President Marcos postpones barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan elections to 2028

MANILA, Philippines — For the third time in four years, President Marcos has postponed the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

And instead of just one year, incumbent BSK officials get to stay in their posts for two additional years as the new law fixes their term to five years instead of the current four.

Marcos signed into law on Thursday a bill postponing the Nov. 2 BSKE to November 2028.

Republic Act 12326 was enacted just days before the scheduled filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) – initially set for Sept. 28 to Oct. 5 – for the village and youth polls.

RA 12326 was quickly published in the Official Gazette and became “immediately executory,” according to Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia. The Comelec has postponed the filing of the COCs.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal is set to file a voter’s petition asking the Supreme Court to review RA 12326 and accusing Marcos and Congress of grave abuse of discretion.

Marcos said the prolonged term extension, which the Supreme Court had previously struck down as unconstitutional and prohibited, was “not extra time in office, but extra time for accountability to the people,” as he urged BSK officials to improve their service.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) slammed the move as a removal of voting rights.

Malacañang said keeping incumbent BSK officials ensured uninterrupted action and completion of ongoing local programs.

Opponents of the move had proposed that any new fixed term for BSK officials should apply to those who would win in the BSKE this Nov. 2.

Marcos had also postponed the BSKE in 2022 and 2025.

RA 12326, an “Act Fixing the Term of Office of Barangay Officials and Members of the Sangguniang Kabataan to five years” amended Section 1 of RA 12232 or “An Act Setting the Term of Office of Barangay Officials and Members of the Sangguniang Kabataan, and For other purposes.”

Under the new law, no elective barangay official shall serve for more than two consecutive terms in the same position and no elective SK official shall serve for more than one term in the same position.

RA 12326 also moved the BSKE originally set on Nov. 2 this year to the second Monday of November 2028 and every five years thereafter.

A new Section 4-A was also added for filling vacancies in SK membership. It states that a vacancy in the SK membership shall be filled through the appointment by the city or municipal mayor with jurisdiction over the barangay of the concerned SK of any person who meets the qualifications provided under Section 10 of RA 10742 or the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015.

The law included a new Section 4-B to institutionalize continuing training and capacity-building programs for barangay officials and SK members to strengthen their capacity to perform their duties and responsibilities.

It amended Section 5 of RA 12232, stating: “Considering the extension of their terms by two years, incumbent elective barangay officials shall be regarded as having completed one term in their respective positions.”

This makes incumbent officials serving their last term in the same position ineligible to run for reelection in 2028.

The new law also states that incumbent officials are not exempted from pending and future investigations concerning administrative, civil, or criminal cases or liabilities against them, and their consequences during such incumbency.

The measure was passed by the Senate as Senate Bill 2387 on Sept. 14 and adopted by the House of Representative as an amendment to House Bill 10971 on Sept. 16.

The Comelec yesterday suspended all preparations for the 2026 BSKE after the newly signed RA 12326 postponed the polls.

Garcia said the Comelec would issue a resolution canceling all activities related to preparations for the Nov. 2, 2026 BSKE.

“The filing of certificates of candidacy… will no longer push through because the law currently in effect is the newly signed measure. We also verified that it has already been published in the Official Gazette,” Garcia said.

He noted that the law provides that it takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

With the BSKE postponed, the Comelec will reopen voter registration in the second week of November and run until July 30, 2027.

Garcia earlier said the postponement could affect around P8 billion already spent on election preparations, although some materials procured by the Comelec could still be used in future elections.

The postponement of the BSKE means the removal of the rights of voters, the PPCRV said yesterday.

“You are taking away the right to vote when you postpone. You are taking away the right to vote and choose new leaders, or if they want to replace them, or keep ones who are good. That’s a deprivation of rights,” PPCRV spokesperson  Ana de Villa-Singson said.

She maintained that the issue of barangay elections is more important for the youth who should be given the opportunity to participate in the elections.

She added that the successive postponement is not just an issue of the election date, as “there were like four postponements, like 10 years ago.”

Other critics have said the repeated postponements favored political dynasties, with many members occupying barangay posts. — Cristine Boton, Bella Cariaso

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