Welfred Bela-ong Salarozan

Welfred Bela-ong Salarozan holds the position of Punong Barangay in Barangay So-ol, a barangay in the municipality of Barotac Nuevo, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. As Punong Barangay, Welfred leads the elected Sangguniang Barangay and represents the community's local government unit.

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, the Punong Barangay leads the Sangguniang Barangay, signs ordinances and resolutions, represents the barangay in transactions with other government units, administers the barangay budget and appropriations, and oversees the Lupong Tagapamayapa that handles amicable settlement of disputes at the barangay level. The office is the most directly accountable elected position in the Philippine government.

Barangay So-ol is one of 29 barangays in the municipality of Barotac Nuevo, in the province of Iloilo, in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2024 POPCEN (Census of Population) published by the Philippine Statistics Authority, Barangay So-ol had a population of 1,618 residents — the constituency that Welfred serves as Punong Barangay. Iloilo is classified as a 1st by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Welfred Bela-ong Salarozan was elected to office in the most recent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), which took place on October 30, 2023. Under Republic Act No. 12232, barangay officials elected in 2023 serve four-year terms, meaning the current mandate runs until 2026. The next BSKE is scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026, per COMELEC Resolution No. 11191.

A Philippine barangay's Sangguniang Barangay is composed of one Punong Barangay, seven Sangguniang Barangay Members (kagawads), a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairperson representing the youth sector, a Barangay Secretary, and a Barangay Treasurer. Together, these officials administer the smallest unit of Philippine local government and deliver frontline services — from barangay clearance issuance to peace and order, from public health assistance to the barangay's share of the Internal Revenue Allotment.