For the third time, the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) have been deferred.
?Early this week, President Marcos signed into law Republic Act No. 12326 that postponed the BSKE, which are scheduled on Nov. 2, 2026, to November 2028, or six months after the presidential and general elections in 2028.
?In addition, the terms of office of barangay and SK officials have been extended to five years, which is two years longer than those of elective congressional and local government officials.
?The reasons cited, among others, to justify the rescheduling of the polls include the Middle East conflicts, the oil crisis, and potential funding shortages.
?(Incidentally, despite those lingering issues, the parliamentary elections in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were held as scheduled on Sept. 14 without any serious incidents.)
?With the latest law, the terms of office of incumbent officials of the two community-based organizations have been automatically extended. The additional term has been aptly described by lawyer Romulo Macalintal as a ‘legislative appointment.’
?In recent years, the schedule of the BSKE has become a political football that has been kicked around for various reasons.
?On Oct. 10 2022, a law reset the BSKE from Dec. 5, 2022 to Oct. 30, 2023. The Supreme Court declared that rescheduling as unconstitutional in June 2023, so the polls were reset to Dec. 1, 2025.
?On Aug. 13, 2025, a new law was passed canceling that schedule and it set the polls to Nov. 2, 2026, which the latest law has now canceled.
?Acting on the latter schedule, the Commission on Elections had made the necessary preparations for its conduct which, to date, has reportedly cost P8 billion for the purchase of equipment and other preparations.
?Unless the high court declares the third elections postponement as unconstitutional, which several parties have urgently petitioned it to do so, all the money, time, and efforts spent for this year’s BSKE will go down the drain.
?That’s money the government can ill afford to waste considering its present tight money situation.
?Conceived as effective instruments for grassroots participation in local governance in the barangay, and participation in civic activities by the youth in the case of the SK, the operation of these two entities seems dependent now on the mood of the national leadership.
?The BSKE are meant to be nonpolitical, meaning, their voters should be encouraged to vote for their officials based on their platform or merit, regardless of their political affiliation or leanings, if any.
?The idea is, nonpartisan officials would be able to responsibly perform their duties without, or minimal, external political influence.
?However, on account of those officials’ close relationship with their respective constituencies, congressional and senatorial candidates have treated them as invaluable parts of their campaign and, as a result, the BSKE have been anything but nonpolitical.
?In fact, many BSKEs have become so politicized that they are marked by the excessive spending and violence that often characterize congressional and local government elections.
?The repeated postponement of the BSKE goes against the principle that governs the conduct of fixed or regular national and local elections, i.e., to give a fresh mandate to elected officials.
?Their right to remain in office rests solely on their constituents’ consent that is given in a free and honest election.
?But by legislative fiat, barangay and SK officials have been able to hold office beyond their prescribed terms without the benefit of periodic accountability, through elections, from their constituencies.
?The people whose interests they are supposed to serve are stuck with them and have no choice but bear with their governance until such time that the national leadership decides on the right time for them to test their acceptability to the public.
?The wishy-washy treatment of the BSKE is reflective of the low regard for the worth of the constituencies of barangays and SKs, and their right to choose the men and women who will represent them in those entities.
?With the three election postponements, the national leadership is sending the subliminal message to those constituencies that their right to choose their officials is subject to the ‘sound judgment’ of the national government and that they have no choice but follow it without any complaints.
?There goes free choice in elections and the principle of accountability in public office.
?Although the latest law provides that the BSKE will be held in November 2028, that date is not etched in stone.
?There is no assurance that the new administration and members of Congress would keep to that date and not decide to postpone the BSKE again for another one or two years depending on their political mood.