Maria Shellane Aldea Palomar

Maria Shellane Aldea Palomar is the Punong Barangay currently leading Barangay Poblacion Sur, part of the municipality of Sigma in Capiz, 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 Poblacion Sur is one of 21 barangays in the municipality of Sigma, in the province of Capiz, in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Poblacion Sur had a population of 1,821 residents — the constituency that Maria serves as Punong Barangay. Capiz 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). Maria 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.