A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and is the native Filipino term for a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

, district, or

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. In metropolitan areas, the term often refers to an

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

neighborhood, a suburb, or a suburban neighborhood or even a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

. The word ''barangay'' originated from ''

balangay A Balangay, or barangay is a type of lashed-lug boat built by joining planks edge-to-edge using pins, dowels, and fiber lashings. They are found throughout the Philippines and were used largely as trading ships up until the colonial era. The ...

'', a type of boat used by a group of

Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austro ...

when they migrated to the Philippines.

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the Philippines are politically subdivided into barangays, with the exception of the municipalities of Adams in

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte, officially the Province of Ilocos Norte ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Norte; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Norte), is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. Its capital is Laoag City, located in the northwest corner ...

and Kalayaan in

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

, with each containing a single barangay. Barangays are sometimes informally subdivided into smaller areas called '' purok'' ( en, "

zone Zone or The Zone may refer to: Places Climate and altitude zones * Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span * Frigid zone, ...

"), or barangay zones consisting of a cluster of houses for organizational purposes, and ''

sitio A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...

s'', which are territorial enclaves—usually

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

—far from the barangay center. , there are 42,047 barangays throughout the Philippines.

History

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 ''

'', a certain type of traditional boat in many languages in the Philippines., citing
^ , . Early Spanish dictionaries of Philippine languages make it clear that ''balangay'' was pronounced "ba-la-ngay", while today the modern ''barangay'' is pronounced "ba-rang-gay". The term referred to the people serving under a particular chief, rather than to the modern meaning of an area of land, for which other words were used. While ''barangay'' is a Tagalog word, it spread throughout the Philippines as Spanish rule concentrated power in Manila. All citations regarding pre-colonial barangay lead to a single source, Juan de Plascencia's 1589 report ''Las costumbres de los indios Tagalos de Filipinas''. However, historian Damon Woods challenges the concept of ''barangay'' as an indigenous political organization primarily due to lack of linguistic evidence. Based on indigenous language documents, Tagalogs did not use the word ''barangay'' to describe themselves or their communities. Instead, ''barangay'' is argued as a Spanish invention from an attempt by the Spaniards in reconstructing pre-conquest Tagalog society. 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, 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 fewer 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. These smaller barangays had around thirty to one hundred houses only, and the population varied from one hundred to five hundred persons. According to Legazpi, he founded communities with only twenty to thirty people. Traditionally, the original "barangays" were coastal settlements of the migration of these

Malayo-Polynesian The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeas ...

people (who came to the archipelago) from other places in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

(''see

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

''). Most of the

ancient barangay In early Philippine history, Barangay is the term historically used by scholars to describe the complex sociopolitical units which were the dominant organizational pattern among the various peoples of the Philippine archipelago , . in the per ...

s were coastal or riverine. This is because most of the people were relying on fishing for their supply of protein and their livelihood. They also traveled 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 The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

Indian people Indians or Indian people are the Indian nationality law, citizens and nationals of India. In 2022, the population of India stood at over 1.4 billion people, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most p ...

, and Arab people. These coastal communities acquired more cosmopolitan cultures, with developed social structures (sovereign principalities), ruled by established royalties and nobilities. During the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

rule, through a resettlement policy called '' reducción'', smaller scattered barangays were consolidated (and thus, "reduced") to form compact towns. Each barangay was headed by the ''

cabeza de barangay A ''cabeza de barangay'' (literally "head of hebarangay), also known as ''teniente del barrio'', was the leader or chief of a barangay or barrio in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period.Scott, William Henry. ''Barangay Sixteenth-Cen ...

'' (barangay chief), who formed part of the ''

principalía The ''principalía'' or noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the ''pueblos'' of Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called the c''apitán municipal'' and had functions similar to a town mayo ...

'' – the elite ruling class of the municipalities of the Spanish Philippines. This position was inherited from the first ''datu''s, 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

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

s arrived, "slight changes in the structure of local government was effected". Later, ''Rural Councils'' with four councilors were created to assist, now renamed ''Barrio Lieutenant''; it was later renamed ''Barrio Council'', and then '' Barangay Council''. The

term '' barrio'' (abbr. "Bo.") was used for much of the 20th century. Mayor

Ramon Bagatsing Ramon Delaraga Bagatsing (August 19, 1916 – February 14, 2006) was a Filipino politician. He was the only Filipino of Indian ancestry and person with disability (as an amputee) to serve as Mayor of the City of Manila from 1971 to 1986. Baga ...

of the City of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

established the first ''Barangay'' Bureau in the Philippines, creating the blueprint for the barangay system as the basic socio-political unit for the city in the early 70s. This was quickly replicated by the national government, and in 1974 President Ferdinand Marcos ordered the renaming of barrios to ''barangay''s. The name survived the 1986

EDSA Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

, 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 Ferdinand Marcos#Martial Law and the New Society, New Society praised the role of ''baranganic democracy'' in nation-building. 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. The first 1989 Philippine barangay election, barangay elections held under the new constitution was held on March 28, 1989, under Republic Act No. 6679. The last barangay elections were held in October 2013. Barangay elections scheduled in October 2017 were postponed following the signing of Republic Act No. 10952. The postponement has been criticized by election watchdogs and in both the Philippine Congress and Senate. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting considers the postponement a move that would "only deny the people their rights to choose their leaders."

Organization

The modern barangay is headed by elected officials, the topmost being the ''Punong Barangay, 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 the provincial and the municipal government. The officials that make up the council are the ''punong barangay'', seven barangay councilors, and the chairman of the Youth Council or the ''Sangguniang Kabataan'' (SK). Thus, there are eight members of the Legislative Council in a barangay. The council is in session for a new solution or a resolution of bill votes, and if the counsels and the SK are at tie decision, the barangay captain uses their vote. This only happens when the SK which is sometimes stopped and continued. In absence of an SK, the council votes for a nominated Barangay Council president, and this president is not like the League of the Barangay Councilors, which is composed of barangay captains of a municipality. The Barangay Justice System or ''Katarungang Pambarangay'' is composed of members commonly known as ''Lupon Tagapamayapa, lupon tagapamayapa'' (justice of the peace). Their function is to conciliate and mediate disputes at the barangay level to avoid legal action and relieve the courts of docket congestion. Barangay elections are non-partisan and are typically hotly contested. Barangay captains are elected by first-past-the-post plurality (no Exhaustive ballot, runoff voting). Councilors are elected by plurality-at-large voting with the entire barangay as a single at-large district. Each voter can vote up to seven candidates for councilor, with the winners being the seven candidates with the most votes. Typically, a ticket (election), ticket usually consists of one candidate for barangay captain and seven candidates for the councilors. Elections for the post of ''punong barangay'' and the ''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 (law enforcement), watchman who fulfills policing functions within the barangay. The number of barangay tanods differs 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.

Bibliography

* Renato Constantino, Constantino, Renato. (1975) ''The Philippines: A Past Revisited'' (volume 1). * Mamuel Merino, O.S.A., ed., ''Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565–1615)'', Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1975.

Notes

References

External links