The postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from 2026 to 2028 could alter grassroots political dynamics ahead of the presidential and national elections that year, warned a political think tank on Sunday.
The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) said the delay extends the tenure of incumbent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials and postpones voters’ opportunity to assess their performance or replace them. The group added keeping the current local political configuration in place could affect the organization of political networks and campaigns leading to the 2028 elections.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act (RA) 12326 on September 25, extending the term of barangay and SK officials from four years to five years and resetting the next BSKE to the second Monday of November 2028. The law also provides that barangay officials may serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same position, while SK officials remain limited to one term in the same position.
The new law replaces the electoral schedule established under RA 12232, which had moved the BSKE to November 2026 and established a four-year term for barangay and SK officials.
For CenPEG, the central issue is not simply the length of the officials’ terms but the impact of postponing the electorate’s opportunity to exercise its judgment.
CenPEG said voters who would otherwise have gone to the polls in 2026 will now have to wait until 2028 before they can decide whether incumbent barangay and SK officials should continue in office or be replaced.
More significantly, the group said the timing of the next BSKE places the grassroots elections in the same year as the presidential and national elections, creating a potentially important intersection between local political networks and the broader national electoral contest.
‘The administration stands to gain politically from this postponement,’ CenPEG said, arguing that keeping the present barangay political configuration in place longer could provide the administration additional time to consolidate relationships and political machinery at the grassroots as the country approaches the 2028 presidential and national elections.
Barangays constitute the country’s smallest political units and serve as the government structure closest to communities. Their officials are consequently positioned at the grassroots level, where they interact directly with residents and participate in the delivery and coordination of local government services.
Because of this proximity, CenPEG said changes in the barangay electoral cycle should be examined not only in terms of administrative continuity but also for their possible consequences for political participation, accountability and local political organization.
The issue also comes against the backdrop of repeated changes to the BSKE schedule in recent years.
In 2022, RA 11935 postponed the December 2022 BSKE to October 2023. The Supreme Court subsequently declared the law unconstitutional.
In 2025, RA 12232 moved the succeeding elections to November 2026 and established four-year terms for barangay and SK officials. The Supreme Court upheld that law, ruling that Congress has constitutional authority to determine the term of barangay officials and that the new schedule did not abolish or indefinitely suspend the elections. The Court said the elections remained regular, periodic and certain because voters were given a definite schedule for the next exercise of their electoral rights.
The latest legislation now extends that cycle further, moving the next BSKE from 2026 to 2028.
In a related development, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has said he intends to challenge the reset before the Supreme Court, arguing that the postponement results in an unreasonable extension of the terms of incumbent barangay and SK officials.
The postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from 2026 to 2028 could alter grassroots political dynamics ahead of the presidential and national elections that year, warned a political think tank on Sunday.
The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) said the delay extends the tenure of incumbent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials and postpones voters’ opportunity to assess their performance or replace them. The group added keeping the current local political configuration in place could affect the organization of political networks and campaigns leading to the 2028 elections.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act (RA) 12326 on September 25, extending the term of barangay and SK officials from four years to five years and resetting the next BSKE to the second Monday of November 2028. The law also provides that barangay officials may serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same position, while SK officials remain limited to one term in the same position.
The new law replaces the electoral schedule established under RA 12232, which had moved the BSKE to November 2026 and established a four-year term for barangay and SK officials.
For CenPEG, the central issue is not simply the length of the officials’ terms but the impact of postponing the electorate’s opportunity to exercise its judgment.
CenPEG said voters who would otherwise have gone to the polls in 2026 will now have to wait until 2028 before they can decide whether incumbent barangay and SK officials should continue in office or be replaced.
More significantly, the group said the timing of the next BSKE places the grassroots elections in the same year as the presidential and national elections, creating a potentially important intersection between local political networks and the broader national electoral contest.
‘The administration stands to gain politically from this postponement,’ CenPEG said, arguing that keeping the present barangay political configuration in place longer could provide the administration additional time to consolidate relationships and political machinery at the grassroots as the country approaches the 2028 presidential and national elections.
Barangays constitute the country’s smallest political units and serve as the government structure closest to communities. Their officials are consequently positioned at the grassroots level, where they interact directly with residents and participate in the delivery and coordination of local government services.
Because of this proximity, CenPEG said changes in the barangay electoral cycle should be examined not only in terms of administrative continuity but also for their possible consequences for political participation, accountability and local political organization.
The issue also comes against the backdrop of repeated changes to the BSKE schedule in recent years.
In 2022, RA 11935 postponed the December 2022 BSKE to October 2023. The Supreme Court subsequently declared the law unconstitutional.
In 2025, RA 12232 moved the succeeding elections to November 2026 and established four-year terms for barangay and SK officials. The Supreme Court upheld that law, ruling that Congress has constitutional authority to determine the term of barangay officials and that the new schedule did not abolish or indefinitely suspend the elections. The Court said the elections remained regular, periodic and certain because voters were given a definite schedule for the next exercise of their electoral rights.
The latest legislation now extends that cycle further, moving the next BSKE from 2026 to 2028.
In a related development, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has said he intends to challenge the reset before the Supreme Court, arguing that the postponement results in an unreasonable extension of the terms of incumbent barangay and SK officials.