Comelec to tackle proposed term extension for barangay, SK officials
Commission on Elections Chairperson George Erwon Garcia (INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) would call for an all-official emergency meeting following Congress’ ratification of the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed law extending the term of elected barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials.
Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia, in an online interview on Thursday, said the commission would adhere to what was agreed upon by both chambers of Congress, noting that the measure that was recently adopted and ratified seeks to strengthen the country’s electoral system.
“Currently, this is still just a bill. It is a bicameral conference committee report that was adopted and approved by the upper house and lower house,” Garcia said.
Following this pronouncement, Garcia said they would wait for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to decide whether or not he would sign the proposed bill into law.
“In the meantime, we will have an emergency meeting — all our staff [and] Comelec officials — in a week to discuss what things we need to stop, the preparations and procurement,” said Garcia.
Registration, procurement, budget adjustments
There are certain items, Garcia said, such as the indelible ink, that they should halt the purchase of because it might get damaged.
Apart from this, Garcia said they need to tackle the postponement of the registration of voters.
“For example, the registration of voters was supposed to be only from July 1 to 11 – a short period because of the [Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE)] on December 1. But if this is really going to be reset to November, maybe it should also be reset so that we can extend the registration,” said Garcia.
He likewise disclosed the need to reassess the Comelec’s budget for the barangay and SK election, considering the change proposed by lawmakers.
“Although we have a budget [allocated] for that, there will be what is called continuing appropriation.”
Term extension
The bicameral conference committee report setting the term of office of barangay and SK officials was approved and ratified by the House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday.
It now only needs the President’s signature to become a law.
Under the measure, the term of office of all elected barangay and SK officials shall be extended to four years — a change from the present three.
Barangay officials would be given the chance to serve a maximum of three terms in the same position, while SK officials can only serve for one term in the same position.
Should it be enacted, the measure would postpone to the first Monday of November 2026 the regular barangay and SK elections which was initially scheduled on December 1, 2025.
