A living archive

mahaplag.archive brings local history out of cabinets and into a format that can be explored by students, researchers, and residents alike. The goal is simple: preserve what matters, make public information easier to reach, and give younger generations a clearer connection to the place they come from. I know it might be ambitous but with your help we can build this living archive.

Mission

Why this archive exists

mahaplag.archive was established to digitize and preserve the municipal boundaries, infrastructure, and historical lore of Mahaplag. It was built with the youth in mind so local knowledge does not stay buried in folders, filing cabinets, or fading paper records, but remains accessible in the palms of their hands.

Beyond preservation, the archive also supports transparency. When public maps, project records, and local references are easier to browse, it becomes easier for people to revisit the story of their town and understand how it continues to change over time.

I built this app by utilizing the free data that can be found on the internet, then organizing it into a more readable archive for Mahaplag.

Acknowledgements

The work behind the archive

Special thanks to Sir Noel Ayoc for compiling the archive documents that form the foundation of this collection. My role has been to digitize, organize, and present these materials on the website so they are easier for the public to explore.

Data Sources

Methodology and references

The archive combines public geographic data, infrastructure records, official registries, hazard layers, weather references, and historical research. The links below point to the public reference sources used for the archive.

Expand Data Sources▼

Municipal boundary reference

Geographic boundary data was synthesized from open-source GIS shapefiles and cross-checked against available public mapping references.

Barangay Boundaries Data

Infrastructure and appropriations

Infrastructure inventories and appropriations were compiled from the DPWH Transparency Portal to make public works records easier to browse and revisit.

DPWH Transparency Portal

Official local registries

Names of local officials and registry details were gathered from the DILG website and aligned to the archive for public reference.

DILG Barangay Officials Directory

GBIF occurrence search

Global biodiversity occurrence records. Treat coordinates, locality names, and dataset metadata as source claims that may need local review. GBIF.org (27 April 2026) GBIF Occurrence Download

Open GBIF

iNaturalist Mahaplag place

Direct source page for community observations inside the iNaturalist Mahaplag boundary, including records that may not be cached here yet. iNaturalist.org (27 April 2026)

Open iNaturalist Mahaplag

Hazard and weather references

Hazard maps and localized weather data are provided by the UP NOAH Center for flood susceptibility and local risk context.

UP NOAH Center

MapLibre GL JS

Open-source WebGL map rendering library used for interactive hazard map visualization and terrain-oriented map layers.

MapLibre GL JS

Note: barangay lore entries are crowd sourced and should be treated as community memory unless corroborated by formal records.

Graphic credit: The barangay hazard plate graphics featured in the archive were created by Arjon Empron.

Hazard data preparation: The hazard data was originally provided as a GIS shapefile dataset, a specialized format that generally requires GIS knowledge to modify. Special thanks to Cyjay Elijah Abrantes for processing and converting the shapefile data into GeoJSON focused on Mahaplag, making it suitable for use on the website.

Expand Tech Stack▼

The archive was built utilizing the following technologies:

Next.js for the frontend
Tailwind CSS for styling
Python Pandas for data processing
GIS for processing and preparing geographic data
Leaflet for the interactive map
MapLibre GL JS for the hazard map
Supabase for the backend
Vercel for deployment