01
Going digital
The law that requires local governments to move services online, and the government systems involved.
E-Governance Act (RA 12254)
The 2025 law requiring government, including local government units, to deliver services online. Under the Local Government Code, barangays are local government units too.
What it means for your barangay
Each LGU either builds its own digital portal or adopts the DICT's eLGU system. The implementing rules also call for a Local Government Digital Service Standard that LGU-built systems will need to meet, so a portal built now should be ready for it.
Legal basis: RA 12254 (signed September 5, 2025), Secs. 9(b) and 20; implementing rules signed March 24, 2026
eLGU (Electronic Local Government Unit System)
The DICT's e-government system for local governments, named in the E-Governance Act as the option for LGUs that do not build their own portal.
What it means for your barangay
An LGU that cannot set up its own portal within a year of the law taking effect uses eLGU. The DICT provides its software and infrastructure to unserved and underserved municipalities.
Legal basis: RA 12254, Sec. 9(b)
Related:E-Governance ActBIMS
BIMS (Barangay Information Management System)
The DILG's free web-based system for barangay records, part of its LGU Support System (LGUSS). It covers resident profiling, issuances, Katarungang Pambarangay, property, disaster preparedness, GAD plans and reports.
What it means for your barangay
Every barangay is required to adopt BIMS. It is where the DILG expects official records and reports to live, so any portal a barangay adds should work alongside it, not replace it.
Legal basis: DILG MC 2025-104 (October 2025)
02
Records and requests
What a barangay records and issues every day, and what residents come to the hall for.
RBI (Records of Barangay Inhabitants)
The household-by-household record of residents kept by the Barangay Secretary: name, address, date and place of birth, sex, civil status, citizenship and occupation.
What it means for your barangay
It is the record that clearances and certificates are checked against, so an accurate, searchable RBI is what makes issuing documents fast. It is also personal data, protected under the Data Privacy Act.
Legal basis: RA 7160 (Local Government Code), Sec. 394(d)(6); DILG MC 2008-144
Barangay clearance
A clearance from the barangay where a business or activity operates. A city or municipality may not issue a business permit without it. Residents also commonly need one for jobs and IDs.
What it means for your barangay
It is usually the most requested document at the hall, and the barangay must act on a business clearance within 7 working days. Taking requests online means residents stop queuing for it.
Legal basis: RA 7160, Sec. 152(c); DILG MC 2019-177
Related:Barangay certificates and IDsRBI
Barangay certificates and IDs
The certificates and IDs a barangay issues on request, signed by the Punong Barangay. Most exist by local practice rather than by a specific law; a few are tied to one.
- Certificate of ResidencyProof that a person lives in the barangayLocal practice
- Certificate of IndigencyMedical, legal or social-welfare assistanceLocal practice; the requesting agency sets the requirements
- Certificate of Good Moral CharacterJob, school and scholarship applicationsLocal practice
- Barangay IDLocal identification for residentsLocal practice
- First Time Jobseeker certificationStates that the applicant is a first-time jobseeker, so they can claim the law's benefitsRA 11261, Sec. 5
- Solo parent affidavitA barangay official attests that the applicant lives in the barangay and cares for the children. It supports the application; the Solo Parent ID itself is issued by the city or municipal solo parent office.RA 11861, Secs. 19 and 20
What it means for your barangay
Because most are local practice, each barangay sets its own templates, and the agency asking for the document decides what it must say. Keeping one template per document, filled from the resident's record, keeps them consistent however many requests come in.
Legal basis: RA 11261 (2019), Sec. 5; RA 11861 (2022), Secs. 19 and 20; the rest are local practice
Barangay blotter
The barangay's chronological logbook of reported incidents and complaints. It is an established practice rather than a term defined in the Local Government Code.
What it means for your barangay
Blotter entries often involve sensitive personal information, so who can see and change them matters. Complaints that go to settlement move on to the Katarungang Pambarangay.
Legal basis: Practice; complaints for settlement follow RA 7160, Secs. 399 to 422
Katarungang Pambarangay (KP)
The barangay justice system for settling disputes between residents out of court. Disputes are heard by the Lupong Tagapamayapa: the Punong Barangay as chair and 10 to 20 members.
What it means for your barangay
Most disputes it covers cannot be filed in court until conciliation at the barangay has failed, so every case produces forms and a paper trail: complaints, summons, notices of hearing, settlements.
Legal basis: RA 7160, Secs. 399 to 422 (Sec. 399 on the Lupon, Sec. 412 on conciliation first)
Related:Barangay blotterBIMS
03
Transparency
What a barangay must publish about its finances.
Full Disclosure Policy (FDP)
The DILG rule that local governments publish their finances. Barangays post six documents: the budget, summary of income and expenditures, use of the 20% development fund, annual procurement plan, notices of award, and itemized monthly collections and disbursements.
What it means for your barangay
They go on a board in the barangay hall and on the barangay website if it has one. Once a barangay has a website, the documents belong there too, where residents can find them.
Legal basis: DILG MC 2010-149 as amended by MC 2014-81; the 20% development fund is RA 7160, Sec. 287
Related:E-Governance Act
04
Data privacy
The rules for the personal data in all of the above.
Data Privacy Act (RA 10173)
The law protecting personal information in the Philippines. It gives people rights over their data and makes whoever controls it accountable for protecting it.
What it means for your barangay
Resident records, clearance requests, blotter entries and health screenings are all personal data. Going online does not change who is responsible for them.
Legal basis: RA 10173 (2012)
Related:Personal Information ControllerCompliance Officer for PrivacyNPC registration
Personal Information Controller (PIC)
The person or organization that controls how personal information is collected, kept and used.
What it means for your barangay
For residents' data, that is the barangay, even when a vendor builds and hosts the system.
Legal basis: RA 10173, Sec. 3(h)
Compliance Officer for Privacy (COP)
The officer responsible for a barangay's compliance with the Data Privacy Act. Barangays do not appoint their own Data Protection Officer; the city or municipality may designate a COP for each barangay, supervised by its own DPO.
What it means for your barangay
It is the person to involve before collecting personal data online, and the one who works with the city or municipal DPO if something goes wrong.
Legal basis: DILG MC 2024-135 (September 2024), Sec. 4
NPC registration
Registering a data processing system with the National Privacy Commission. It is required for organizations with 250 or more employees, those processing the data of 1,000 or more people, or processing likely to put people's rights at risk.
What it means for your barangay
LGU systems that use automated decision-making or profiling must be registered, and so must a service provider running such a system for them. Check before launching.
Legal basis: NPC Circular 2022-04; DILG MC 2024-135, Sec. 3
05
Procurement
How a barangay buys a system or a service.
PhilGEPS (Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System)
The single online portal for government procurement. The New Government Procurement Act of 2024 replaced the old procurement law, RA 9184.
What it means for your barangay
It is how a barangay buys a system or service from a private provider, so the provider needs to be PhilGEPS-registered. Bytebento is.
Legal basis: RA 12009 (2024), Sec. 20
Related:E-Governance Act
General information, not legal advice. Laws and DILG issuances change, so confirm current requirements with the DILG, the DICT and the National Privacy Commission.