Ruben Maglasang Goc-ong

Ruben Maglasang Goc-ong holds the position of Punong Barangay in Barangay Santa Cruz, a barangay in the municipality of Liloan, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. As Punong Barangay, Ruben 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 Santa Cruz is one of 14 barangays in the municipality of Liloan, in the province of Cebu, in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Santa Cruz had a population of 2,689 residents — the constituency that Ruben serves as Punong Barangay. Cebu is classified as a 1st by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Barangay officials in the Philippines are elected during the synchronised Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). Ruben currently holds office under the mandate established by the October 30, 2023 BSKE. The next BSKE, at which this position will again be contested, is scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026.

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.