Rechelle Ann Yap Orapa

Rechelle Ann Yap Orapa holds the position of Punong Barangay in Barangay Plaridel, a barangay in the city of City of Baybay, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. As Punong Barangay, Rechelle leads the elected Sangguniang Barangay and represents the community's local government unit.

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 Plaridel is one of 92 barangays in the city of City of Baybay, in the province of Leyte, in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Plaridel had a population of 3,616 residents — the constituency that Rechelle serves as Punong Barangay. Leyte is classified as a 1st by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Elected through the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, Rechelle Ann Yap Orapa is serving the current four-year term established under Republic Act No. 12232, which extended the barangay official's term from three years to four. The next BSKE will be held on Monday, November 2, 2026, following COMELEC Resolution No. 11191.

The Sangguniang Barangay — which Rechelle Ann Yap Orapa 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.