Bill postponing barangay, SK polls to December 2023 sponsored in Senate

A Senate bill postponing the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) to the second Monday of December 2023 was sponsored in the Senate on Wednesday.

Senate electoral reforms and people's participation committee chairperson Imee Marcos introduced Senate Bill 1306 containing Committee Report No. 4 during the chamber's session.

Under Section 1 of SB 1306, the subsequent synchronized BSKE shall be held on the second Monday of May 2026 and every three years thereafter.

Barangay and SK officials who will be elected in December 2023 shall assume their posts at noon of January 1, 2024.

Meanwhile, the term of office of BSKE officials elected in May 2025 and subsequently thereafter shall start at noon of June 30 next following their election.

Until the successors have been duly elected and qualified, all incumbent barangay and SK officials shall remain in office unless sooner removed or suspended for cause.

Barangay and SK officials who are ex-officio members of the Sangguniang Bayan, Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Panlalawigan, as the case may be, shall continue to serve as such members in the sanggunian concerned until the next BSKE.

In her sponsorship speech, Marcos recalled that she promised that the law that she sponsored during the 18th Congress would be the last of the repeated postponements of the barangay elections.

However, she said there are compelling reasons in favor of a postponement of the barangay polls this year.

Among the reasons she cited were the short term of office for barangay officials, the expenses that are incurred by the barangay polls, and the need to revise and streamline the present SK system.

"Thus, this proposed election postponement is a means to buy us time for a series of measures that the committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation is proposing to Congress. This is merely a preliminary measure to give us time to study and debate the deeper issues confronting the barangay and SK system under our present law," she said.

Marcos also cautioned against the additional funding needed by the Commission on Elections should the 2022 BSKE be postponed.

According to Comelec, they would need around P18.4 billion if the conduct of the 2022 BSKE were postponed to December 2023.

"Sa tingin ko, kung kailangan ng additional 15% na precincts, 15% na karagdagang botante, 15% na teachers at BEI (board of election inspectors), at 15% na supplies, dapat 15% lang ang idadagdag sa dating budget na P8.4 billion," she said.

(In my opinion, if there are 15% more precincts, voters, teachers, BEI, and supplies, the budget increase should also be 15% of the previous budget, which was P8.4 billion.)

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved on second reading a bill that seeks to postpone the December 2022 BSKE for one year.

Since 2016, the barangay and SK polls have been repeatedly postponed.

The October 2016 barangay and SK polls were postponed to October 2017. From there, it was postponed to May 2018, which was again reset to December 2022. — BM/VBL, GMA News