Barangay Piñaplata

Barangay Piñaplata forms part of Gandara, a municipality in Samar, and is classified as a small barangay.

According to the 2020 Philippine census, Barangay Piñaplata had a population of 650. This made it the 16th largest of 69 barangays in Gandara by population, placing it in the upper half of the municipality. Residents of Barangay Piñaplata accounted for approximately 1.84% of the total population of Gandara, which stood at 35,242 in the same census year.

Between the 2015 and 2020 censuses, the population of Barangay Piñaplata changed from 503 to 650, a shift of +29.2% over the five-year period. This places the barangay among those with growing populations in Gandara. Barangay Piñaplata is officially classified as rural, a designation applied to barangays with lower population density and predominantly non-built-up land use.

Gandara is a municipality comprising 69 barangays, and serves as the governing unit directly responsible for local services in Barangay Piñaplata, including public health, sanitation, peace and order, and civil registration. Within the wider province of Samar, which contains 951 barangays across its component cities and municipalities, Barangay Piñaplata ranks 406th by 2020 population. Samar is classified as a 1st by the Bureau of Local Government Finance, a category that reflects the province's annual regular income.

Like every Philippine barangay, Barangay Piñaplata is led by an elected Punong Barangay (barangay captain) supported by seven Sangguniang Barangay members (kagawads), an SK Chairperson, a Barangay Secretary, and a Barangay Treasurer. The next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) are scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026, with officials serving four-year terms under Republic Act No. 12232.