Barangay

A barangay (Brgy. or Bgy.; Filipino: baranggay, [baɾaŋˈɡaj]), formerly calledbarrio, 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.^{[citation needed]} The word barangay originated from balangay, a kind of boat used by a group of Austronesian peoples when they migrated to the Philippines. Municipalities and cities are composed of barangays, and they may be further subdivided into smaller areas called purok (English: zone), and sitio, which is a territorial enclave inside a barangay, especially in rural areas. As of September 30, 2012, there were a total of 42,028 barangays throughout the Philippines.