Mel A Baňes

Mel A Baňes holds the position of Punong Barangay in Barangay Rizal, a barangay in the municipality of Roxas, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. As Punong Barangay, Mel 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 Rizal is one of 31 barangays in the municipality of Roxas, in the province of Palawan, in the MIMAROPA Region region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Rizal had a population of 928 residents — the constituency that Mel serves as Punong Barangay. Palawan is classified as a 1st by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Elected through the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, Mel A Baňes 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 Mel A Baňes 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.