mapaPH Documentation

Getting Started with the Tools

If you are new to the mapaPH ecosystem, we recommend starting with the following core steps to explore geographic and census data:

1. Access the Viewer: Launch the Lens Web Application to view the interactive map canvas.
2. Select Administrative Levels: Use the left-side control panel to switch the boundary outlines between Regional, Provincial, Municipal/City, and Barangay subdivisions.
3. Apply Data Overlays: Toggle the map layers to overlay visual demographics (PSA population stats), local government financial assets, or election histories.
4. Export Boundaries: Click on any administrative section and choose the export option to download a local, standards-compliant GeoJSON file containing boundary coordinate data.

Philippine Administrative Geography Glossary

Our tools and datasets utilize standard administrative classifications defined by the Philippine government. Understanding these terms helps when querying datasets:

Region (Rehiyon)

The primary administrative grouping used to organize the provinces of the Philippines for planning purposes (e.g., NCR, CALABARZON, Region VI). Regions do not possess separate local government corporate powers.

Province (Probinsya)

A primary political subdivision consisting of component cities and municipalities. Governed by a provincial board and governor.

City or Municipality (Lungsod o Bayan)

Local Government Units (LGUs) composed of barangays. Municipalities are classified by income, while cities may be Component Cities (under a province) or Highly Urbanized Cities (independent of provinces).

Barangay

The smallest administrative division and primary political unit in the Philippines. Serves as the primary planning and implementing body of government policies and community activities.

PSGC (Philippine Standard Geographic Code)

A unique 9-digit (expandable to 10-digit) classification code assigned by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to systematically identify regions, provinces, municipalities, and barangays. Crucial for structured data matching.

Read full PSGC Developer & GIS Reference Guide →Explore Open Data Sources Directory →Read Philippine GeoJSON Integration Guide →

Developer Integration Example

The data generated by our tools can be accessed programmatically. Here is a sample JavaScript example demonstrating how to fetch and parse municipality boundary GeoJSON files:

// Example: Fetch a specific municipality's boundary data via PSGC key
const psgcCode = "045618000"; // Example PSGC code for a municipality
const geojsonUrl = `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Shiiroi/mapaph/main/public/data/municipalities/${psgcCode}.geojson`;

async function fetchBoundaryData() {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(geojsonUrl);
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`HTTP error! Status: ${response.status}`);
    }
    const boundary = await response.json();
    
    console.log("Boundary Name:", boundary.properties.name);
    console.log("Geography Type:", boundary.geometry.type);
    console.log("Coordinates count:", boundary.geometry.coordinates[0].length);
    
    return boundary;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Failed to retrieve geographic coordinate data:", error);
  }
}