Vivian Salinas Mercado

Vivian Salinas Mercado holds the position of Punong Barangay in Barangay Balocawe (Pob.), a barangay in the municipality of Oras, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. As Punong Barangay, Vivian 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 Balocawe (Pob.) is one of 42 barangays in the municipality of Oras, in the province of Eastern Samar, in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Balocawe (Pob.) had a population of 1,075 residents — the constituency that Vivian serves as Punong Barangay. Eastern Samar is classified as a 2nd by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Elected through the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, Vivian Salinas Mercado 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.

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.