House bill seeks to postpone BSKE anew

MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to postpone the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) scheduled on Dec. 1 next year has been filed before the House of Representatives.

Camarines Sur third district Rep. LRay Villafuerte filed House Bill 10344, which proposes the holding of the BSKE polls on Oct. 26, 2026.

Under the bill, the BSKE should be held every three years thereafter ”in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Local Government Code on the fixed three-year term of these local officials.”

The bill was filed despite a Supreme Court (SC) ruling, which has declared unconstitutional the law that postponed the BSKE from Dec. 5, 2022 to October 2023.

The SC ruled that the succeeding BSKE would be held on the first Monday of December 2025 and “every three years thereafter.”

It said ”the free and meaningful exercise of the right to vote, as protected and guaranteed by the Constitution, requires the holding of genuine periodic elections which must be held at intervals which are not unduly long, and which ensure that the authority of government continues to be based on the free expression of the will of electors.”

However, Villafuerte said the holding of the BSKE in December 2025 would result in a shorter term for barangay officials and “tantamount to the impairment of the expectations from the incumbents of our electorate’s overall exercise of their right to suffrage.”

He said a shorter term for barangay officials would contravene their mandated three-year term.

Camarines Sur fifth district Rep. Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan are co-authors of the bill.