Barangay 59

A barangay, historically 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 metropolitan areas, the term often refers to an inner city neighborhood, a suburb, or a suburban neighborhood. The word barangay originated from balangay, a type of boat used by a group of Austronesian peoples when they migrated to the Philippines.Municipalities and cities in the Philippines are subdivided into barangays, with the exception of the municipalities of Adams in Ilocos Norte and Kalayaan in Palawan, with each containing a single barangay. Barangays are sometimes informally subdivided into smaller areas called purok, or barangay zones consisting of a cluster of houses for organizational purposes, and sitios, which are territorial enclaves—usually rural—far from the barangay center. As of March 2021, there are 42,046 barangays throughout the Philippines.