Cities of the Philippines in the context of "Philippines"

A barangay hall is the seat of government for a barangay, the lowest elected administrative division of the Philippines, below that of a city or municipality. It serves as the office of the barangay captain and meeting place for the Sangguniang Barangay. These officers' names, pictures and responsibilities are usually displayed in the hall. The hall can be considered the counterpart to its municipality's municipal hall.

The barangay hall also serves as a local community center, often providing space for both permanent and temporary services and events. The barangay's day care center and office space for the tanods and the barangay health workers are often located there. Medical missions, religious services, fiestas, and sports contests are often held near or next to the barangay hall.

The barangay (/bɑːrɑːŋˈɡaɪ/; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically known as the barrio, is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the precolonial polities of the same name, modern barangays are political subdivisions of cities and municipalities, and are analogous to villages, districts, neighborhoods, suburbs, or boroughs. The term barangay is derived from balangay, a type of boat used by Austronesian peoples when they migrated to the Philippines.

All cities, including independent cities, and municipalities in the Philippines are politically subdivided into barangays, with the exception of the municipalities of Adams in Ilocos Norte and Kalayaan in Palawan, each of which contains only one barangay. Barangays are sometimes informally subdivided into smaller areas called purok (English: "zone"), or barangay zones consisting of clusters of houses for organizational purposes, and sitios, which are territorial enclaves—usually rural—located far from the poblacion. As of January 2025, there are 42,011 barangays throughout the country.

The Philippines is divided into four levels of administrative divisions, with the lower three being defined in the Local Government Code of 1991 as local government units (LGUs). They are, from the highest to the lowest:

1. Regions (Filipino: rehiyon) are mostly used to organize national services. Of the 18 regions, only one—the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao—has an elected government to which the central government has devolved competencies.
2. Provinces (Filipino: lalawigan or probinsya), independent cities (Filipino: malayang lungsod or siyudad), and one independent municipality (Pateros)
3. Component cities (Filipino: nakapaloob na lungsod or siyudad) and municipalities (Filipino: bayan or munisipalidad) within a province
4. Barangays (formerly known and sometimes still referred to as barrios) within a city or municipality

Other divisions also exist for specific purposes, such as:

A municipality is a local government unit (LGU) in the Philippines. It is distinct from a city, which is a separate category of LGU. Provinces are subdivided into cities and municipalities, which in turn are divided into barangays (formerly barrios). As of June 30, 2024, there are 1,493 municipalities across the country.

A municipality is the official term for, and the local equivalent of, a town, the latter being its archaic designation, including in literal translations into Filipino and other Philippine languages. Both terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 1,902,590 people. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is classified as a highly urbanized city. With 43,611.5 inhabitants per square kilometer (112,953/sq mi), Manila is one of the world's most densely populated cities proper.

Manila was the first chartered city in the country, designated by Philippine Commission Act No. 183 on July 31, 1901. It became autonomous with the passage of Republic Act No. 409, "The Revised Charter of the City of Manila", on June 18, 1949. Manila is considered to be part of the world's original set of global cities because its commercial networks were the first to extend across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia with the Spanish Americas through the galleon trade. This marked the first time an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established.

Metropolitan Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila [kalakˌhaŋ maɪˈnilaʔ]), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region and largest metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay, the region lies between the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions. Encompassing an area of 636.00 km (245.56 sq mi) and with a population of 13,484,462 as of 2020, it consists of sixteen highly urbanized cities: Manila—the capital city—Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, along with one independent municipality, Pateros. As the second most populous and the most densely populated region in the Philippines, it ranks as the 7th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 6th most populous urban area in the world.

The region is the center of culture (including arts and entertainment), economy, education, and the government. Designated as a global power city, the region exerts a significant impact on commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment both locally and internationally. It is home to all embassies in the Philippines, making it an important center for international diplomacy in the country. Its economic power establishes the region as the country's premier center for finance and commerce. The region accounts for 36% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines. Greater Manila is the fourth largest ASEAN country subdivision by GDP, after Singapore, and the Jakarta, and Bangkok metropolitan regions.

Valenzuela (/ˌvælənzjuˈɛlə/, Tagalog pronunciation: [valensˈwela]; Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [balenˈswela] , Spanish pronunciation: [balenˈθwela] ), officially the City of Valenzuela (Filipino: Lungsod ng Valenzuela), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 725,173 people.

Valenzuela ranks as the 6th most populous city in the National Capital Region and is the 11th most populous city in the Philippines. Located 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) north of the nation's capital, Manila , it is categorized as a highly urbanized, first-class city under the Republic Acts No. 7160 and 8526, which are based on categories of income classification and population. The landlocked city is located on the island of Luzon. It is bordered by the province of Bulacan to the north, the cities of Caloocan and Quezon City to the east, and Malabon to the southwest. Valenzuela also shares a border along the Tenejeros-Tullahan River with Malabon. The city has a total land area of 45.75 square kilometers (17.66 square miles). Its residents are composed of about 72% Tagalog people, followed by 5% Bicolanos, with a small percentage of foreign nationals.