Barangay Cantato

Situated in Paranas, Samar, Barangay Cantato is one of 44 barangays that make up the municipality within Eastern Visayas.

According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, Barangay Cantato had a population of 588. This made it the 21st largest of 44 barangays in Paranas by population, placing it in the middle tier of the municipality. Residents of Barangay Cantato accounted for approximately 1.82% of the total population of Paranas, which stood at 32,374 in the same census year.

Between the 2015 and 2020 censuses, the population of Barangay Cantato changed from 547 to 588, a shift of +7.5% over the five-year period. This places the barangay among those with growing populations in Paranas. The Philippine Statistics Authority classifies Barangay Cantato as rural, a designation applied to barangays with lower population density and predominantly non-built-up land use.

Paranas is a municipality comprising 44 barangays, and serves as the governing unit directly responsible for local services in Barangay Cantato, 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 Cantato ranks 461st 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.

The barangay's legislative and executive affairs are handled by a Punong Barangay and the Sangguniang Barangay, elected nationwide during the Barangay and SK Elections. The next BSKE is scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026, following the synchronized election schedule set by COMELEC Resolution No. 11191.