A Barangay is the smallest local govenment unit in the Philippines. It is very similar to a village. Municipalities and cities are composed of barangays.

Each barangay is headed by a barangay captain who leads the barangay council, which is composed of 8 barangay councilors. Every barangay has also Youth Council, headed by a President/Chairman,who directs the youth-oriented activities in the barangay.

Historically, the term Barangay refers to a community of around 50 to 100 families. The word itself is derived from an ancient Malay boat called balangay. Certain theories on the history of the pre-colonial Philippines indicated that each original coastal "barangay" formed as a result of settlers arriving by boat from other places of Southeast Asia.

>