Lawyer to Marcos: Veto ‘recycled’ BSKE postponement bill
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines — Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has renewed his call for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the bill seeking to postpone the December 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), arguing that it is a “recycled” version of a law previously nullified by the Supreme Court.
The proposed measure aims to move the BSKE to November 2026 and extend the term of office for barangay officials to four years.
READ: Marcos to sign law postponing barangay, SK polls — Comelec
Macalintal, who successfully challenged the 2022 postponement, said the new measure suffers from similar constitutional flaws.
“The president understands that while the bill is deceptively styled as one setting the term of office of barangay officials, it is, in reality, a measure that postpones the December 2025 elections,” Macalintal said.
The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on the previous BSKE postponement established clear guidelines, stating that any delay must be supported by “sufficiently important, substantial, or compelling” reasons to protect the right of suffrage.
The high court emphasized that superficial justifications—such as “election fatigue” or cost-saving—are not valid grounds for postponement.
READ: SC declares law postponing Brgy, SK polls unconstitutional
“This new bill is also unconstitutional for violating the right to due process of law; and accordingly, infringing the constitutional right of the Filipino people to suffrage, and for having been enacted in patent grave abuse of discretion,” Macalintal said.
All Souls’ Day
He also said the new bill places the voting date on All Souls’ Day, which is a public holiday.
“This day should be treated with reverence and not be sacrificed for the quagmire of politics and political spectacle,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections is already preparing for the BSKE election regardless of whether it will be rescheduled or not./mcm
