Marcos to 2023 BSKE winners: Be honest at all times

A day after the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. congratulated the elected local officials and reminded them to be honest in serving their constituents.

In a video message, Marcos urged those elected officials to always prioritize the welfare of the public.

“Ngayon binabati ko ang lahat ng mga bago at muling nahalal na barangay at SK officials. Napakahalaga po ng inyong papel sa ating lipunan,” Marcos said.

(I congratulate those newly elected and re-elected barangay and SK officials. Your role to our society is very important.)

“Isang panibagong pagkakataon na naman po ito upang makapag serbisyo sa mga Pilipino at sa ating bayan nang buong puso at higit pa sa abot ng ating makakaya. Maging tapat po tayo sa lahat ng oras. Lagi po nating unahin ang kapakanan ng sambayanan sapagkat sila po ang dahilan kung bakit nais nating magsilbi sa bayan,” he added. 

(This is another chance to wholeheartedly serve Filipinos and our entire nation. Let us be honest at all times. Let us always prioritize the welfare of the public because they are the reason why we are serving the nation.)

Marcos said he received a report from Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Erwin Garcia that the BSKE was a success.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon after the voting closed, Garcia said the 2023 BSKE was "a victory of sorts" although he added that no election had ever been perfect.

There were reports of election-related killing of at least three in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and thousands of teachers backing out of poll duty in the BARMM and in Abra.

Asked why the teachers withdrew as Board of Election Inspectors, Garcia cited the teachers’ previous experience of shooting incidents or being threatened for their poll work.

The Comelec earlier called for a one-week transition period before the proclaimed winners of the 2023 BSKE assume office.

Garcia had said that this was the Comelec's position in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision which found the postponement of the BSKE to October 30, 2023 unconstitutional. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA Integrated News