Coding System

To uniquely identify a particular Local Government Unit, there are a numberof coding systems that we can use. There is the ISO 3166-2:PH , the Hierarchical Administrative Subdivision Codes or HASC, the ZIP code , and the Philippine Standard Geographic Code or PSGC .

There are advantages and disadvantages for each system. For the purposes of the eLegis Reference System, we will be using the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) which is officially adapted by other Philippine government agencies. The PSGC consists of a unique nine-digit hierarchical code for each local government unit.

A local government unit is a political subdivision. The smallest local government unit is the Barangay. The Barangays are grouped under a City or Municipality. The Cities and/or Municipalities, on the other hand, comprise a Province. The Provinces are then grouped into Regions, with the exception of the National Capital Region which is composed of Cities in the Metro Manila Area.

(See: http://philippines-archipelago.com/politics/administrative_map.html )

The Philippine Standard Geographic Code or PSGC

The National Statistical Coordination Board has defined the coding system that uniquely identifies each local government unit. The coding system uses nine-digits, arranged in a hierarchical fashion that allows for traceability of the region and province, given a municipal code, for example.

Section 5.09.01 of the GIS Cookbook of the HLURB (or Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board) provides a good explanation of the Structure of the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (see http://www.cookbook.hlurb.gov.ph/5-09-01-structure-philippine-standard-geographic-code-psgc )

(Also see: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/ )

For the eLegis Reference System, we will use the entire code for both the City/Municipal identifier and the Barangay identifier.