To give incumbent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials more time to wrap up their programs and improve their services, President Ferdinand Marcos signed on Friday Republic Act 12326, extending the term of these public servants to five years and postponing their next elections to 2028.
‘This is not additional time in office [for the incumbent officials]. This is additional time for accountability to the people,’ Marcos said in Filipino in a social media post.
He said he hopes the officials will use their extended term to complete their programs and improve their services.
‘I hope they will be able to use this time to further improve service delivery, complete ongoing programs, and focus more closely on the needs of every community, family, and youth [in their jurisdictions],’ Marcos said.
In a press briefing in Ilocos Norte on Friday, Palace Press Office Claire Castro said RA 12326 will help enhance ongoing efforts of the national government against crimes and proper waste management at the grassroot level.
She said barangay and SK officials are at the forefront in implementing both programs.
‘Preventing crime starts at the barangay level; when barangay officials themselves conduct rounds and enforce rules strictly [in their jurisdictions], the rise in the crime rate can be curbed,’ Castro said in Filipino.
‘Barangay officials can also help us organize proper waste disposal,’ she said.
RA 12326 amended RA 12232, which extended the term of barangay and SK officials from four to five years.
However, it reduced from three to two the consecutive terms that barangay officials can hold the same position. For SK officials, they can still not serve for more than one term in the same position.
The date of the next Barangay and SK Elections (BSKE) was also moved from November 2, 2026 to the second Monday of November 2028.
The transitory provisions of RA 12326, banned incumbent barangay officials fom running in the same position in 2028, since the new law already extended their term by two years.
Marcos signed RA 12326 on Thursday, days before the Commission on Elections is scheduled to hold the filing of Certificates of Candidacy for BSKE from September 28 to October 5.
The poll body already spent P8 billion for its BSKE preparations, which it said was already 90 percent complete.