Namfrel opposes another barangay, SK poll delay

MANILA, Philippines — Poll watchdog National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL is opposing a proposal to postpone again the 2026 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled in November.

NAMFREL said the postponement is a threat to the country’s democracy.

“Calls for the government to defer the elections and realign the budget allocated for these electoral exercises is a grave threat to the foundations of Philippine democracy, and must be rejected outright,” NAMFREL said.

The poll watchdog said that elections are not discretionary events to be deferred at the convenience of those in power.

“They are constitutional obligations and democratic rights that belong to the Filipino people. When elections are held on schedule, mandates are renewed, public servants are held accountable, and the sovereign will of the people is expressed in its most direct form. To tamper with this schedule is to tamper with democracy itself,” it said.

The group pointed out that diverting funds for electoral preparation to other priorities of the government is not just a budgetary decision, “but a deliberate act of institutional sabotage.”

“The Comelec’s constitutional mandate is to administer elections, not to serve as a reserve fund for shifting executive priorities. Stripping the poll body of resources to prevent an election from proceeding is a clear violation of the prohibition of transfer of budgetary funds,” NAMFREL said.

The watchdog said the move would set a dangerous precedent for executive overreach into the independence of the electoral body.

NAMFREL said the surging fuel prices brought by the war in the Middle East is not a valid reason to postpone the twin elections.

The Supreme Court has ruled that repeated and prolonged postponement of the barangay and SK elections is unconstitutional.

NAMFREL said the repeated postponement has served political and campaign interests rather than the public good.

“The accumulated effects of these successive postponements have been to deny Filipinos, particularly the youth, of their voice in selecting local leaders, and to allow incumbents to extend their hold on positions beyond their legitimate mandates,” it said.

The poll watchdog urged Congress to reject any proposal seeking to postpone or cancel the November 2026 barangay and SK elections.

It said the executive branch must cease any effort to divert Comelec’s electoral funds.

NAMFREL urged the Comelec to defend its institutional independence and continue the preparations for the barangay and SK elections.