Supreme Court affirms BSKE postponement to November 2026
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has affirmed the legality of the law postponing the Barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) for November 2026 instead of December 1, 2025, effectively extending the term of incumbent officials.
“Under the law, the next BSKE will be held on the first Monday of November, 2026, and every four years thereafter. Accordingly, the elections set for Dec. 1, 2025, have been rescheduled to November 2026,” the SC’s Public Information Office said in a statement.
Quoting the decision written by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, it said that “incumbent officials shall remain in office until their successors are elected.”
The petition, filed by Romulo B. Macalintal et al., argued that the law is invalid for failing to comply with the guidelines in postponing elections set in the 2023 case of Macalintal v. COMELEC. Additionally, they claimed that the law violates the public’s right to vote and unduly favors BSK officials.
READ: Macalintal-challenges-bske-postponement-law-before-sc/
He also said setting the term of office for BSKE officials “is not a valid ground to postpone the election.”
He cited the 2023 ruling of the Supreme Court, which states that declaring a postponement must be justified by “sufficiently important, substantial, or compelling reasons to safeguard the right of suffrage.”
In upholding the law, the SC said that the Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to define the term duration for barangay officials under Article X, Section 8.
“This legislative power is not merely permissive; it makes Congress the sole body empowered to define the term of office of barangay officials,” the SC said.
It added that “under the doctrine of necessary implication, this authority to define the term of office of barangay officials necessarily includes the power to decide when the new term begins, provided that the period is reasonable and not unduly long from the law’s enactment.”
The SC also did not find any violation of the public’s right to vote, as the law neither abolishes nor indefinitely suspends the elections.
“It simply changes the interval from three to four years. Elections remain regular, periodic, and certain. Voters know when the next election will take place, can hold officials accountable at fixed intervals, and retain full democratic control over barangay governance,” it added.
SC added that treating barangay officials differently does not amount to undue favor or discrimination when such treatment is expressly allowed by the Constitution.
“The SC emphasized that barangays are distinct from other local government units. As the smallest political unit serving smaller communities, they perform different functions and operate with less complex administrative structures. Barangays maintain closer community relationships and serve as the most direct link between the government and the people,” the SC said. /mr
