Saturnino Abrea Dante

Serving as Punong Barangay of Barangay Higosoan in Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte, Saturnino Abrea Dante is currently in the 2023 - 2026 term. The Punong Barangay is the most senior elected official of a Philippine barangay and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of local services.

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 Higosoan is one of 29 barangays in the municipality of Tomas Oppus, in the province of Southern Leyte, in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Higosoan had a population of 345 residents — the constituency that Saturnino serves as Punong Barangay. Southern Leyte is classified as a 3rd by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Elected through the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, Saturnino Abrea Dante 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 Saturnino Abrea Dante 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.