Rowel Garcela Aralar

Rowel Garcela Aralar is the Punong Barangay currently leading Barangay Patong, part of the municipality of Burauen in Leyte, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. Under Philippine law, the Punong Barangay is directly elected by the residents of the barangay.

As the head of the smallest tier of Philippine local government, the Punong Barangay is responsible for everything from maintaining peace and order within the barangay to supervising the Barangay Development Plan, enforcing national and local laws within the barangay boundaries, and representing residents in the wider city or municipal government. The position is held for a four-year term under Republic Act No. 12232.

Barangay Patong is one of 77 barangays in the municipality of Burauen, in the province of Leyte, in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Patong had a population of 676 residents — the constituency that Rowel serves as Punong Barangay. Leyte is classified as a 1st by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Rowel Garcela Aralar 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.

The Sangguniang Barangay — which Rowel Garcela Aralar leads — is the legislative body of a Philippine barangay. It passes barangay ordinances and resolutions, approves the annual barangay budget, and exercises oversight over the barangay's programmes and projects. Its composition includes the Punong Barangay, seven kagawads, the SK Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, all accountable directly to residents.