Melchor Cabañero Gamez

As Punong Barangay of Barangay San Victor, Melchor Cabañero Gamez presides over the Sangguniang Barangay of the barangay in Tanauan, Leyte, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. The Punong Barangay is a nationally recognised local government position under the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160).

The Punong Barangay is the chief executive of the barangay, the smallest and most local unit of government in the Philippines. Duties under Section 389 of RA 7160 include enforcing barangay ordinances, organising and leading an emergency response team, calling and presiding over sessions of the Sangguniang Barangay, maintaining public order through the Lupong Tagapamayapa (peace council), and supervising the delivery of basic services to residents.

Barangay San Victor is one of 54 barangays in the municipality of Tanauan, in the province of Leyte, in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay San Victor had a population of 1,158 residents — the constituency that Melchor 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, Melchor Cabañero Gamez 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.