Voting starts for 2023 barangay, SK polls

Registered Filipino voters in 42,001 villages nationwide started casting their votes on Monday morning for the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

At exactly 7:00 a.m., poll workers started accepting ballots from registered voters across the country. The voting will end at 3:00 p.m.

Unlike in the automated national and local elections, Filipinos who will vote will write the names of their preferred candidates on the ballot provided by the poll workers, except for voters in Barangays Zone II, Poblacion and Paliparan III in Dasmariñas City, Cavite and in Barangay Pasong Tamo in Quezon City.

For the 2023 BSKE, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decided to conduct a pilot test of the automated election system (AES) in the mentioned barangays in line with the proposal in Congress to fully automate the barangay and youth council polls.

The poll body has also conducted a pilot test of the early voting option for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women in Muntinlupa City and Naga City, which ran from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. today.

According to the Comelec, approximately 68 million barangay voters and 24 million SK voters are expected to flock to polling areas for the 2023 BSKE.

This will be the first time in five years that the Philippines will hold a barangay and SK elections after a series of postponements.

Voters aged 15 to 17 may vote in the SK polls. Voters aged 18 to 30 will be given two ballots and may vote in both the SK and the barangay polls. Voters aged 31 and over may only vote in the barangay polls.

For this year’s elections, 42,001 barangay and SK chairperson positions will be filled and 294,007 posts for both Sangguniang Barangay and SK members.

READ: BSKE 2023 facts and figures

There are 828,644 candidates for barangay chairpersons and barangay kagawad while there are 585,843 candidates for SK chairpersons and members.

Earlier, the Comelec said winning candidates in the 2023 BSKE may immediately and effectively assume office upon the submission of their state of contributions and expenditures (SOCE).

However, the Comelec said the proclamation of BSKE winners who are facing any of the following petitions will be suspended until further orders from the poll body:

• petition to deny due course
• petition to declare a nuisance candidate
• petition for disqualification

Marcos, Garcia among early birds

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr and Comelec Chairman George Garcia were among those who cast their votes early Monday, with Marcos casting his vote at in Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School (MMMES) in Lacub, Batac City, Ilocos Norte and Garcia at Banaba Cerca Integrated School in Indang, Cavite.

"I cannot overstate the importance of the result of the barangay elections. It’s very simple, I mean, the political dynamics is very simple," Marcos said.

Speaking to reporters, Marcos reminded Filipinos not to engage in vote-buying and not to waste their rights on choosing who will lead their respective barangays.

"Ang payo ko lang sa ating mga kababayan, huwag niyong itatapon ang inyong karapatan na makapili ng inyong mga barangay official, dahil alam niyo naman na ang mga barangay official ang mga kaharap ninyo araw-araw. Ito ang mga tinatakbuhan ninyo para makatulong sa inyong problema," Marcos said.

(My advice to our kababayans is that they should not throw their rights to choose their barangay officials because these officials are the ones they face every day. You will go to them for your needs.)

"Kaya’t kung idadaan lang sa bayaran ay mawawala ang boses ninyo at hindi ninyo maipili kung sino ba ang dapat ba talaga na mamuno sa inyong barangay, at sino ang makakatulong sa inyo na harapin ang mga problema na araw-araw na dinadala ninyo sa mga barangay official," he added.

(If you will just let them buy your votes, you cannot rightfully choose who will lead your barangays and who will help you address problems.) —BM/KG/KBK, GMA Integrated News