Barangay

A barangay (Tagalog: baranggay , [ˈbaraŋgaj] ), also known by its former name, the barrio, is the smallest local government unit in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. Municipalities and cities are composed of barangays. In place names barangay is sometimes abbreviated as "Brgy" or "Bgy". As of December 31, 2006 there are a total of 41,995 barangays all over the Philippines.^[1]

The term barangay and its structure in the modern context was conceived during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, replacing the old barrios. The barangays were eventually codified under the 1991 Local Government Code.

1 History
2 Barangay Officials
3 The Liga ng mga Barangay
4 Other uses
5 References
6 Bibliography
7 External links

[edit] History

Historically, a barangay is a relatively small community of around 50 to 100 families. Most villages have only thirty to one hundred houses and the population varies from one hundred to five hundred persons. According to Legazpi, he found communities with twenty to thirty people only. Many coastal villages in the Visayan region consisted of no more than eight to ten houses.^{[citation needed]}The word itself is derived from an ancient Malayo-Polynesian boat called a balangay. It is commonly believed that in pre-colonial Philippines, each original coastal “barangay” formed as a result of settlers arriving by boat from other places in Southeast Asia.

Most were coastal or riverine in nature. This is because the principal sources of protein come from the seas and rivers, most of the people relying more on fishing for supply of food. Also, people travelled mostly by water. The movement of the population was up and down rivers and along the coasts, trails always followed river systems. Rivers were also a major source of water for bathing, washing, and drinking. Moreover, coastal villages are more accessible to traders where an economic activity is developed. Business with traders meant contact with other cultures and civilizations like the Chinese, Indian, and Arabian. Thus, the coastal communities in Manila, Iloilo and Panay,^[2] Cebu, Jolo, and Butuan attained a higher cultural level.

Upon the arrival of the Spanish, several ancient barangays were combined to form towns. Every barangay within a town was headed by the cabeza de barangay (barangay chief), who formed part of the elite ruling class of the municipalities of Spanish Philippines. ^[3] The post was at first inherited from the first datus who became cabezas de barangay, but then was made into an elected post after the Spanish Regime. The primary job of the cabeza de barangay was to collect taxes from the residents.

When the Americans arrived, the term barrio went into prominence, as the barangays were called by that name. The term was kept for much of the twentieth century until President Ferdinand Marcos ordered the renaming of the barrios back to barangay. The name has stuck ever since, though some people still use the old term.

The modern barangay is headed by an elected official, the Barangay Captain, who is aided by counselors, also elected. Barangay elections are hotly contested.

The barangay is governed from the Barangay Hall. Barangay tanods - male volunteers paid a nominal honorarium and distinguished by T-shirts bearing the letters POLICE - help maintain law and order in the neighborhoods throughout the Philippine islands. The quality of the organization at barangay level is one of the strengths of the Philippines, helping keep this impoverished country afloat.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Barangay Officials

A barangay is led and governed by its barangay officials. The "barangay officials" is considered as a Local Governent Unit (LGU) same as the Provicial and the Municipal Government. It is composed of a Punong Barangay, seven (7) Barangay Councils or Barangay Kagawad, and a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairman which is considered as a member of the Council. Thus, there are eight (8) members of the Legislative Council in a barangay. Each member has its own respective committee where they are Chairmen of those committees. The Committees are the following: (1) Peace and Order Committee, (2) Infrastructure Committee, (3) Education Committee, (4) Health Committee, (5) Agriculture Committee, (6) Tourism Committee, (7) Finance Committee, and (8) Youth and Sports Committee. There are three (3) appointed members of each committee.

[edit] The Liga ng mga Barangay

There exists a union of barangays in the Philippines: the Liga ng mga Barangay (English: League of Barangays), more commonly referred to by its previous name, Association of Barangay Captains (ABC). Representing all 41,939 barangays, it is the largest grassroots organization in the Philippines. Its current president is James Marty Lim.

[edit] Other uses

A barangay may also refer to a very large number of people. An example is the name given to the supporters of the Ginebra San Miguel basketball team, Barangay Ginebra. In 1999, the team was renamed Barangay Ginebra Kings in homage to its fans.

[edit] References

^ Philippine Standard Geographic Code Summary. Accessed on March 22, 2007.
^ During the early part of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines the Spanish Augustinian Friar, Gaspar de San Agustín, 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, así por su forma triangular come por su fertilidad y abundancia de bastimentos... Es la isla más poblada, después de Manila y Mindanao, y una de las mayores, por bojear más 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 más lucida nobleza 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. 374-376.
^ See Principalía

[edit] Bibliography

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 (1565-1615), Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1975.

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