays were consolidated (and thus, "reduced") to form
compact towns.[8][9] Each barangay was headed by the cabeza de
barangay (barangay chief), who formed part of the Principala - the elite
ruling class of the municipalities of the Spanish Philippines. This position was
inherited from the first datus, and came to be known as such during the
Spanish regime. The Spanish Monarch ruled each barangay through the
Cabeza, who also collected taxes (called tribute) from the residents for the
Spanish Crown.
When the Americans arrived, "slight changes in the structure of local
government was effected".[10] Later, Rural Councils with four councilors were
created to assist, now renamed Barrio Lieutenant; it was later
renamed Barrio Council, and then Barangay Council.[10]
The Spanish term barrio (abbv. "Bo.") was used for much of the 20th century
until 1974, when President Ferdinand Marcos ordered their renaming
to barangays.[11]The name survived the 1986 EDSA Revolution, though older
people would still use the term barrio. The Municipal Council was abolished
upon transfer of powers to the barangay system. Marcos used to call the
barangay part of Philippine participatory democracy, and most of his writings
involving the New Society praised the role of baranganic democracy in
nation-building.[12]
After the 1986 EDSA Revolution and the drafting of the 1987 Constitution,
the Municipal Council was restored, making the barangay the smallest unit of
Philippine government.

Organization[edit]

Maybo Barangay Hall in Boac, Marinduque

Sulop Barangay Hall

Putik Barangay Hall in Zamboanga City

Mariki Barangay Hall in Zamboanga City

Calarian Barangay Hall in Zamboanga City

Landang Laum Barangay Hall in Zamboanga City

Recodo Barangay Hall in Zamboanga City

The modern barangay is headed by elected officials, the topmost being
the Punong Barangay or the Barangay Chairperson (addressed as Kapitan;
also known as the Barangay Captain). The Kapitan is aided by
the Sangguniang
Barangay(Barangay
Council)
whose
members,
called Barangay Kagawad ("Councilors"), are also elected.
The council is considered to be a Local Government Unit (LGU), similar to
Provincial and the Municipal Government. The officials that make up
council are the Punong Barangay, seven Barangay Councilors, and
chairman of Youth Council or Sangguniang Kabataan (SK). Thus, there
eight (8) members of the Legislative Council in a barangay.[13]

the
the
the
are

The council if in session for a new solution or a resolution of a bill votes, and
if the counsels and the SK are at tie decision, the Captain uses his/her vote.
This only happens when the SK which is sometimes stopped and continued.

In absence of an SK, the council votes for a nominated Barrio Council

President, this president is not like the League of the Barangay Councilors
which composes of barangay Captains of a municipality.
The Barangay Justice System or Katarungang Pambarangay is composed of
members commonly known as Lupon Tagapamayapa (Justice of the peace).
Their function is to conciliate and mediate disputes at the Barangay level so
as to avoid legal action and relieve the courts of docket congestion.[14]
Barangay elections are non-partisan and are typically hotly contested.
Barangay Captain are elected by first-past-the-postplurality (no runoff
voting). Councilors are elected by plurality-at-large voting with the entire
barangay as a single at-largedistrict. Each voter can vote up to seven
candidates for councilor, with the winners being the seven candidates with
the most number of votes. Typically, a ticket usually consists of one
candidate for Barangay Captain and seven candidates for the Councilors.
Elections for the post of Punong Barangay and barangay kagawads are
usually held every three years starting from 2007.
The barangay is often governed from its seat of local government,
the barangay hall.
A tanod, or barangay police officer, is an unarmed watchman who fulfills
policing functions within the barangay. The number of barangay tanods differ
from one barangay to another; they help maintain law and order in the
neighborhoods throughout the Philippines.
Funding for the barangay comes from their share of the Internal Revenue
Allotment (IRA) with a portion of the allotment set aside for the Sangguniang
Kabataan. The exact amount of money is determined by a formula combining
the barangay's population and land area.

Local government hierarchy. The dashed lines emanating from the president
means that the President only exercises general supervision on local
government.

Total Local Government Units in the Philippines

Type
(English)

Filipino
equivalent

Head
of Filipino
Administration equivalent

Numbe
r[3]

Province

Probinsya/Lalawi
gan

Governor

Gobernador

81

City

Siyudad/Lungso
d

Mayor

Alkalde

144

Municipal Munisipalidad/Ba
Mayor
ity
yan

Alkalde

1,490

Village

Barangay

Barangay
Chairman/Baran
gay Captain

PunongBarangay/Kapit
42,029
an
ng
Barangay

See also[edit]

Association of Barangay Captains

Balangay

Barangay Health Volunteers

List of barangays of Metro Manila

Purok

Sitio

Constantino, Renato. (1975) The Philippines: A Past

Revisited (volume 1). ISBN 971-8958-00-2

Mamuel Merino, O.S.A., ed., Conquistas de las Islas

Filipinas (15651615), Madrid: Consejo Superior de
Investigaciones Cientificas, 1975.

Bibliography[edit]

Notes[edit]
1. Jump
up^ "Oxford
Dictionaries". Oxford
Dictionaries. June 25, 2015. Retrieved November
5, 2015.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b Zaide, Sonia M. (1999), The
Philippines: A Unique Nation, All-Nations
Publishing, pp. 62, 420, ISBN 971-642-071-4,
citing Plasencia, Fray Juan de (1589), Customs of
the
Tagalogs, Nagcarlan,
Laguna
^ Junker, Laura Lee (2000), Raiding, Trading,
and Feasting: The Political Economy of Philippine
Chiefdoms, Ateneo de Manila University Press,
pp. 74, 130, ISBN 978-971-550-347-1 ISBN 971550-347-0, ISBN 978-971-550-347-1.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b "Philippine Standard Geographic
Codes as of June 2015" (PDF). Philippine
Statistics
Authority.
June
24,
2015.
Retrieved July 4, 2015.
4. Jump up^ During the early part of the Spanish
colonization of the Philippines the Spanish
Augustinian Friar, Gaspar de San Agustn, O.S.A.,
describes Iloilo and Panay as one of the most
populated islands in the archipelago and the
most fertile of all the islands of the Philippines.
He also talks about Iloilo, particularly the ancient
settlement of Halaur, as site of a progressive
trading post and a court of illustrious nobilities.
The friar says: Es la isla de Panay muy parecida

a la de Sicilia, as por su forma triangular come

por su fertilidad y abundancia de bastimentos...
Es la isla ms poblada, despus de Manila y
Mindanao, y una de las mayores, por bojear ms
de cien leguas. En fertilidad y abundancia es en
todas la primera... El otro corre al oeste con el
nombre de Alaguer [Halaur], desembocando en
el mar a dos leguas de distancia de
Dumangas...Es el pueblo muy hermoso, ameno y
muy lleno de palmares de cocos. Antiguamente
era
el
emporio
y
corte
de
la
ms
lucidanobleza de toda aquella isla...Mamuel
Merino, O.S.A., ed.,Conquistas de las Islas
Filipinas (1565-1615), Madrid: Consejo Superior
de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1975, pp. 374376.
5. Jump
up^ Cf.
F.
Landa
Jocano, Filipino
Prehistory:
Rediscovering
Precolonial
Heritage (1998), pp. 157-158, 164
6. Jump up^ Cf. Maragtas (book)
7. Jump up^ Hisona, Harold (2010-07-14). "The
Cultural Influences of India, China, Arabia, and
Japan".
Philippinealmanac.com.
Archived
from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved201302-06.
8. Jump up^ Constantino, Renato; Constantino,
Letizia R. (1975). "Chapter V - The Colonial
Landscape". The Philippines: A Past Revisited
(Vol. I) (Sixteenth Printing (January 1998) ed.).
Manila, Philippines: Renato Constantino. pp. 60
61.ISBN 971-895-800-2.
Retrieved 18
January 2015.
9. Jump up^ Abinales, Patricio N.; Amoroso,
Donna J. (2005). "New States and Reorientations
1368-1764". State and Society in the Philippines.
Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 53,
55. ISBN 0742510247.
Retrieved 15
January 2015.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b Zamora, Mario D. (1966).
"Political Change and Tradition: The Case of

Village
Asia".
In
Karigoudar
Ishwaran
(Editor). International Studies in Sociology and
Social Anthropology: Politics and Social Change.
Leiden, the Netherlands: E.J. Brill. pp. 247253.
Retrieved 12 November2012.
11. Jump up^ "Presidential Decree No. 557;
Declaring All Barrios in the Philippines as
Barangays, and for Other Purposes". The LawPhil
Project. Malacaang, Manila, Philippines. 21
September 1974. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
12. Jump up^ Marcos, Ferdinand. 1973. "Notes on
the New Society of the Philippines."
13. Jump up^ "The Barangay". Local Government
Code of the Philippines. Chan Robles Law
Library.
14. Jump up^ "Barangay Justice System (BJS),
Philippines".ACCESS
Facility.
Retrieved 13
December 2013.
External links[edit]

Katarungang Pambarangay Handbook

ns of the Philippines

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